Jay Wesley Watson is an Australian multi-instrumentalist, producer, singer and songwriter. He is best known as a touring member of the psychedelic band

Tame Impala Tame Impala is the psychedelic music project of Australian singer and multi-instrumentalist Kevin Parker (musician), Kevin Parker. In the recording studio, Parker writes, records, performs, and produces all of the project's music. As a touring a ...

and as a co-founder of the psychedelic rock/pop band

Pond A pond is a small, still, land-based body of water formed by pooling inside a depression (geology), depression, either naturally or artificiality, artificially. A pond is smaller than a lake and there are no official criteria distinguishing ...

, with whom he's recorded ten albums. Watson also records solo material under the name GUM and, as of 2023, has released six studio albums under this name. In addition, he sometimes collaborates with fellow Pond member James Ireland as the duo GUM & Ginoli, remixing songs originally recorded by a variety of different artists, and occasionally contributes production and mixing to the solo projects of fellow Pond members as well as other local

Perth Perth () is the list of Australian capital cities, capital city of Western Australia. It is the list of cities in Australia by population, fourth-most-populous city in Australia, with a population of over 2.3 million within Greater Perth . The ...

musicians.

Career

Jay Wesley Watson was born in Carnarvon, and grew up in Northam, Western Australia. He was given the nickname Gumby, which referred to the clay animation TV show of the same name. When he began recording his own material, Watson shortened the name to GUM. Under the GUM moniker, Watson released ''Delorean Highway'' digitally in Australia on 30 May 2014. Most of the material had been recorded in 2011, leaving Watson to note that "when it finally came out it felt so good! But it felt so old to me". An LP release of ''Delorean Highway'' was restricted to a thousand copies. The album was described as a collection of "paranoid pop songs" that are "mostly about falling in love and all of the things that he atsonthinks are going to kill him." In October 2019, ''Delorean Highway'' came at no.19 on ''Happy Mag'''s list of "The 25 best psychedelic rock albums of the 2010s". In September 2014, Watson recorded his second album in London with the assistance of Jerome Watson. The thirteen track ''Glamorous Damage'', was announced in September 2015 and was released on 13 November 2015. It was preceded by the single "Anaesthetized Lesson", which was remixed by Kevin Parker and released in March 2016. Watson described the title of the album as "about people glamorizing getting fucked up or being weirdos, when there is always a danger you could end up damaged yourself just through putting it on a pedestal". Watson occasionally performs live, using backing tracks. ''

Pitchfork A pitchfork or hay fork is an agricultural tool used to pitch loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves. It has a long handle and usually two to five thin tines designed to efficiently move such materials. The term is also applie ...

'''s Stuart Berman described the album as "the 8-bit, Nintendo video game adaptation of a blockbuster film". On 3 November 2016, a third album titled ''Flash in the Pan'', was teased on YouTube, and released on 11 November 2016. It was preceded by the single "Gemini". Described by the ''

NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming and culture website, bimonthly magazine, and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a "Rock music, rock inkie", the ''NME'' would be ...

'' as "a swirl of looped vocals, Pond-y synth work and dreamy, subtle bass". Watson explained that it was "the first song I recorded for the album, and probably the most immediate". It featured a contribution by Sergio Flores on saxophone. Watson currently resides in

Beaconsfield Beaconsfield ( ) is a market town and Civil parishes in England, civil parish in Buckinghamshire, England, northwest of central London and southeast of Aylesbury. Three other towns are within : Gerrards Cross, Amersham and High Wycombe. The ...

, a suburb nearby to

Fremantle Fremantle () () is a port city in Western Australia located at the mouth of the Swan River (Western Australia), Swan River in the metropolitan area of Perth, the state capital. Fremantle Harbour serves as the port of Perth. The Western Australi ...

in Perth, Western Australia. In December 2019, he and his girlfriend Lucy welcomed a son, Jack.

Discography

As GUM

Albums

*''Delorean Highway'' (2014) *''Glamorous Damage'' (2015) *''Flash In the Pan'' (2016) *''The Underdog'' (2018) *''Out In the World'' (2020) *''Saturnia'' (2023) *''Ill Times'' (2024) with Ambrose Kenny-Smith

Singles

* ''Anesthetized Lesson'' (2015) * ''Elafonissi Blue'' (2015) * ''Gemini'' (2016) * ''Deep Razz'' (2016) * ''The Underdog'' (2018) * ''The Blue Marble'' (2018) * ''Out In the World'' (2020) * ''Airwalkin (2020) * ''Low to Low'' (2020) * ''Ancients'' (2022; from ''Glamorous Damage'' remaster) * ''Minor Setback / Old Transistor Radio'' (2023) with Ambrose Kenny-Smith * ''Race to the Air'' (2023) * ''Would It Pain You to See?'' (2023) * ''Music Is Bigger Than Hair'' (2023) * ''Argentina'' (2023) * ''Ill Times'' (2024) with Ambrose Kenny-Smith * ''Dud'' (2024) with Ambrose Kenny-Smith

With Pond

*'' Psychedelic Mango'' (2009) *'' Corridors of Blissterday'' (2009) *''

Frond A frond is a large, divided leaf. In both common usage and botanical nomenclature, the leaves of ferns are referred to as fronds and some botanists restrict the term to this group. Other botanists allow the term frond to also apply to the lar ...

'' (2010) (credited as Wesley Goldtouch) *'' Beard, Wives, Denim'' (2012) *'' Hobo Rocket'' (2013) *'' Man It Feels Like Space Again'' (2015) *'' The Weather'' (2017) * ''

Tasmania Tasmania (; palawa kani: ''Lutruwita'') is an island States and territories of Australia, state of Australia. It is located to the south of the Mainland Australia, Australian mainland, and is separated from it by the Bass Strait. The sta ...

'' (2019) *''Sessions'' (2019) *'' 9'' (2021) *'' Stung!'' (2024)

With Tame Impala

*''

'' (2008), drums on "Wander", keyboards on "Forty-One Mosquitoes Flying in Formation" *'' Innerspeaker'' (2010), drums on "Solitude Is Bliss", "The Bold Arrow of Time", "Island Walking". *''Live at the Corner EP'' (2010), drums on all tracks *'' Lonerism'' (2012), piano on "Apocalypse Dreams", keyboards on "Elephant" *'' Live Versions'' (2014), keyboards on all tracks

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Watson, Jay Year of birth missing (living people) 21st-century Australian singers Australian alternative rock singers Australian indie rock musicians Australian multi-instrumentalists Australian rock drummers Australian male drummers Australian rock guitarists Australian rock singers Australian lead guitarists Living people Musicians from Perth, Western Australia Psychedelic rock musicians Tame Impala members Pond (Australian band) members 21st-century Australian drummers Australian male guitarists Australian male singer-songwriters 21st-century Australian singer-songwriters