Jay Moussa-Mann is a UK based artist, who had her first radio play in 2018 when Bob Fischer played her on BBC Radio Tees. This spurred her to develop as an artist and challenge herself in her songwriting. She went on to have tracks played on national radio on BBC 6 Music. Called 'genre-defying' by Tom Robinson, Jay is a Sage Summer Studios alumni and an awardee of the Do It Differently Fund through Help Musicians (2021). With her unique lyrical style Jay explores themes of love and belonging in her music. She draws on her life growing up across cultures and is inspired by the songwriting of Maisie Peters, Gregg Alexander and Taylor Swift.
By Kamil Bobin
Discovered via Musosoup
Hello Jay Moussa-Mann. What strengths do you have that you believe make you a great musician?
I love to learn. I’m always researching and listening to song structure and production to see what else I can bring to my own songwriting. I also think I naturally write catchy hooks that are memorable. If I sing a hook to someone who’s not a musician and I hear them humming it a few moments later I know it’s working.
Who inspired you to make music?
My mum is a painter and would always have music playing while she worked. If I was in the same room doing something else she would often tell me about the artist playing, which gradually made me even more interested. She introduced me to Gerry Rafferty, Eric Clapton, K.D Lang. And then someone handed me a bootleg mixtape of Madonna at some point which I just loved.
Your latest release is 'Jay Moussa-Mann'. Can you share with us the background of its creation and did any unusual things happen during its creation?
The album began during 2020. I was very depressed, I had long Covid, couldn’t find the energy to do all the things I normally did and I was shocked by some of the conversations I was hearing that really didn’t line up with my beliefs around many things going on. I woke up in a really dark place one morning and realised I had to speak what I was feeling or I wouldn’t survive. What I had to say came out in the beginnings of songs that eventually turned into this album. American Tennessee was one of the first songs I wrote. It was a breaking up with my old life and looking to something new.
Can you shortly describe each of the tracks that are on the album?
American Tennessee is a really upbeat fun country pop song in the vein of Shania Twain about escaping to somewhere new, War is a darker chill track about repressed rivalries, Green Toyota is a sweet guitar led indie-folk-pop song about staying together when times are tough. One Summer’s Day and Seventeen are two tracks from my time living in Turkey, nostalgic coming of age pop tracks about romances that never happened. White Like You deals with the theme of being mixed race and racial microaggresions, while Speak Now is a more alt country look at the concept of finally saying what you’ve always been afraid to. One Summer’s Day (The Other Story) is One Summer’s Day told from the male perspective and Contradiction of Existence is an alt pop track that talks about isolation and ptsd.
How do you stay up-to-date with the latest musical trends?
I listen to New Music Friday on Spotify as well as newly released albums I like the look of. I regularly scroll for new music on TikTok and read local publications like NARC Magazine and NE Volume to discover new artists.
What makes you different from others?
Having lived across cultures and all over the place, I think I have a different, sometimes unusual perspective on life which I bring to my songs. I’m also fully invested in learning how pop songs work and I’m not afraid to try to sound mainstream, which I think can bring out little bit of snobbery among people in the industry. I find the structure and genre very inspiring and I love trying to add in my own flavour to it.
What’s an average day like for you?
I work part time creating videos and social media content so I try to write a lyric or a melody or a hook every day in my lunch break or after work and I spend the evenings and weekends working on my songwriting and music production as well as all the social media content I make for my own releases.
Please discuss how you interact with and respond to fans.
I am very present on social media so I have a lot of interaction with fans through DMs on Instagram or comments on TikTok and YouTube. I do also have a newsletter where I correspond with fans too. I like to respond to people individually.
What advice would you have for someone wanting to follow in your footsteps?
Be patient. Keep putting songs out. If you love your songs but are unhappy with your production try and find someone to work with you. Learn about how the PR works for indie musicians, really research it and don’t waste your money. But most importantly, develop your songwriting however that might look for you, whether its going on a short course, or finding a mentor or just reading books about songwriting and analysing your songs against commercial successes.
What are your plans for the future?
I have a few plans that are still cooking. And I will definitely be working on some brand new songs. Stay tuned and follow me on whatever social platform takes your fancy to see what happens next ; )