Message to Bears

Message to Bears

Message to Bears is the musical alias of English composer and multi-instrumentalist Jerome Alexander. His work combines folk and electronic elements, using acoustic guitar, piano, electronics, ethereal samples, strings and hushed vocals to build layered instrumental and vocal soundscapes.

Early releases

Alexander self-releases his first set of home recordings in 2007 as EP1. The release sells out quickly, which leads to a reissue deal with Dead Pilot Records. He then works with the label again on Departures, the project’s second release. That album features lush strings and introduces voice for the first time in Alexander’s recordings. It is limited to 500 CDs and comes in distinctive handmade-style packaging with brown parcel paper, string and a hidden old photograph in each copy.

Live work and later albums

Alexander plays his first Message to Bears live show in Oxford in 2009, performing with close friends on a range of instruments. The project later appears on stage with artists including Nils Frahm and Olafur Arnalds.

Folding Leaves, the second full-length album, is released in 2012 through Dead Pilot Records in the UK and Nature Bliss in Japan. In the same year, Alexander releases an electronic EP under the name J.R Alexander on Sound In Silence Records. His third full-length album, Maps, follows in 2013 and is his first self-released album since the debut.