The Caretaker was a long-running project by English ambient musician, James Leyland Kirby. His work as the Caretaker is characterized as exploring memory and its gradual deterioration, nostalgia, and melancholia. The project was initially inspired by the haunted ballroom scene in the 1980 film The Shining, the 1978 TV show Pennies from Heaven, and the 1962 film Carnival of Souls. His first several releases comprised treated and manipulated samples of 1930s ballroom pop recordings. Most of his album covers were painted by one of his friends, Ivan Seal.
The Caretaker's works have received critical acclaim in publications such as The Wire, The New York Times, and BBC Music.