The Magic Lantern is the moniker of London based musician Jamie Doe (b. 1985 Canberra, Australia). Jamie started writing songs and performing under the name Magic Lantern while studying philosophy in Bristol from 2003-2006.  The Magic Lantern became a quintet when Jamie moved to London in the summer of 2006 with the addition of long term friend Fred Thomas on percussion, Dave Shulman on clarinets, Lucy Railton on cello and Phil Stevenson on electric guitar. While continuing to play solo and occasionally duo shows with Zac Gvi, the five piece line up became the focal point for developing the sound of the Magic Lantern. Coming from diverse musical backgrounds, the band evolved a unique, transporting sound inspired by the immediacy of folk and a shared love of improvised music, articulated by Fred’s adventurous arrangements of Jamie’s songs.

After self-releasing their first EP, ‘Patriots’ in 2008 with Ben Moorehouse on guitar, their debut album ‘A World In A Grain Of Sand’ was self-released in June 2011 on Hectic Eclectic Records, the label Jamie set up. Recorded by Dave De Rose and mixed by Leo Abrahams, the album has been critically acclaimed by Late Junction’s Verity Sharp, Bob Harris and Tom Robinson (BBC Radio 2, 3 and 6 respectively) among others.

2012 was a year of change that saw Magic Lantern return to its roots of Jamie writing and performing solo. With 2013 already snowily underway and keen to focus on emotional intensity and directness, and to leave open the possibility of collaboration with different artists and musicians, Jamie is currently finishing writing songs for a second Magic Lantern album which is currently being recorded with a UK release in the autumn.