Leeds based singer & songwriter - Jaayns creates melodic alternative music from her home studio in Leeds and regularly collaborates with other artists, writers and producers across multiple genres of music. Jaayns music is alternative-indie, with layered melodies, vocals, synths and beats. Influenced by artists such as Bjork, Grimes, Caroline Polachek and Banks, she works on different collaborations to explore alternative genres of music as an art form. Jaayns debut EP ‘Bright White Yellow’ - came out at the end of 2017, since then she has released a follow up EP ‘Push Bar to Open’ in 2020 and a number of singles and collaborations.
By Kamil Bobin
Discovered via Musosoup
Kamil) Hey Jaayns, super nice to have the chance to chat with you. What first got you into music?
Hi thank you, you too. I’ve grown up with music mostly listening to dance and indie music. I used to write poems and stories as a kid but I’d make melodies up in my head. I picked up some basic chords on the guitar and met other songwriters and realised this is what I wanted to do.
What jobs have you done other than being an artist?
I went into IT and computers from leaving school as I didn’t really know anyone in music or creative arts which is what I really wanted to do but then I studied music and photography in the evening and weekends which introduced me to other Songwriter and Musicians. I also ran some live music nights before the pandemic which I’m hoping to start up again soon and I’ve started a podcast interviewing other songwriters and artists.
Your latest song is 'Call You Out'. Can you tell us more about the making of it and if there were any unusual things happening during the process?
I wrote Call You Out with leeds songwriter and producer Ben Matravers that I wrote my last two EPs with, it came together really quickly but we hadn’t written together for some time so had loads to talk about. It was written and all the vocals recorded on the same day which doesn’t always happen. We were playing around with a new synth which created the bass at the start of the track initially and it went from there.
What do you dislike about the art world?
Mostly how little it seems to be appreciated, everyone is expected to work for free so most artists and musicians are having to work multiple jobs to fund their music and do everything as an indie artist until they can get a team around them. I find most artist and musicians are the hardest working people I know and a lot of amazing people have given up completely as they’ve not been able to cover their bills, especially since live music stopped with the pandemic, I’m really grateful live music has now started up again now.
Describe a real-life situation that inspired you?
I write mostly from my own experiences but I often turn events that have happened into characters that sort of take on a life of their own or exaggerated to bring out the main idea for the song.. but mostly they’re all based on my own experiences or I’ve switched roles round. I find that if it’s built on some truth it means more to me and i can connect with it. If I can’t do that then it normally doesn’t get finished.
What accomplishments do you see yourself achieving in the next five to 10 years?
Mostly I want to just keep on writing, cowriting and doing interesting creative projects for as long as I can and see where that takes me.
What’s your scariest experience?
I think there are many as I’m quite introverted when it comes to my creativity so doing anything that puts me out front and centre always raises my anxiety levels but music mostly helps me get through things as I can let it take over and get lost in it, maybe that’s why I love it so much.
How would you describe the music that you typically create?
Mostly I love layers of sounds from vocal layers to synths and beats and piano and bass, for my own music this is where I normally start but I also grew up with pop, Americana and indie music and I love lyrics and stories. I like loads of genres of music so I like the challenge or working with other artists and producers across different styles of music. I don’t mind if it’s Pop, Dance, country, folk, jazz, soul and R&B it’s about creating something that I love and working with the sounds and collective experiences of the collaboration.
Have you ever taught or mentored another musician?
I do a lot of songwriting sessions and run some songwriting retreats. So yes where there are new writers who haven’t collaborated before I’m happy to help them feel comfortable with the process as it can be abit overwhelming to start with.
What is the best advice you’ve been given?
To jump and the net will appear or find the first step then the next.. you can sometimes massively over think as an artist and you try to plan everything out in your head and then not actually get very far.. reality is often very different to what you think it will be in your head and you mostly learn from experience. If you take the first step then see what the next one is or what options that opens up before you know it you’ve walked a mile that’s far more interesting than what you could possibly imagined.. so just get started.