It feels like a little lull, a moment of peace in the middle of all this chaos. Was that intentional?
Yeah, definitely. ‘Roan’ was a song I wrote in a very short amount of time, and I wrote it in response to the death of a friend. I was asked to play at his funeral, and I felt like I didn’t have enough time to write a song for him. So I just sat down and wrote something that was kind of about my feelings about him, but also about what I was going through at the time. It was a very reflective moment for me, and I think it fits really well as a break in the storm that is the rest of the record. It’s like a moment of quiet contemplation before diving back into everything else.
It’s a beautiful song, and it really does provide that moment of respite. Moving on to the production side of things, working with boygenius must have been incredible. What was it like collaborating with them on this record?
It was amazing. They’re all such talented musicians and producers in their own right, and they all brought something special to the table. Phoebe was really great at helping me find my voice and my sound, and she pushed me to explore different ways of singing and playing guitar. Lucy was like the mastermind behind the scenes, making sure everything flowed smoothly and that the record had a cohesive feel. And Julien brought this incredible emotional depth to the whole process; she really understood what I was trying to say with my songs and helped me bring that out in the recording. It was a collaborative effort in every sense of the word, and I’m so grateful for their input and their friendship throughout the whole process.
What’s next for you after the release of the album?
Well, we’re planning on doing a tour in support of the record, which I’m really excited about. It’ll be my first time touring with a full band, so that’s going to be a whole new experience for me. I’m also working on some new music, experimenting with different sounds and ideas. I’m really just trying to keep pushing myself creatively and see where it takes me. I’m so grateful for all the support I’ve received so far, and I can’t wait to see what the future holds.
It’s been a really intense process for me, and I feel like I have so much more clarity and focus now. I think that’s reflected in the music I’ve been making. I’m really excited to see where this new chapter takes me creatively. And having supportive collaborators like Phoenix and my other friends has been so inspiring and motivating. I feel like I’m finally able to fully express myself and tell my story through music in a way that feels authentic and true to who I am. It’s been a journey, but I’m grateful for where it’s taken me and I can’t wait to see what the future holds. Thank you for listening and being a part of this journey with me. But she took the first two choruses and replaced them with the middle eight sections. It just suddenly worked so much better. I was just like, “Oh, my god, how did I not think of that?” That was a huge moment of realization for me in terms of songwriting.
The Trans Chorus of LA were in the studio with us for maybe three hours, and we did a couple of different takes of ‘Tesco’ and ‘Elephant’. They were absolutely incredible. I will never forget watching them sing ‘Tesco’ and getting goosebumps – it was so powerful. They’re so good; they were just incredible. And then, for ‘Elephant’, we had a pretty big choir of them, and Harv had them do these spoken word parts. I’m a huge fan of the album To Bring You My Love by PJ Harvey, and I think the choir in ‘Elephant’ is very much inspired by that album. I remember listening to that album, and it just blew my mind. It’s pretty dark, but it’s also really beautiful.
I think it’s really important to me to have that element of community in my music. When I was in boygenius, it was just so much fun to write with other people, because you’re bouncing ideas off each other. I think one of the best things about trans people is that we’re so good at creating communities, because we have to be. It’s so important for trans people to have that support. I think it’s just so important to have people around you who are going to support you and lift you up.
I’m really excited to see what happens next. I have so many ideas for the next record already. I think I’ve got six songs already that I’m really excited about. It’s just going to be so much fun to try out new things and see where it takes me. I’m really excited for the future. It could be about Lucy, Phoebe, Julien, and all the people who have supported me and helped me through my journey. And when Lucy sings those lines, it feels like they’re singing them to me, and it feels like I’m singing them to them, too. It’s really beautiful how the meaning of the song has shifted and evolved with the addition of Lucy’s voice and the context of the album as a whole. It’s such a powerful feeling to have these connections and relationships reflected back at me through the music.
Overall, I’m just so grateful for the opportunity to work with such incredible musicians and be a part of this amazing project. It’s been a dream come true, and I can’t wait to see where this journey takes me next.
Hablé de ello con mi hermana elegida, Bola, con quien vivo, y decidí hacerlo porque podía cantarlo sobre eso, ¿verdad? Pero en el estudio, el día de la grabación, simplemente no pude. Seguía teniendo imágenes de mi perro que perdí en el divorcio, y eso era por lo que lloraba cuando intentaba cantar. No creo que pueda cantar eso en vivo nunca. Lloro en el escenario todo el tiempo de todos modos, y sería muy difícil para mí hacerlo. Pero siento que cuando lo escucho ahora, se trata de la familia elegida y la familia queer. Creo que hay esa implicación de que “tú” eres el oyente allí. Estamos hablando de esta increíble conexión que estamos haciendo a través de la música, pero también estamos hablando de la red de solidaridad que tienen las personas queer en todo el mundo.
Esta entrevista ha sido editada y condensada para mayor claridad y longitud.
You Are the Morning de jasmine.4.t. ya está disponible a través de Saddest Factory Records.