'LIFE'S SHORT, LIVE BIG' / Jesswar [Interview]
Loving you is paradise, the flag behind Jesswar proclaims, and this could not be a more apt piece of decor for the writer of LIFE’S SHORT, LIVE BIG.
A few weeks ago Jesswar released ‘Hefty’, the latest single from their upcoming mixtape LIFE’S SHORT, LIVE BIG. A powerful proclamation of the artist’s rightful place within the so-called Australian rap community, ‘Hefty’ leans into its trance-like boom-bap beat, where it transports the listener directly to the heart of Summer.
Ahead of the mixtape set to release on September 23rd via [PIAS] Australia, we spoke to Jesswar about ‘Hefty’, bedroom pop, and how this mixtape helped them reconnect to themselves throughout a series of lengthy lockdowns.
What was the process of writing this mixtape? How long has it been in the works?
I started making this around the end of last year. Before that I had a completely different project I was gonna release that was going to be a full-length mixtape. Halfway through last year I just scrapped the whole thing. I felt a gut instinct to start something fresh, so I started working on these new tracks with a producer called Brendan Jonack. Basically I recorded and tracked all the vocals by myself in my room. It was a pretty fast process. I was using a new way of writing and recording where I was writing the song as I was recording the tracks as I wrote, which means all the vocals that you hear are all first demo vocals.
I found that in the past I would go back and forth, constantly changing things which took a lot of creative freedom away from me. I felt like I’d lost the joy of writing. Writing these tracks meant I could capture my creative flow and gave me so much more freedom. I would bounce the songs out, do a little demo mix myself, go into my car and blast them and just drive around for ages and keep listening. It was something that really got my creative steam back.
It felt like the first time recording a song again. It was a really special moment. Maybe two years ago I wouldn’t have released these songs because I wouldn’t have been at the level personally to be so free in myself. It all ties back into making this project in a couple of months and doing every element of creating, getting to live in these songs for eight months.
How much did the pandemic impact the experience of sitting with yourself and these songs?
The pandemic completely changed my life. Everyone experienced their world being tipped on its head and having to come out of it, which for me definitely was this project. All of the writing was done by correspondence. I recorded everything solo in my studio room which reframed my mind and my own personal values of what I want as an artist. I completely changed my process and way of thinking. I was coming at writing from a completely different angle where I felt more calm and gentle and was able to tap into different sides of myself. I didn’t feel like I had to be tough all the time. It felt okay to be soft, which is still so tough and staunch. To be gentle and to be vulnerable is really powerful. [Realising this] has given me so much peace in myself. It was a real struggle though. I feel like you have to go to those deepest darkest pits to regrow, just like a flower does.
“To be gentle and to be vulnerable is really powerful. [Realising this] has given me so much peace in myself. It was a real struggle though. I feel like you have to go to those deepest darkest pits to regrow, just like a flower does”.
Speaking about the need to be tough, how much of that is impacted by being someone other than a cis white male in a very cis white male industry? How much of that toughness came out of trying to compete with that culture?
I feel like my whole life I’ve just been in survival mode. From when I was a kid to a young person to now, I’ve always had that tough skin where if something happens you just get back up and keep going, keep going, keep going. I feel like I didn’t process it all and just kept trying to be as tough as I could be no matter how many times I got knocked down or how many times I was tired and wanted to rest. I feel like I went through a journey where being gentle is tough, and the process of tapping into those sides of yourself is probably the strongest thing you can do. Through everything, in life and in the industry, I just try to keep my head up high and focus on my values, what I want to do, and what I want to share and give back to the world.
Can you speak a bit about ‘Hefty’ and ‘Fell in Love’? What is the significance of those songs that lead them to be chosen as singles for this project? How did they come into your life?
I love Fell in Love and Hefty because they’re both sonically, visually, lyrically, so different from each other. Going on that smoother RnB vibe with Fell in Love was something that I had never done before. It was a really cool challenge to write like that. I learnt that you don’t need that many lyrics to write. It was a really fun experience to write some softer music. When I transformed it to the live show it was such a different experience for me too. Typically I like to go a bit crazy on stage, so it was nice to have that softness. Hefty reminds me of that hunger that I have. Having those two sides of me, that tender and gentle side and also that hunger, that fire in my belly to just keep going and never give up. When I first recorded Hefty, I was driving in my car and just bounced it out. I love those songs, I listen to them all the time myself. They brought back my joy.
How was returning to performing live after the pandemic?
It was pretty strange. Before the pandemic I was playing shows all the time so I was just used to the schedule of travelling, bumping in, bumping out, playing to different crowds. I think when you do something so much you get accustomed to it. Coming together after lockdown I feel like everybody: performers, artists, people going to the festival, crew, everyone felt a bit unsure. You could definitely feel that when you returned to those spaces. It was the fear that it was going to get taken away again. I was so excited for it though. In the lockdowns I used to just play my songs by myself so it's been a really cool experience to share. I’m really keen to play this project live and experiment with a bit of a live show. I’m excited to explore playing with a live drummer and building up those stage elements. I’m really keen to get back on that tour loop.
What does touring look like for you coming up?
We're playing Wildlands festival tour, which goes to Adelaide, Brisbane and Perth. We’re also playing Beyond the Valley in Melbourne and Melt Festival in Brisbane. We’re also playing Strawberry Fields as well, so we’ve got a few festivals which I’m really excited about.
Once this mixtape is out in the world is there anything else you’re looking to get working on? Is there anything else bouncing around in your brain?
Since I sent this off to get mastered a couple of months ago I’ve been working on some new music that I’m just so excited to release. This was finished at the start of the year so I want to release new music straight away after this and go down a different route in terms of genres. This mixtape is very genre-bending, there’s lots of different sub=genres of hip-hop and RnB, and so many different flavours in there. I’m really keen to experiment with some more sounds and see where that takes me on the next project.
What were you listening to while you were working on this project?
I was listening to so many different artists. I was listening to a lot of Slowthai, Remi Wolf, Grace Ives, Winston Surfshirt, Mallrat. I was listening to lots of bedroom pop artists that maybe aren’t too big as well that I found on Spotify and getting into that vibe. I really was just loving the whole bedroom pop vibe and seeing how those artists create. They were definitely way different genres than what I was normally listening to. I was listening to much heavier music before.
Is there anyone from the bedroom pop scene that you feel like doesn’t get enough love?
I feel like Grace Ives is so dope. I just love her whole vibe. Remi Wolf too. I was listening to Remi eight years ago so it's been really cool seeing her career path. I’m really keen to see her live. We’re actually doing the same tour so I’m really excited about that.
The ability to just make something out of nothing seems like it was a big part of writing this project.
Absolutely. We just filmed another video where we just cruised around with a camera. Same with Hefty, I just called up one of the guys that I know and said ‘can we just film around Brisbane?’. We just went to different places and started filming. We just made it happen, made it work. It’s excited me so much to just be able to create like that again without insanely stupid schedules and deadlines. It’s cool to just sit with the flow as you go. It gives you way more freedom.
How did being in and around Brisbane after travelling so much impact your writing? How much of the environment around you influenced the writing?
I moved down to the Gold Coast a year and a half ago so being around the rainforest and the ocean and the fields inspired this whole project. I moved in the middle of COVID because I wanted to change my life. I was living in the city in an industrial area and I just wasn't having a good time. I love being by the ocean so I promised myself that I would move to the ocean and I just did it. It changed my whole perspective. It definitely chilled me out. I felt like a calmer person then and just being by the ocean feels really beautiful. That inspired everything within both me personally and this whole project, and it reminded me of that joy of creating. It reminded me not to be too hard on yourself, to not torture yourself with your art. Just put it out. Before this I didn’t put any music out for years. For this project it was like “f- it, just put it out”.
Is there anything else about this project you really want to speak about?
The coolest part about the whole project was having my friends play all my demos before it was actually released. I’m so excited that we got it on vinyl. It’s always been my goal to have my own vinyl so I’m so happy we got it pressed. For the album cover we just took a photo on an iPhone just of me and a blank wall. I feel like the best lesson from this project is just being able to create with what you’re got and what’s around you. You just make it work. This project probably feels the most me out of anything I’ve ever done.
LIFE’S SHORT, LIVE BIG is out September 23rd via [PIAS] Australia.
Stay up to date with Jesswar on Instagram.
Written by Asha-Mae Chapman Ralph (@flaming_mongrel)
Photos by Jade D'Amico (@jadedamico)
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