August 6, 2024 • 68 mins
Welcome to the Cloud Machine podcast! Your all-access pass to the music industry, brought to you by Eights, the innovative agency behind some of your favorite live concerts and tours.
In today's episode, host Mat Landry dives deep into the world of music and creative philosophy with the talented artist Jayde. Known for her emotional depth and captivating sound, Jayde shares her insights into the creative process, the evolution of her artistry, and the release of her latest singles "I Don't Want to Hate You" and "Absurdist Reality."
🔍 Episode Chapters:
00:00 - Intro
01:30 - Jayde’s favourite Shows & The 1975
05:15 - I’m Sorry It’s all my Fault, releasing & promoting projects
10:00 - Looks and cooperation vs talent
16:00 - Where the music industry is going, social media vs community building
20:00 - Jayde’s interest in music as a child
25:30 - Sticking to an artistic vision, Jayde’s influences, songwriting
31:50 - Complexity vs clarity in songwriting
37:00 - Openness in collaboration, mutual support, vulnerability in songwriting
43:48 - Role of dynamics in songwriting
47:40 - Navigating creative block, taking breaks
50:30 - Comfortability and your environment’s impact on songwriting
53:14 - Jayde’s future in music & advice to her younger self
56:15 - Absurdist Reality & Upcoming projects
58:45 - Producer’s Game
1:06:00 - Outro
đź”— Stay Connected:
Follow Jayde on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/itsjaydemusic/
Follow Mat Landry: https://www.instagram.com/matlandry_/
Follow Eights: https://www.instagram.com/eightscreative/
Follow Eights Network: https://www.instagram.com/eightsnetwork/
Join the Eights Network Discord: Connect with like-minded individuals, ask questions, and gain access to insider perspectives in the music industry. Join here: https://discord.gg/admhEuP3
đź‘Ť Don't forget to like, comment, subscribe, share, and leave a review!
Cloud Machine is produced by Eights Creative - https://www.eightscreative.com/
Many thanks to LMDSolutions for their support & resources.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
I think that taking time off is really, really important, and I think it only took me, you know,
(00:06):
nine years to realize that. Welcome to the Cloud Machine Podcast, your all-access path to the music
industry. I'm your host, Matt Landry, and every week we immerse you in the music world, uncovering
industry insights, offering expert guidance, and exploring the stories that influence the industry.
The Cloud Machine Podcast is brought to you by AITS, the innovative creative agency behind
some of your favorite live concerts and tours. Want to take your music to the next level?
(00:31):
Join a vibrant community on the AITS Network Discord. And with that, let's get started with
today's episode. Hello, everyone. Welcome back to the Cloud Machine Podcast. This week, we're thrilled
to have the incredibly talented Jade with us. Jade is a dynamic pop artist, and she's been
captivating audiences with her emotive music and powerful performances. With her latest hits,
(00:54):
Like I Don't Want to Hate You, and last Friday's single, Absurdist Reality, Jade is making waves
in the music scene with her new and unique approach to writing and recording. AITS Creative has had
the pleasure of musical directing and performing with her for the past few years, and today we're
diving into her journey, her creative process, and what's on her musical horizon. Hi, Jade, how are
(01:15):
you? Good, how are you? I am fantastic, living, laughing, and loving as we say. I want to start
off the podcast by asking you about your favorite live show experience as a fan.
So I've been to so many shows, like genuinely, I went through a phase there, I think for the year
(01:36):
right before the pandemic, I went to like 21 concerts. Yeah, well, it was actually too much.
I got to the end of it, and I was like, I don't even want to go. But during that, I went to see
the 1975 at Budweiser stage when they were doing their a brief inquiry tour, I think.
(01:57):
And that was like one of the best shows. It's one of the things that I can't remember what made it
so good. And I think that that's like part of what made it so good. Right. It's like, you just go in
and you're completely like enthralled and encapsulated in like the whole like the sound design,
stage design, like everything was perfect and beautiful and amazing. And I just, I love that
(02:21):
show. There's something about the 1975 with this podcast. And specifically, it probably not with
the podcast, but it's probably because I ask a lot of my guests that are like in like the more
of the pop indie scene to come onto this podcast. And the 1975 seems to be like a major reference
for a lot of people, you know, especially with their live show. And it's just, it's just crazy
(02:49):
to see, is there anything that you remember like maybe a song from that from that performance
specifically at the Budweiser stage that like that you keep on sort of referencing or thinking about?
Um, I mean, yes and no, I can't remember the name of it right in this very moment. Yeah.
Yeah. But it's one of like the slower ones. And it just like the way that the song itself builds,
(03:13):
especially live, was like something I had never seen before. And I didn't have a great view of
the stage because their stage design at the time was like those, it was like a box. Yeah. Yeah.
Yeah. And I was like on the one side, but I don't know everything about that show. They just know
how to do a live show. I've seen them so many times now and every time it's a different, but B is like
(03:41):
you're just on a different planet. Right. And can I ask you what makes a live show memorable from
from, from your point of view? Um, is it, is it forgetting sort of that you're, you're, you're
almost there and in the world is sort of like the world doesn't exist except that kind of thing?
(04:01):
Yeah. I think it's like, because sometimes you'll go to a show and you'll like, I mean, at least for
me, having gone to so many. Yeah. I think like forgetting A, what time it is, B, where you are,
C that you have to leave soon, like what place are in their set list, like how much longer you're
going to be there. I think it's just like a complete loss of all of those feelings because
(04:27):
sometimes you'll be, you'll be at a show, you'll be in the audience, you're like checking my time,
it is, you're like, all right, you know, I don't know. Yeah. You see the clock in the arena at the
top. Yeah. And you're like, okay, well, uh, how long is it going to go? They found it like 915 and
it's now like, you know, 10, 15, they're probably going to be done soon. They're probably going to
(04:48):
do the encore. They're going to do the whole thing. Yes. You know? Yeah. Yeah. And you do,
basically what you're saying is that you don't want to have that feeling. No. Yeah. Yeah. Oh, yeah.
If you have that, then you're like, you're still in your body. Like, you know what I mean? Like,
you're still in your head. You're still thinking about all the things you have to do. It's just like,
I don't know. I think that the best live experience can get you away from that. Fantastic. For listeners
(05:15):
who maybe don't know Jade yet, what is the project that you've worked on or worked with or released
that would best represent your work? I mean, the most annoying answer would be what I haven't put
out yet. We've had that before and it's great. It's a great answer. Yeah. Well, I mean, it's like,
it's true because it's the most recent representation of like artistically where I'm at. Yeah. But on
(05:41):
that exact note, the best representation would be the project that I put out. I don't know when 2022
maybe. Yeah. I'm sorry. It's on my fault project only because it is the most recent representation
of me and it feels like that project while not entirely me has a lot of like foundational elements
(06:02):
to like who I am as a person and as an artist like within those songs. Yeah. So yeah. And would you
say, would you sort of because you've had a couple of more recent singles, would you say that
you associate yourself with like entire projects like EPs or albums more than more than the singles
themselves? Yes and no. Because before I started doing projects, I was fully singles based like
(06:30):
me at 18. I was like, I'm not putting out a project. It's not happening. Right. Just doing
singles until there's like a desire for a project that was like my thought process. Yeah. And then
I had a distribution deal and then I had to start making projects because they were like,
we don't really do singles. We just do projects. Okay. Great. So yeah, I think after that, I started
(06:56):
thinking in terms of projects, but I also think that projects can be an accumulation of singles
so that you can kind of get that reach in releasing because sometimes when you put out a project,
people like don't listen to the whole thing, which is really upsetting, but it's like an attention
span thing. Right. I've been hearing lately that like the industry and the artists and especially
(07:21):
like the streaming platforms are trying to push like more and more like projects like full length
projects or at least like singles that like lead to a project. Yeah. How have you been feeling with
that? Yeah. Yeah. I think like signed artists definitely are, but I don't think as an independent
artist, it's as easy to kind of do that because there's a lot of like costs involved with properly
(07:44):
releasing projects. Yeah. And it can be really devastating when you put your heart and soul and
blood and sweat and tears into a project and then you don't have the means to actually put it out.
Yeah. No, it's tough. How do you balance that? Do you sort of you... Okay. So from a business
(08:08):
perspective, I've been told recently, I don't know if I believe this and we'll get into this later, but
I sort of believe it, but there's a little bit of salt there, if you know what I'm saying.
The music industry is like 80% promotion and 20% artistry. And I heard this in a conversation.
(08:29):
I was like, okay, well, there is some meaning to that, but also like from an artist standpoint,
like you shouldn't necessarily be thinking like that. Where do you stand on like the whole like
promoting versus artistry and is there a line there for you? How do you sort of... What are you doing?
(08:53):
It's hard because like any industry executive that you talk to tells you,
like, you need to be posting on TikTok. Any meeting that I have ever had in my entire artist career,
which has been long, has been like, okay, yeah, music's sick. Yeah, that doesn't really matter
(09:15):
if you're not on TikTok, if you're not like posting 17 times a day at 7am and then at 8am and then at
you know, the rest of them post them at 9am. But yeah, I don't know, it's really upsetting,
but I do think that it's kind of true. If you don't have the means to promote your music,
(09:37):
it's naturally not like the algorithm doesn't work in a way that pushes you the way that you
want it to. It's that, if that makes any sense. It's really like, it's really paywalled. You really
have to pay for a promotion or hope that a TikTok blows up. But again, that's a whole
(09:59):
different lottery, right? Yeah, yeah, yeah. Fantastic, fantastic. I want to get into the
quote segment of the podcast, which you highlighted beforehand. You have a few thoughts on this,
which I'm excited to get into. But for those of you who maybe it's the first time listening to
(10:19):
the podcast, hopefully it's not your last, but we do a quote segment on the podcast. Last year
it was the Erica Batu quote comparing artistry to music business and how they are maybe the same,
how they are different, the lines that artists cross and different perspectives on that. This year,
2024, we take a quote from 2004 from Joni Mitchell. Now she says that she heard somebody from the
(10:46):
music business saying this. So she says, I heard someone from the music business saying that they
are no longer looking for talent. They want people with a certain look and a willingness to cooperate.
Now this is from 2004, so 20 years ago. Jada, I'd like to know your first instincts when you
heard the sentence. I mean, my first instincts were like, how do I talk about this without
(11:10):
sounding pessimistic? But it is kind of true. And as someone who's A, a female, B, been in the
music industry since I was 13, it is true. I used to, as a kid, when I was stubborn and thought I
(11:30):
knew what I wanted artistically, anyone that I walked into a room with and I told them what I
wanted to do, it was like, oh, she's stubborn and she's hard to deal with. We just want you to do
this. And because I was stubborn and young, I was like, I don't want to do that. Why would I do that?
And so I think, and then naturally those people come and go and you cycle through them.
(11:55):
But I mean, yeah, that's kind of exactly what happens. And it sucks. But
I mean, 20 years ago, if we were on this road and we're still on it.
Yeah, I guess my question is, do you think it's evolved since then?
(12:16):
Not really. Not really. Okay. And what sort of, what's, which part of the quote sort of sticks
out to you? Because to me and through various previous conversations with individuals, there
seems to be a lot of people concentrating on the industry not necessarily looking for talent anymore.
(12:43):
And then there's people that sort of talk about the industry wanting a certain look and a willingness
to cooperate. There's like three different things there to really highlight. Is there one that like
is specific to you? The willingness to cooperate is, I mean, it's like a double-edged thing,
(13:05):
though, because it's like, obviously you have to be down for like teamwork and like cooperate
with certain things. But it's, I don't know. Honestly, I'm going to spin this a little bit
more positively, but I don't think that not looking for talent is the answer because I think that
naturally those things come and go, even if someone say puts out a song and it's like a one hit wonder
(13:33):
situation. It's, if you don't have like the, actually, if you don't have like all three of
those things, like looking for talent, a certain look and like a willingness to cooperate, it's
like it, it kind of, all of those things are necessary, I think. I completely agree. Yeah.
Like I think that we've gotten to a place where we're looking for at least two of the three.
(13:57):
Yeah. Yes. Yes. It's like, yeah. And honestly, I think nowadays because of the pool of artists,
the music has to be good. Like it doesn't matter the genre. Like the music has to be good,
has to work with a certain audience. And you know, more and more, I really believe that there's
(14:20):
flexibility. And I don't want to say flexibility, maybe openness is the right term here, but
with a certain look because there's so many, the industry is so open now and you know,
and sort of, I don't want to say anybody, but yeah, like anybody can sort of pop off.
But it's the willingness to cooperate. That's a little, it's a little like,
(14:44):
but I mean, like I said, like teamwork is really, really important. And it's not, I think that the
way that it's kind of put in this quote does have a more negative connotation. But I do think that
like a willingness to cooperate, like you have to, you have to give and take, right? You have to,
like for example, when I was signed to my deal, we would have meetings for marketing and things
(15:08):
like that. And it was like, they would throw a bunch of ideas at me and I would take like one or two
of them. Yeah, yeah. Yeah. Okay, you know what? I don't, the TikTok things like not working for me,
it doesn't feel authentic. It feels like I'm playing a character. I don't like it. And then it was like,
okay, well, what if you started vlogging? And I was like, that I can do. Right. I love that. And
(15:33):
then so I started doing that. And it's actually become like one of my favorite hobbies. Right. Yeah.
Yeah. I mean, it's like you giving you take and there are certain things that you can,
you can hold your guard up about, but there are other things that you, you do have to cooperate on
because it is at the end of the day, a business. Yes. Where do you think that this business
(15:54):
and this industry is going? Very generally? Yeah, it's hard to say, like it changes every day.
Okay. I think I'm personally, and I could be so wrong, but this is just me and what I would like
to believe. I'm seeing like the TikTok of occasion of things kind of die out a little bit. Yes.
Nice. Yeah. In a good way. Yeah. Like I just want that to be over. I miss when TikTok was like funny
(16:21):
videos. Like, you know, I just wanted to be what it is. I don't, I don't want it to touch the music
industry. Like I get when songs pop off, you have your, your Apple dance. Oh yeah. Love an Apple dance.
Yeah. But I don't know. I think that it's like, it got too serious and it kind of killed the,
(16:44):
the like sparkle that it had. So I hope that the industry kind of goes in a way that's like
just away from TikTok. That's all I can ask right now. I don't know where it's going to go.
I just want it away from that platform. Right. Do you think there's something
after TikTok? And if so, what do you think it is? For sure there is. Like we,
(17:06):
Yeah, of course. Same thing before it even came out, you know. It's just like, I don't know what
that's going to be. I'm not a, I don't work in app programming. So I don't really know. Yeah.
I think what you'll start to see and what we're already kind of seeing is like
tight knit community building. Yes. I'd like Discord. You have Weverse, which Ariana Grande
(17:30):
just joined. I was on Weverse a long time ago. Mind you, that's like a big, I want to say,
like K-pop space. Right. But I think you're seeing, and I mean, even with Instagram,
doing like the channels and you have close friends and you have specific like close friends
posting now, I think that it's a lot more like community driven as opposed to public driven.
(17:56):
Yes. And I feel like, especially with the Instagram, you know, how like artists are
like creating their own channels now and stuff. Yeah. It's, I feel like because of the algorithm,
the algorithm has sort of like corrupt, like people's like pages. So, and they're not like
seeing the people that they actually want to follow. I feel like people want to see the people
(18:18):
that they actually like and follow now. And it comes back to the community and sort of
fostering those communities, which is, which is fantastic, honestly, for music specifically,
because it's all about that. Anyway, for sure. Well, I mean, like, I have a really close relationship
with like all of my fans. Like I make a conscious effort to like answer every single one of my DMs.
(18:44):
Right, right. Every single one. Some of them are weird. But like, I do make a conscious effort to
like talk to people that love my music and like I'm having full conversation. Like I know about
their lives. And like, it's really, it's important to them. And it's important to me to like
(19:05):
build that because at the end of the day, like the music industry hasn't changed that much. It's all
word of mouth. It's all like sometimes it's Instagram ads. But most of the time it's word of
mouth for like someone to go and be like, Oh my God, you should check out this artist because
first of all, they're a great person. That's a big thing right now too. Where it's like,
(19:26):
totally. People use support, you want them to be like decent human beings. Oh yeah. And so,
yeah, I don't know. I think community building. Yeah, fantastic. Now, I wanted to get into the bulk
of the questions here. For those who have been listening to the Cloud Machine podcast for a
(19:48):
while, know that, you know, sometimes we would talk about the industry. Sometimes we talk about
the creative process here on this one. I wanted to really deep dive on like
the philosophy aspect of it because Jade is that girly, you know.
(20:09):
Philosophy girly. And it just really speaks to her current music and the process that she's been
going through over the past few years. So anyway, I hope you enjoy the next 45 minutes or whatever.
Jade, I want to speak to your early memories and your early sort of connections with music.
(20:36):
What is your earliest memory of connecting with music and how did it shape your path as an artist?
There are a couple that I can remember. So my grandparents on my mom's side are super musical.
There's like, you know, at any time like 12 guitars hanging in the living room,
there's a baby grand or not baby grand, like an upright piano. There's like a bunch of,
(20:58):
I grew up around a lot of music or just instruments in general. And I remember I would like sit at
the piano whenever I would go over to their house and like try and make it sound good. And at one
point I did think that I invented chords just to get what they were, but I would like press one
key and then go to the, you know, like not right next to each other to make a chord. Yeah. So there
(21:26):
was that. There was, I watched August Rush as a kid with my grandparents. That was a big one where
I was like, he can do it. I can do it. Right. Yeah. And then another big one, I think that I've recently
been coming back to is my parents listened to a lot of like pop top 40 radio like Ryan's
(21:48):
depressed on the air kind of thing. And I remember I was in the car with my mom one time and a
Maroon five song was playing like a really old one. And me as a child listening to this song
about his partner cheating on him, I go, what is this song about? You know, I'm like a kid. I don't
(22:09):
know anything. And I'm like, mom, like what, what is he talking about? And I'm like listening to the
lyrics. And she, so she explains the song to me a little bit. And I was like, Oh, okay. So I was like
innately like interested in what went into making a song. I wasn't listening to it as like a 13 year
old in the back. But yeah, I think that I was just like very, very interested in how everything
(22:36):
worked immediately. Yeah, no, that's great. And like from from the creation aspect and like what
what from the the entire sort of process of it. Yeah, that's great. Like, I just wanted to understand
it. And from there, from that moment, almost, I think I was like, I was like, I could, I could
(22:58):
write songs. I could do that. Yeah. And then I started. It does two things on my end. I want to
highlight August Rush. What are my favorite movies as a as a I don't want to say as a kid,
because I discovered it maybe a little later on. But what a fantastic movie just for like wonder
(23:21):
and music. And and it's a wreck for the people listening. Go check out August Rush.
Also, you mentioned Ryan Seacrest. Yeah, I was a kid. Funny story. When I was a kid.
So like the hot 93 five channel in Sudbury, Ontario. Yeah, Ryan Seacrest was the host.
(23:42):
And I always thought that like Ryan Seacrest was like in Sudbury, like he was like this Sudbury
like host kind of thing. And it wasn't just like a like a radio program that was like literally
blasted out to the world from LA or whatever it is. And once I saw him on like American Idol or
whatever, being the host and I was like, what the heck is this guy doing here? I didn't know that
(24:07):
there was like, there's like a world outside of Sudbury's a hot 93 five channel for Ryan Seacrest.
Like I thought he was just like this insane host. Like, like, guy's really good at his job.
Yeah. No, honestly, I think I'm going to talk about the same thing. I didn't understand how the radio
worked until I was on the launch. And then I got invited to my local radio station at the time.
(24:30):
And I finally met the radio host that I've been listening to since I was a kid.
Like it was wild. I've never exactly liked that. And like the voice too. Nice.
Yeah. You guys are not supposed to be here. This is not the.
Yeah, you're supposed to be on the radio. Yeah. Yeah. Oh my gosh. Yeah. And I was like,
(24:52):
yeah. And also like the radio like hosts in my in Sudbury, like the local radio hosts are like
celebrities. But like if you meet them in public, it's just like this random guy. It's like, oh,
like I've never seen a picture of you ever. Like I wouldn't even expect you to look like this or
like anything. Like I didn't even like, I didn't even picture you physically. You know, it's like,
(25:15):
it's like, who's this person that sounds like the guy on the radio?
Yeah. How do you say to your artistic vision in an industry that is constantly changing?
Um, I mean, the industry is constantly changing. But like so is my artistic identity. Like as I
(25:37):
grow and learn, I feel like I'm kind of growing alongside it, like not necessarily within it.
Um, because that's a that's a whole other thing. But I think it's mostly just like,
they kind of grow in tandem. Yeah. Kind of. Um, yeah. And also like, I've always been a really
(26:00):
art forward person. I'm like, if it clicks, it clicks. If it doesn't, it doesn't. Like I can only
do so much of my own promotion that like, if it doesn't click with the industry side,
that's fine. It's still, it's like, I still love the song. Yeah. I don't know.
Do you find yourself, I mean, you're telling me right now that you're sort of
(26:24):
alongside the music industry as it grows and you're also growing. Do you find yourself influenced by
what's happening in the industry sometimes? Sometimes I remember when the most recent
Dua Lipa album came out, I was like, I'm going to start making like pop pop again.
Right. And then, and then I tried it and I was like, no, no, no. I was like, it doesn't,
(26:46):
it doesn't feel like me. So then I just, I started writing like pitch songs that were like in that
pop pocket and it kind of like, um, suppress that need for me to do it and like give into the
mainstream kind of thing. Cause I've been trying to get away from that for this current project
that I'm working on. I'm trying to like be a little different. Almost got me.
(27:13):
No, that's the, yeah. I mean, I found myself influenced by different, different projects.
I know we have a very common, um, artists that, you know, we're inspired by the both of us,
uh, Toronto based, uh, Sia Gray, um, which sort of inspired me to look beyond, um, just the, the,
(27:41):
the con forms of like how music can be sort of made specifically made and written in 2024.
Although it's not necessarily pop, uh, leaning, uh, it still has some pop
sensibilities while being, I don't know, a little bit more on the alternative side of things. Um,
(28:01):
how has, how has size music, and I want to talk about references later as well, but, um,
how has her music, um, influenced like your current, the current music that you're putting out?
I think the way, like even just sonically, it's not even like a lyrical thing, but I think
every listening to her music had changed something in my brain in the way that I'm like processing
(28:27):
how something makes me feel. Yeah. Because a lot of times I was like, I, I'm, I mean, I still am,
but a very lyric focused writer. And I was like, it just, the lyrics need to be perfect. And then
like the production will also be there. Um, but I think with listening to her music, I've realized
(28:48):
how kind of sparse it can be lyrically and how impactful it can still be. And then when I went
into start making the stuff that I've been making, it was a lot of like, okay, the lyrics that I'm
writing have this kind of like grit and depth to them that we need to match sonically. Right.
(29:09):
And I think like a lot of times if we'd be writing something that was kind of like aggressive or, um,
kind of like hard hitting a little bit scary sounding, I was like, all right, get the crunchy
synths. Let's go. Like I'm like, need like epicness. We need like big drums, you know, things like that.
(29:29):
Um, and I think that her music not only like opened my eyes to that idea, but also made me feel okay
with doing something a little bit left of center, especially considering I've done pop for the last
like 10 years. Yeah, totally. Can you speak a little bit to the product, the creative process of,
(29:52):
of doing this sort of collection of songs that you've been putting out and that you'll be continuing
to put out compared to your early projects? Yeah. Um, I mean, everything that I've been working on
comes from a place of I would write or I would have an idea and I would sit there for like hours
(30:13):
trying to like chip away at it and make it sound like I would try and chip away at like the words
that I was using to make it sound more interesting as opposed to being like,
I don't know. I don't even have an example really, but it's kind of like, I was listening to a lot of,
um, Lord, like Lord has always been a big influence and I remember seeing something,
(30:40):
one of the producers that she's worked with was talking about how she'll just like,
you know, you say like, oh, she walked across the street and she would like chip away at that
until it's like she danced across the pavement. She'd like, you know, like to figure out a way
more interesting way of saying something or a more poetic way. Right. So when I went into
(31:05):
making these songs, that was like something that was really important to me to like push
that boundary a little bit for myself because it was a boundary of my own. And so now I have songs
with like lyrical content in them where like my mama listened to them and be like, what are you
saying here? Like, what does that mean? And I'll be like, you don't get it. You don't get it. It's
(31:25):
okay. Right. And then I'll explain it. I have this one line in the song that's like, I don't want to
be wrapped up in silver. But initially what that started was was like, how can I find a cooler
way of saying I don't want to find a silver lining or like I don't want to be second place to someone
else? Like, I was just like, how can I make that sound cooler? And then I came up with, I don't want
(31:46):
to be wrapped in silver. Yeah. Anyways, no, that's great. That is, that is great. And it's a great
example as well. Yeah. How do you balance the technical sort of and technical skills and process
of like writing, you know, a more complex song with maybe emotional expression or communicating sort of,
(32:18):
you know, communicating in like,
I don't want to say more clear way for your audience. Like, is there now like,
is there now a balance between like, okay, making it a little bit more like complex and precise
versus more like general and sort of open to anybody kind of thing to understand the music?
(32:43):
I mean, it's not necessarily something that I consciously think of. Yeah. But it's definitely
like, okay, if we're going to have to like craze the kind of sounding lines, like poetic, really
have to read into them lines, then maybe we'll just be like, love you, baby, you know, like afterwards,
like kind of, you just want to clarify. Yeah, yeah, yeah, really like bring it all together
(33:10):
with something that everyone will understand. I don't know. It's not like I said, it's not something
that I think about really, because as I was writing it, this next like slew of songs,
I was like really trying to make every line be something a little bit more intricate than I
(33:33):
would normally write. Right. But it was all in an effort to like just become a better songwriter.
That's what I do. And it ended up sounding really cool when I did. So we're doing okay.
Yes. But yeah, I don't know. It's not it's not something that I really
that I'm like, okay, because we did this, we now have to say something a little more simple. It just
(33:55):
kind of like whatever works in the flow of things. Yeah. That's great. Can you describe the moment
when a song truly comes alive for you? Maybe it's maybe it's in the process of sort of, I don't
want to say changing your sound, but the evolving sort of aspects of Jade and your music.
(34:17):
Can you describe the moment when you like sort of found that sound and when a song truly comes
alive? Yeah. I mean, I think it comes into its own. Yeah, like multiple different stages,
like for absurdist reality, for example, when we were making it, I remember it was like one of
(34:42):
the first songs that I had written off the tail end of like putting out my last project. And I
remember kind of working through it and hearing the production. And as soon as we laid down the
vocals for it, and did like all the harmonies and stuff, and we built up the production.
(35:02):
And then I could, I could like feel the bass and the song like hitting me in the studio.
That was one moment. But then I would say another one is when we, I mean, we just performed it live
for the first time ever, which I didn't like clock in my brain that we had never done it before.
But I think that looked like reflecting on that show that we just did. And remembering that we
(35:27):
played it for the first time. That was another moment where I was like, Oh, this is like a real
song that now people have heard. Right. Right. Right. I don't know. I think there's like multiple
different, there's like checkpoints until it gets until it's, you know, released. And even
once it is released, that's like a whole different version of being alive. Yes. How do you navigate
(35:50):
that? Because I know a lot of artists are like, once it's released, it's like, okay,
now like they're not responsible for it. Or it's like, it's like, this is like, this is yours now.
You know, which, which is, you know, a lot of people say that and it's sort of cheesy, but
there's some, there's definitely a degree of truth to that in regards to like the artist
not necessarily having ownership over it anymore, because it's just now the world.
(36:14):
Yeah. Well, I think because before you release a song, it's like all your opinion about it and
all of your feelings about it are exclusive to you, like no one else outside of like family and
friends who are naturally going to tell you that they love it. Yeah. It's like the only opinion
you have is your own. And then when you put it out, you're like, it's like this wave of what
(36:39):
other people think of it after sitting with it for who knows how long. Right. So yeah, I would say like
it's, it's one of those things that it's still yours, but it kind of like takes on this new
persona. It kind of like puts, it takes its mask off finally, you know, right? Yeah.
(37:03):
How do your collaborations influence your personal sound and what do you seek for in collaborators?
That's a good question. I don't know, because for this project specifically, I was really
just working with like one producer. Yes. Shout out. Yeah, shout out TJ.
(37:30):
TJ Whitelaw, everybody. Yeah. Great producer, great guitarist. I think a lot of it comes from
just a willingness to be open to like any idea. I think that that influences a lot of
what I was doing because with a lot of people that I was working with before, A, because I didn't
(37:51):
know what I wanted to do, but also B, because a lot of the people I was working with before are like
pop R&B producers. Right. Oh, they kind of know production style, what they want to hear. And
because I was like not fully knowing what I wanted to do, I kind of, you know, ran with it. And I
(38:11):
mean, it works, but it's also like not entirely, it wasn't like heavily influenced by like my
decision, if that makes any sense. It sounds like it's not. But I think going into this new project,
having like an openness and a willingness to just like, you know, change something entirely or
(38:34):
what if we took all of this production out and put in a guitar here instead? Or like, you know,
I think it's just a willingness to try anything and kind of take the strangest requests and like
run with them. Like when I first met TJ, I walked into the studio and I was like, yeah, so I just
(38:57):
put out a project. And now I'm thinking about doing like, imagine if Charlie XCX and Stranger
XCX and Strokes did like a collab. Right. That's kind of, he was like, okay, I'm down.
And, you know, from there, it was a lot of like, we would start a song on a guitar and then I'd be
(39:20):
like, we need synthesizers, we need really crunchy, wavy synthesizers to come in. Yeah. And I mean,
you kind of hear that on, I don't want to hate you less on absurdist reality, because it is very,
like, very techno-y, you know, but yeah, with I don't want to hate you, the whole song is like,
(39:41):
really guitar, piano, really pretty sounding, not super far off from what I was doing before.
And then at the end of the song, we have that like massive, weird dance break. We didn't get
enough of doing those. We did that on like three different songs over the course of that, like,
couple weeks. No, fantastic. What's the most profound lesson you've learned from another musician?
(40:09):
I don't know if it's profound, like it feels kind of like a really simple thing to say, but
yeah, that mutual support can go such a long way. Yes. Like, I've been really lucky to come into some
really amazing friends in music in the last couple years that I've never had that before.
(40:32):
And I was actually talking to my mom about it because at the show that we just did, like,
all of my music friends are all there. Right. They're all like front row singing every lyric
and my mom was like, it's so nice to see that. And I was like, yeah, but like, I do it for them too.
And it's not like, we don't even think about it. It's not even like a, it's not even, it's just like
(40:55):
the support that you can get from one another is so beyond helpful. And it's not something that I
had ever had the pleasure of experiencing before. Yeah. I think that that's a lesson that I'm learning
right now is that it actually is so important, the people that you surround yourself with in such a
vulnerable kind of space. Yeah. Do you think that creating that like tight knit group of people was
(41:23):
natural or was it sort of intentional? I think it was a mix of both because I think that it was
like I needed it to happen. Sure. Whether or not I knew that it was going to happen or if it was
going to be this wonderful group of people that I know now, I definitely needed people that understood
(41:46):
the way that my brain works in terms of like trying to be in the music industry. Yeah.
So I don't know. I think like in a roundabout way, I had been looking for something like that.
But I don't think like I do think that I kind of stumbled into it in the best way.
And I'm like so, so grateful for it. But yeah. Yeah. No, that's really great. And you know,
(42:11):
I've been seeing the friends and the people around you for a little bit of time now. And it's so great.
And just even their energy at the front of the stage is great. And Shadow of Maddie specifically.
Yeah. Nia Natterada knows how to sing and dance at the front of the stage. Yeah. She's great.
(42:32):
How do you approach the concept of vulnerability in your songwriting?
I don't ever like consciously approach it. It just kind of happens. I think because
when I started songwriting, it was very much so it came from a place of me not being able to
actually confront people with how I was feeling. Like the first song I ever wrote was this song
(42:56):
about how my three best friends at the time in like grade eight, they had posted a photo of the
three of them for National Best Friend Day. But it was initially a picture of the four of us and
they had cropped me out of it. Oh. And so because I was like, I don't know how to talk to them about
(43:17):
how this hurt my feelings. So I'm just going to write a song about it, I guess. Because I don't
know how to, I don't, me as like in grade eight, I'm like, I don't know how to like have conflict
with people. I don't know how to do that. So I just did it. And I think like starting from that kind
of vulnerable place, I haven't known anything different. Right. Yeah. So I don't, I don't really
(43:43):
like approach it. It just kind of is totally. You've just always sort of had that. That's great.
What role does silence or space play in your music, especially these days?
Yeah. I don't, I don't know. I don't, I think that it's, I don't know. I'm always surrounded by like
(44:08):
sounds. Like when we get off this, like there's going to be music playing here. And my mom always
says I don't put enough space in between some of my lyrics. Like I'm very wordy. Oh, interesting.
Yeah. I'm not like, I'm not great with silence. I don't think that it plays a huge role.
Right. Maybe, maybe the question is, how have you sort of included the musical technique of
(44:36):
dynamics in your, in your, in your, in your new music? Because that's, for me, that's one of the
biggest differences in your new sound compared to your past projects. It's very much dynamics and
very much different structures and not necessarily because, because you're, you know, your structures
(45:01):
are still very like verse pre-chorus verse pre-chorus bridge chorus, things like that. But
there's, I just, from my perspective, there's been just a very different approach of production
and sort of simplifying, but also going crazy sometimes as well. Can you speak a little bit
(45:23):
about that? Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I think because we were doing, at least to me, what felt so intense
in some of the choruses, I was like, we need to like, we need to rein it in. Because if we just
keep going down this like chaotic, really heavy sounding kind of vibe, people are going to,
(45:46):
you know, start to like have a panic attack because it's like really overwhelming sounding.
Yeah. And I think it was just, it wasn't really like, again, I keep saying nothing was conscious,
like it just kind of happened. But I think it kind of needed it. You need to breathe
there after like a big chorus, like what the absurdist reality chorus is or the don't leave
(46:11):
me alone choruses. Like, especially with don't leave me alone, which is not out yet and it won't
be out for a while. But it's like really, really big, intense lyrically and production wise in the
chorus there. And then all of a sudden, everything's back out. And it's just like this really pretty
vocal. Yeah. And it's like guitars again. I think when you're writing things with such depth,
(46:36):
you do kind of need to like, it feels almost like you're almost out of the atmosphere. And then
it's like, Oh, now just getting your back. Yeah. So I think, I think it was like, it was a, it was
weird because it happened without planning, but yeah. Well, I honestly, I think a lot of the best,
maybe not the best, but the more natural creative processes are like that, you know,
(47:02):
it's not necessarily conscious, but it's almost like, okay, what comes to mind? And what fits
just naturally. And you know, no, I think it's, I think it's great and all fits together. And
yeah, just giving you your flowers for that and TJ as well. So there you go.
Sorry. I'll pass along the message. Yeah, please. Or TJ, if you're listening to this,
(47:26):
I wanted to ask you how you navigate periods of creative block or doubt. Oh, not great. I don't
navigate them great. I think it is like, I'll go through periods of like really low self-esteem
(47:50):
with everything. And then one day I'll wake up and be like, what am I doing? What am I doing?
I'm really self-aware in the sense where I'm like, I need to like, relax a bit because I'm so like,
I'll do 10 things in a week and then like three weeks go by where I'm like, I have nothing to do.
(48:10):
Right. And I'm like freaking out. But I also have gotten a lot better at kind of like
giving myself time and space to like just be a regular human and not like trying to necessarily
like always be doing something because I think it's really important, at least for me,
(48:34):
to take space from music so that I can come back and do something a little bit more productive.
Because when you're making music, you're very influenced by the things that you're making.
It's not only influenced by things around you, but it's influenced by everything that you've been
(48:55):
doing. And so sometimes I find I get like very similar patterns to like production ideas or
melody ideas or lyrical content. And then I'm like, I'm just writing a different version of the same
song over and over again. Like I need to take a break. And so I think that I've gotten a lot
better at navigating that. Okay. I'm realizing the pattern here. I need to like take a few days
(49:22):
off. I need to take a month off. I need to just like sit around and play Zelda for a month. And
then I'll do that. Fantastic. You touched on this a little bit just a few seconds ago, but how does
your environment influence your music? And do you have a specific setting where you feel the most
creative or an L add setting, but also like brain space? Yeah. I think brain space is really
(49:50):
important to me. Yeah. I think that I have to be in a place where I feel like I am able to create
because if I'm like, if something really horrendous has happened, then I definitely need like a
couple days of like a breather before I can go and like make something out of it. Yeah.
(50:16):
But I would say the environment that I create the best in is somewhere where I'm like comfortable
with the people I'm with. Because I feel like sometimes when you get into a session with someone
that you've never worked with before, it can be a little bit anxiety inducing and you're not
(50:36):
necessarily going to get the best product, which I mean, sometimes it happens. It's happened to me
as well where it's like, these are brand new people and then we've made like a great song.
But I think like the whole energy and of the space that you're in when you're trying to make music
is really important to me. I'm like, I need a blanket. I need like a warm drink. I need to
(51:03):
have eaten something so that I'm like just fully, honestly, it's like a very similar way to how I
play video games. It could be like wrapped in a blanket, feeling cozy. And also, I feel like
when you're doing that, it almost, you almost trick your brain into being like, you don't have to
stress about writing a song right now. Because sometimes you'll be in sessions where you're
(51:26):
like, I must write something. Like I did like a pitch camp and I'm like, on my computer, freaking
out, make the best thing that I possibly can. But like when it comes to writing the best thing
for me at least, I have to be like sprawled out on a couch or something and like just on my computer.
Right. Yeah. No, it's great. And it's good that you know that about yourself, right? Because
(51:54):
it's like, it's only after so long that you sort of get to know that about yourself and where you
can thrive and things like that. Yeah. Well, and also like the places in which being sprawled out
on the couch with a blanket around you with a laptop on you is like acceptable and professional.
Right. It's a good balance. Yeah. If you could only convey one message through your music,
(52:18):
what would it be and why?
A message. I would say like, no matter how hard things feel, they're never as bad as you think
they are. Could be a lot worse. I feel like that's what my music lately has been saying.
(52:41):
It's been like, it might seem like it's bad, but there's still a verse after this very intense
chorus. Yeah. It's the light at the end of the tunnel. Yes. There's always a next step. That's
funny. Yeah, exactly. It's never like, you know, I mean, you know the chorus to the one song I'm
(53:02):
talking about, but like it's never, whenever actually that close to dying. Yes. Yeah.
How do you envision your music evolving in the next few years past this,
this project that you're producing right now?
(53:22):
I would say, I mean, I hope to keep doing what I'm kind of doing right now.
Because it feels really good. It feels like someone plugged the USB into my brain and then
just like downloaded it. Right. That's a great feeling. Yeah. And I've never felt like that before.
(53:44):
So I kind of hope that it just keeps growing in the way that it's growing. And you know,
like I always want to be a better songwriter and a better vocalist and a better performer.
So kind of just hoping that because this feels so new, it kind of feels like I'm starting over in
a weird way. Yeah. But I kind of hope that it just continues to like build on top of one another.
(54:09):
You know what I mean? Yeah, totally. I just kind of wanted to like get better.
Sure. Sure. The most simple way of putting it, I just want to get better at the way that I'm going.
Yeah. Yeah. And I mean, it'll evolve the way that it's meant to. It's again, never a conscious
thing. It's just kind of something that happens over time. Yeah. That's fantastic. I think if
(54:36):
everybody strives to just get better, I think that's fantastic. And better, but also just
more specific to what they want. And like your wants always like evolve through time and through
the years. And when you're like you're saying like influencing and influenced and hearing other
projects and stuff like, you know, I'm just I just hope that that's somebody that's something
(55:02):
that people always want to thrive is just to become better. For sure. Looking back, what advice would
you give to your younger self that's just starting in music? Oh, goodness. I think I would tell myself
(55:23):
to go a little easier on myself. I'm like violently hard on myself. And I think that it's
done some good things for me. But I also think that like, just knowing when to take a break,
especially given like who I was influenced by at the time. I think that taking time off is
(55:49):
really, really important. And I think it only took me, you know, nine years to realize that.
But I think I would say, yeah, like, give yourself a little more credit for the things that you've
accomplished. And remember that like time is moving quickly, but also like painfully slowly.
(56:10):
Yeah, yeah. You know, fantastic. How do you hope that your new single absurdist reality
will impact listeners? That's my first question. And also just for context for the people,
we're recording this on the Tuesday before its release. So just even just asking you now in
(56:34):
the present moment, how do you hope your new single absurdist reality will impact listeners on Friday?
I'm hoping that people will, this can sound really weird. So hear me out.
I'm hoping that people will accept like where this new project is going, because I feel like
(56:57):
the first single off the project was more of an intro to it versus absurdist reality does feel
quite different from what I was putting out before. If anything, it's like a really, really,
it's an older version of like some of my first releases, different.
But I don't know. I just kind of hope that people will listen to it and hear the growth
(57:28):
from the last project. Right. Yeah, that's kind of all I'm hoping for at this point is just for
people to listen to it. And of course, I want people to like it. Sure. But I just hope that
people can hear like how far everything's kind of come and how different how I'm in a different
(57:50):
headspace. Yeah. And what can people expect for the other songs on this project?
I don't know, actually, like it gets crazy. We have a lot of dynamic. Yes. Like we have a lot of
like really big songs. And then we have like some more chill ones. So I think there's something
(58:13):
for everyone in this project. Yeah. Because we have like our slow kind of like ballad, sad,
cry yourself to sleep kind of songs. And then we also have like, I should probably visit a rage
room kind of songs. Yeah. And you know, I've had the chance to listen to the project. And yeah,
(58:34):
it's great. And I can't wait for for people to listen and continue on listening. Me too.
I wanted to wrap up this pod with what we call the producers game on this podcast. So for those
who maybe it's your first time listening, we play a few games on the podcast. One is called the
dream fest game, which is basically giving our guests the chance to basically design their own
(58:59):
sort of festival lineup and stuff. But with Jay this week, I thought it would be interesting
to produce basically her dream album from the executive producers chair. So I'm basically
going to ask her who would be slotted in these categories and slots. And this these can be
people that are dead or alive. So anybody on it. And I don't know, maybe I didn't plan this,
(59:27):
but maybe it's also fictional characters. I want to add, which is because we've been
chatting about movies and stuff like that. Like Shrek is the artist. Just as a fun, fun game here.
So basically asking you who the artists, producers, the genre of music, the band,
(59:48):
the studio and city. But this can be this can be like, and for you, especially when we talk about
environments and stuff earlier, it doesn't need to be necessarily like a studio studio. It can be
like your couch on Mars or something or something like that. What era this would be released in.
And then also the live performance concept. What we would you do for the live performance
(01:00:13):
that in that and also for yourself specifically. I've also added who would be the writers on this
project. Yeah, okay. So this is a big, it's a big process, big questions, but I also want to have
fun with this. So please let me know what you would you want to talk about first? Okay. So
(01:00:35):
artist, I can't, okay, here's the thing. I kind of want it to be me. I want to, I want to build my
yeah, please, please let's do that. Okay. So if I'm the artist, yeah, I want to write a song with
Lorde. I just want to know what that's like. Okay. I really want to know what that's like.
(01:00:59):
Yeah. It's insane. And I just want to like, watch that. Yeah. I feel like Lorde would be one of the
writers. Who else? I'm like blanking on every person that I put up to. It could be artists as well,
(01:01:19):
like artists and other artists. I mean, I would want Lorde to be a writer for sure.
I want to say like, I want to say Kevin Parker, but also I feel like they want producers.
Sure. So like Dua Liva just did that. So yeah, I don't know. I think yeah. He can be a producer.
(01:01:46):
Yeah, he can be a producer. Okay. Yeah. God, I'm like blanking on everyone.
It's okay. Any fictional characters in those writers or producers?
Also, this can be dead or alive. That's true.
(01:02:07):
Yeah. I don't know. Me as the artist, Lorde as one of the writers, maybe Clara as a writer too.
Oh yeah. Yeah. Her new album is Get Me. Get Me. Oh, another producer. I would love to work with
(01:02:27):
George Daniel. Oh yeah, of course. Yeah. What would be the genre of the album?
Genre is going to be pop. It's got to be all pop. Yeah. Yeah. It's got to be like some weird pop.
Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. And then the band, are there some people that you'd want on the record just to
(01:02:50):
maybe contribute musically to the album? Maybe play some songs?
I don't actually like, I'm not very knowledgeable on like really,
really talented like musicians, like what their names are. That's okay.
Okay. What about some fictional characters here? Like if you could have like anybody play
(01:03:11):
drums or like play guitar or like even if it's like, even if they don't play guitar or drums.
Well, I want August Rush to, of course. Yeah. Yeah.
Yeah. Who would I like to see in the drums? I'm trying to think of like a really funny
fictional, I feel like Bob from Bob's Burgers should be the drummer. Okay. Fantastic. What about a bass player?
(01:03:40):
Bass player.
I keep wanting to say Shrek and it's not good.
He would slap on the bass for sure. Oh, you know what? I'm actually going to use a video game
character. Yeah. I want, I want Mario from like Super Mario Bros on the bass.
(01:04:10):
That's crazy. He's holding it down, you know, say it's like, it's just so, so steady.
Yeah. He's reliable. Yeah. Reliable. It's funny.
What about the studio in the city? I've always wanted to work out of New York and that's probably
(01:04:31):
not going to stay true when I actually do it. Right. Just because I feel like I'll be overwhelmed
and I'll want to be in like a cabin in the woods somewhere. Right. But for now, I'm going to say
a studio in New York, but I feel like I would want it to be like the studio that I've been working
(01:04:52):
out out of. Right. But just in New York. New York. Yeah. Yeah. No, that's great. I mean,
pretty much what we're doing now, like in Toronto. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. It's very similar. Yeah. Maybe
with Kolipe as well. Maybe I'll move into LA. Kolipe has to come. Yeah. Yeah. I'm taking that with me.
Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Along with the studio. Kolipe for those who don't know. Shout out Kolipe at
(01:05:16):
the Thai restaurant in Toronto. So good. I actually ordered the last night. Okay.
Fantastic. And then what era would this album be in? Like current. Current. Yeah. That's great.
And then what about a live performance concept? Is Mario playing the bass live as well?
Or Bob's Burgers on the drums? I really need someone to draw this image.
(01:05:42):
Me on the mic. Kevin Parker is playing guitar and then Mario and Bob's Burgers.
Holding it down. Yeah. Yeah. The cursed image. Yeah. Very cursed. The only reason this happened
is because I genuinely couldn't think of anyone else. It's just a thing that came to my mind
and I was like, yeah, sure. No, that's fantastic. I pushed you into that direction. But that's how
(01:06:09):
we conclude the episode. Thanks so much, Jade. Thank you so much. Today we've had the absolute
pleasure of chatting with Jade and discovering her profound journey in music and her creative process
from her earliest music memories to now releasing her latest single Absurdist Reality.
It's clear to me and it's clear to many others that she's pushing the boundary of recording
(01:06:36):
and writing. And I really need to recommend her latest single, but even her past projects and
to look out for her new music coming out soon. To our audience, you can connect with Jade and
stay updated on her latest projects and her latest music by following her on social media at its
(01:06:56):
Jade Music. It'll be in the link below in the description below. Thanks for tuning in again.
And don't forget to like, comment, subscribe and leave a review on this podcast. This podcast is
made for networking, but not necessarily networking, but resources and educating ourselves on the
(01:07:17):
music industry through the experiences of music industry professionals. Also, be sure to join
our vibrant community on the AIDS network, whether you're a musician industry professional,
you know, somebody that's interested by the music industry, you can find like-minded individuals
on this Discord channel. It's, you know, we chat, gain valuable insights, and you can also access
(01:07:42):
exclusive conversations and insights on this Discord. Visit the links in the episode description
to join today. Thanks everybody. Stay safe and see you next week. Bye.
(01:08:18):
you
I think that taking time off is really, really important, and I think it only took me, you know,
(00:06):
nine years to realize that. Welcome to the Cloud Machine Podcast, your all-access path to the music
industry. I'm your host, Matt Landry, and every week we immerse you in the music world, uncovering
industry insights, offering expert guidance, and exploring the stories that influence the industry.
The Cloud Machine Podcast is brought to you by AITS, the innovative creative agency behind
some of your favorite live concerts and tours. Want to take your music to the next level?
(00:31):
Join a vibrant community on the AITS Network Discord. And with that, let's get started with
today's episode. Hello, everyone. Welcome back to the Cloud Machine Podcast. This week, we're thrilled
to have the incredibly talented Jade with us. Jade is a dynamic pop artist, and she's been
captivating audiences with her emotive music and powerful performances. With her latest hits,
(00:54):
Like I Don't Want to Hate You, and last Friday's single, Absurdist Reality, Jade is making waves
in the music scene with her new and unique approach to writing and recording. AITS Creative has had
the pleasure of musical directing and performing with her for the past few years, and today we're
diving into her journey, her creative process, and what's on her musical horizon. Hi, Jade, how are
(01:15):
you? Good, how are you? I am fantastic, living, laughing, and loving as we say. I want to start
off the podcast by asking you about your favorite live show experience as a fan.
So I've been to so many shows, like genuinely, I went through a phase there, I think for the year
(01:36):
right before the pandemic, I went to like 21 concerts. Yeah, well, it was actually too much.
I got to the end of it, and I was like, I don't even want to go. But during that, I went to see
the 1975 at Budweiser stage when they were doing their a brief inquiry tour, I think.
(01:57):
And that was like one of the best shows. It's one of the things that I can't remember what made it
so good. And I think that that's like part of what made it so good. Right. It's like, you just go in
and you're completely like enthralled and encapsulated in like the whole like the sound design,
stage design, like everything was perfect and beautiful and amazing. And I just, I love that
(02:21):
show. There's something about the 1975 with this podcast. And specifically, it probably not with
the podcast, but it's probably because I ask a lot of my guests that are like in like the more
of the pop indie scene to come onto this podcast. And the 1975 seems to be like a major reference
for a lot of people, you know, especially with their live show. And it's just, it's just crazy
(02:49):
to see, is there anything that you remember like maybe a song from that from that performance
specifically at the Budweiser stage that like that you keep on sort of referencing or thinking about?
Um, I mean, yes and no, I can't remember the name of it right in this very moment. Yeah.
Yeah. But it's one of like the slower ones. And it just like the way that the song itself builds,
(03:13):
especially live, was like something I had never seen before. And I didn't have a great view of
the stage because their stage design at the time was like those, it was like a box. Yeah. Yeah.
Yeah. And I was like on the one side, but I don't know everything about that show. They just know
how to do a live show. I've seen them so many times now and every time it's a different, but B is like
(03:41):
you're just on a different planet. Right. And can I ask you what makes a live show memorable from
from, from your point of view? Um, is it, is it forgetting sort of that you're, you're, you're
almost there and in the world is sort of like the world doesn't exist except that kind of thing?
(04:01):
Yeah. I think it's like, because sometimes you'll go to a show and you'll like, I mean, at least for
me, having gone to so many. Yeah. I think like forgetting A, what time it is, B, where you are,
C that you have to leave soon, like what place are in their set list, like how much longer you're
going to be there. I think it's just like a complete loss of all of those feelings because
(04:27):
sometimes you'll be, you'll be at a show, you'll be in the audience, you're like checking my time,
it is, you're like, all right, you know, I don't know. Yeah. You see the clock in the arena at the
top. Yeah. And you're like, okay, well, uh, how long is it going to go? They found it like 915 and
it's now like, you know, 10, 15, they're probably going to be done soon. They're probably going to
(04:48):
do the encore. They're going to do the whole thing. Yes. You know? Yeah. Yeah. And you do,
basically what you're saying is that you don't want to have that feeling. No. Yeah. Yeah. Oh, yeah.
If you have that, then you're like, you're still in your body. Like, you know what I mean? Like,
you're still in your head. You're still thinking about all the things you have to do. It's just like,
I don't know. I think that the best live experience can get you away from that. Fantastic. For listeners
(05:15):
who maybe don't know Jade yet, what is the project that you've worked on or worked with or released
that would best represent your work? I mean, the most annoying answer would be what I haven't put
out yet. We've had that before and it's great. It's a great answer. Yeah. Well, I mean, it's like,
it's true because it's the most recent representation of like artistically where I'm at. Yeah. But on
(05:41):
that exact note, the best representation would be the project that I put out. I don't know when 2022
maybe. Yeah. I'm sorry. It's on my fault project only because it is the most recent representation
of me and it feels like that project while not entirely me has a lot of like foundational elements
(06:02):
to like who I am as a person and as an artist like within those songs. Yeah. So yeah. And would you
say, would you sort of because you've had a couple of more recent singles, would you say that
you associate yourself with like entire projects like EPs or albums more than more than the singles
themselves? Yes and no. Because before I started doing projects, I was fully singles based like
(06:30):
me at 18. I was like, I'm not putting out a project. It's not happening. Right. Just doing
singles until there's like a desire for a project that was like my thought process. Yeah. And then
I had a distribution deal and then I had to start making projects because they were like,
we don't really do singles. We just do projects. Okay. Great. So yeah, I think after that, I started
(06:56):
thinking in terms of projects, but I also think that projects can be an accumulation of singles
so that you can kind of get that reach in releasing because sometimes when you put out a project,
people like don't listen to the whole thing, which is really upsetting, but it's like an attention
span thing. Right. I've been hearing lately that like the industry and the artists and especially
(07:21):
like the streaming platforms are trying to push like more and more like projects like full length
projects or at least like singles that like lead to a project. Yeah. How have you been feeling with
that? Yeah. Yeah. I think like signed artists definitely are, but I don't think as an independent
artist, it's as easy to kind of do that because there's a lot of like costs involved with properly
(07:44):
releasing projects. Yeah. And it can be really devastating when you put your heart and soul and
blood and sweat and tears into a project and then you don't have the means to actually put it out.
Yeah. No, it's tough. How do you balance that? Do you sort of you... Okay. So from a business
(08:08):
perspective, I've been told recently, I don't know if I believe this and we'll get into this later, but
I sort of believe it, but there's a little bit of salt there, if you know what I'm saying.
The music industry is like 80% promotion and 20% artistry. And I heard this in a conversation.
(08:29):
I was like, okay, well, there is some meaning to that, but also like from an artist standpoint,
like you shouldn't necessarily be thinking like that. Where do you stand on like the whole like
promoting versus artistry and is there a line there for you? How do you sort of... What are you doing?
(08:53):
It's hard because like any industry executive that you talk to tells you,
like, you need to be posting on TikTok. Any meeting that I have ever had in my entire artist career,
which has been long, has been like, okay, yeah, music's sick. Yeah, that doesn't really matter
(09:15):
if you're not on TikTok, if you're not like posting 17 times a day at 7am and then at 8am and then at
you know, the rest of them post them at 9am. But yeah, I don't know, it's really upsetting,
but I do think that it's kind of true. If you don't have the means to promote your music,
(09:37):
it's naturally not like the algorithm doesn't work in a way that pushes you the way that you
want it to. It's that, if that makes any sense. It's really like, it's really paywalled. You really
have to pay for a promotion or hope that a TikTok blows up. But again, that's a whole
(09:59):
different lottery, right? Yeah, yeah, yeah. Fantastic, fantastic. I want to get into the
quote segment of the podcast, which you highlighted beforehand. You have a few thoughts on this,
which I'm excited to get into. But for those of you who maybe it's the first time listening to
(10:19):
the podcast, hopefully it's not your last, but we do a quote segment on the podcast. Last year
it was the Erica Batu quote comparing artistry to music business and how they are maybe the same,
how they are different, the lines that artists cross and different perspectives on that. This year,
2024, we take a quote from 2004 from Joni Mitchell. Now she says that she heard somebody from the
(10:46):
music business saying this. So she says, I heard someone from the music business saying that they
are no longer looking for talent. They want people with a certain look and a willingness to cooperate.
Now this is from 2004, so 20 years ago. Jada, I'd like to know your first instincts when you
heard the sentence. I mean, my first instincts were like, how do I talk about this without
(11:10):
sounding pessimistic? But it is kind of true. And as someone who's A, a female, B, been in the
music industry since I was 13, it is true. I used to, as a kid, when I was stubborn and thought I
(11:30):
knew what I wanted artistically, anyone that I walked into a room with and I told them what I
wanted to do, it was like, oh, she's stubborn and she's hard to deal with. We just want you to do
this. And because I was stubborn and young, I was like, I don't want to do that. Why would I do that?
And so I think, and then naturally those people come and go and you cycle through them.
(11:55):
But I mean, yeah, that's kind of exactly what happens. And it sucks. But
I mean, 20 years ago, if we were on this road and we're still on it.
Yeah, I guess my question is, do you think it's evolved since then?
(12:16):
Not really. Not really. Okay. And what sort of, what's, which part of the quote sort of sticks
out to you? Because to me and through various previous conversations with individuals, there
seems to be a lot of people concentrating on the industry not necessarily looking for talent anymore.
(12:43):
And then there's people that sort of talk about the industry wanting a certain look and a willingness
to cooperate. There's like three different things there to really highlight. Is there one that like
is specific to you? The willingness to cooperate is, I mean, it's like a double-edged thing,
(13:05):
though, because it's like, obviously you have to be down for like teamwork and like cooperate
with certain things. But it's, I don't know. Honestly, I'm going to spin this a little bit
more positively, but I don't think that not looking for talent is the answer because I think that
naturally those things come and go, even if someone say puts out a song and it's like a one hit wonder
(13:33):
situation. It's, if you don't have like the, actually, if you don't have like all three of
those things, like looking for talent, a certain look and like a willingness to cooperate, it's
like it, it kind of, all of those things are necessary, I think. I completely agree. Yeah.
Like I think that we've gotten to a place where we're looking for at least two of the three.
(13:57):
Yeah. Yes. Yes. It's like, yeah. And honestly, I think nowadays because of the pool of artists,
the music has to be good. Like it doesn't matter the genre. Like the music has to be good,
has to work with a certain audience. And you know, more and more, I really believe that there's
(14:20):
flexibility. And I don't want to say flexibility, maybe openness is the right term here, but
with a certain look because there's so many, the industry is so open now and you know,
and sort of, I don't want to say anybody, but yeah, like anybody can sort of pop off.
But it's the willingness to cooperate. That's a little, it's a little like,
(14:44):
but I mean, like I said, like teamwork is really, really important. And it's not, I think that the
way that it's kind of put in this quote does have a more negative connotation. But I do think that
like a willingness to cooperate, like you have to, you have to give and take, right? You have to,
like for example, when I was signed to my deal, we would have meetings for marketing and things
(15:08):
like that. And it was like, they would throw a bunch of ideas at me and I would take like one or two
of them. Yeah, yeah. Yeah. Okay, you know what? I don't, the TikTok things like not working for me,
it doesn't feel authentic. It feels like I'm playing a character. I don't like it. And then it was like,
okay, well, what if you started vlogging? And I was like, that I can do. Right. I love that. And
(15:33):
then so I started doing that. And it's actually become like one of my favorite hobbies. Right. Yeah.
Yeah. I mean, it's like you giving you take and there are certain things that you can,
you can hold your guard up about, but there are other things that you, you do have to cooperate on
because it is at the end of the day, a business. Yes. Where do you think that this business
(15:54):
and this industry is going? Very generally? Yeah, it's hard to say, like it changes every day.
Okay. I think I'm personally, and I could be so wrong, but this is just me and what I would like
to believe. I'm seeing like the TikTok of occasion of things kind of die out a little bit. Yes.
Nice. Yeah. In a good way. Yeah. Like I just want that to be over. I miss when TikTok was like funny
(16:21):
videos. Like, you know, I just wanted to be what it is. I don't, I don't want it to touch the music
industry. Like I get when songs pop off, you have your, your Apple dance. Oh yeah. Love an Apple dance.
Yeah. But I don't know. I think that it's like, it got too serious and it kind of killed the,
(16:44):
the like sparkle that it had. So I hope that the industry kind of goes in a way that's like
just away from TikTok. That's all I can ask right now. I don't know where it's going to go.
I just want it away from that platform. Right. Do you think there's something
after TikTok? And if so, what do you think it is? For sure there is. Like we,
(17:06):
Yeah, of course. Same thing before it even came out, you know. It's just like, I don't know what
that's going to be. I'm not a, I don't work in app programming. So I don't really know. Yeah.
I think what you'll start to see and what we're already kind of seeing is like
tight knit community building. Yes. I'd like Discord. You have Weverse, which Ariana Grande
(17:30):
just joined. I was on Weverse a long time ago. Mind you, that's like a big, I want to say,
like K-pop space. Right. But I think you're seeing, and I mean, even with Instagram,
doing like the channels and you have close friends and you have specific like close friends
posting now, I think that it's a lot more like community driven as opposed to public driven.
(17:56):
Yes. And I feel like, especially with the Instagram, you know, how like artists are
like creating their own channels now and stuff. Yeah. It's, I feel like because of the algorithm,
the algorithm has sort of like corrupt, like people's like pages. So, and they're not like
seeing the people that they actually want to follow. I feel like people want to see the people
(18:18):
that they actually like and follow now. And it comes back to the community and sort of
fostering those communities, which is, which is fantastic, honestly, for music specifically,
because it's all about that. Anyway, for sure. Well, I mean, like, I have a really close relationship
with like all of my fans. Like I make a conscious effort to like answer every single one of my DMs.
(18:44):
Right, right. Every single one. Some of them are weird. But like, I do make a conscious effort to
like talk to people that love my music and like I'm having full conversation. Like I know about
their lives. And like, it's really, it's important to them. And it's important to me to like
(19:05):
build that because at the end of the day, like the music industry hasn't changed that much. It's all
word of mouth. It's all like sometimes it's Instagram ads. But most of the time it's word of
mouth for like someone to go and be like, Oh my God, you should check out this artist because
first of all, they're a great person. That's a big thing right now too. Where it's like,
(19:26):
totally. People use support, you want them to be like decent human beings. Oh yeah. And so,
yeah, I don't know. I think community building. Yeah, fantastic. Now, I wanted to get into the bulk
of the questions here. For those who have been listening to the Cloud Machine podcast for a
(19:48):
while, know that, you know, sometimes we would talk about the industry. Sometimes we talk about
the creative process here on this one. I wanted to really deep dive on like
the philosophy aspect of it because Jade is that girly, you know.
(20:09):
Philosophy girly. And it just really speaks to her current music and the process that she's been
going through over the past few years. So anyway, I hope you enjoy the next 45 minutes or whatever.
Jade, I want to speak to your early memories and your early sort of connections with music.
(20:36):
What is your earliest memory of connecting with music and how did it shape your path as an artist?
There are a couple that I can remember. So my grandparents on my mom's side are super musical.
There's like, you know, at any time like 12 guitars hanging in the living room,
there's a baby grand or not baby grand, like an upright piano. There's like a bunch of,
(20:58):
I grew up around a lot of music or just instruments in general. And I remember I would like sit at
the piano whenever I would go over to their house and like try and make it sound good. And at one
point I did think that I invented chords just to get what they were, but I would like press one
key and then go to the, you know, like not right next to each other to make a chord. Yeah. So there
(21:26):
was that. There was, I watched August Rush as a kid with my grandparents. That was a big one where
I was like, he can do it. I can do it. Right. Yeah. And then another big one, I think that I've recently
been coming back to is my parents listened to a lot of like pop top 40 radio like Ryan's
(21:48):
depressed on the air kind of thing. And I remember I was in the car with my mom one time and a
Maroon five song was playing like a really old one. And me as a child listening to this song
about his partner cheating on him, I go, what is this song about? You know, I'm like a kid. I don't
(22:09):
know anything. And I'm like, mom, like what, what is he talking about? And I'm like listening to the
lyrics. And she, so she explains the song to me a little bit. And I was like, Oh, okay. So I was like
innately like interested in what went into making a song. I wasn't listening to it as like a 13 year
old in the back. But yeah, I think that I was just like very, very interested in how everything
(22:36):
worked immediately. Yeah, no, that's great. And like from from the creation aspect and like what
what from the the entire sort of process of it. Yeah, that's great. Like, I just wanted to understand
it. And from there, from that moment, almost, I think I was like, I was like, I could, I could
(22:58):
write songs. I could do that. Yeah. And then I started. It does two things on my end. I want to
highlight August Rush. What are my favorite movies as a as a I don't want to say as a kid,
because I discovered it maybe a little later on. But what a fantastic movie just for like wonder
(23:21):
and music. And and it's a wreck for the people listening. Go check out August Rush.
Also, you mentioned Ryan Seacrest. Yeah, I was a kid. Funny story. When I was a kid.
So like the hot 93 five channel in Sudbury, Ontario. Yeah, Ryan Seacrest was the host.
(23:42):
And I always thought that like Ryan Seacrest was like in Sudbury, like he was like this Sudbury
like host kind of thing. And it wasn't just like a like a radio program that was like literally
blasted out to the world from LA or whatever it is. And once I saw him on like American Idol or
whatever, being the host and I was like, what the heck is this guy doing here? I didn't know that
(24:07):
there was like, there's like a world outside of Sudbury's a hot 93 five channel for Ryan Seacrest.
Like I thought he was just like this insane host. Like, like, guy's really good at his job.
Yeah. No, honestly, I think I'm going to talk about the same thing. I didn't understand how the radio
worked until I was on the launch. And then I got invited to my local radio station at the time.
(24:30):
And I finally met the radio host that I've been listening to since I was a kid.
Like it was wild. I've never exactly liked that. And like the voice too. Nice.
Yeah. You guys are not supposed to be here. This is not the.
Yeah, you're supposed to be on the radio. Yeah. Yeah. Oh my gosh. Yeah. And I was like,
(24:52):
yeah. And also like the radio like hosts in my in Sudbury, like the local radio hosts are like
celebrities. But like if you meet them in public, it's just like this random guy. It's like, oh,
like I've never seen a picture of you ever. Like I wouldn't even expect you to look like this or
like anything. Like I didn't even like, I didn't even picture you physically. You know, it's like,
(25:15):
it's like, who's this person that sounds like the guy on the radio?
Yeah. How do you say to your artistic vision in an industry that is constantly changing?
Um, I mean, the industry is constantly changing. But like so is my artistic identity. Like as I
(25:37):
grow and learn, I feel like I'm kind of growing alongside it, like not necessarily within it.
Um, because that's a that's a whole other thing. But I think it's mostly just like,
they kind of grow in tandem. Yeah. Kind of. Um, yeah. And also like, I've always been a really
(26:00):
art forward person. I'm like, if it clicks, it clicks. If it doesn't, it doesn't. Like I can only
do so much of my own promotion that like, if it doesn't click with the industry side,
that's fine. It's still, it's like, I still love the song. Yeah. I don't know.
Do you find yourself, I mean, you're telling me right now that you're sort of
(26:24):
alongside the music industry as it grows and you're also growing. Do you find yourself influenced by
what's happening in the industry sometimes? Sometimes I remember when the most recent
Dua Lipa album came out, I was like, I'm going to start making like pop pop again.
Right. And then, and then I tried it and I was like, no, no, no. I was like, it doesn't,
(26:46):
it doesn't feel like me. So then I just, I started writing like pitch songs that were like in that
pop pocket and it kind of like, um, suppress that need for me to do it and like give into the
mainstream kind of thing. Cause I've been trying to get away from that for this current project
that I'm working on. I'm trying to like be a little different. Almost got me.
(27:13):
No, that's the, yeah. I mean, I found myself influenced by different, different projects.
I know we have a very common, um, artists that, you know, we're inspired by the both of us,
uh, Toronto based, uh, Sia Gray, um, which sort of inspired me to look beyond, um, just the, the,
(27:41):
the con forms of like how music can be sort of made specifically made and written in 2024.
Although it's not necessarily pop, uh, leaning, uh, it still has some pop
sensibilities while being, I don't know, a little bit more on the alternative side of things. Um,
(28:01):
how has, how has size music, and I want to talk about references later as well, but, um,
how has her music, um, influenced like your current, the current music that you're putting out?
I think the way, like even just sonically, it's not even like a lyrical thing, but I think
every listening to her music had changed something in my brain in the way that I'm like processing
(28:27):
how something makes me feel. Yeah. Because a lot of times I was like, I, I'm, I mean, I still am,
but a very lyric focused writer. And I was like, it just, the lyrics need to be perfect. And then
like the production will also be there. Um, but I think with listening to her music, I've realized
(28:48):
how kind of sparse it can be lyrically and how impactful it can still be. And then when I went
into start making the stuff that I've been making, it was a lot of like, okay, the lyrics that I'm
writing have this kind of like grit and depth to them that we need to match sonically. Right.
(29:09):
And I think like a lot of times if we'd be writing something that was kind of like aggressive or, um,
kind of like hard hitting a little bit scary sounding, I was like, all right, get the crunchy
synths. Let's go. Like I'm like, need like epicness. We need like big drums, you know, things like that.
(29:29):
Um, and I think that her music not only like opened my eyes to that idea, but also made me feel okay
with doing something a little bit left of center, especially considering I've done pop for the last
like 10 years. Yeah, totally. Can you speak a little bit to the product, the creative process of,
(29:52):
of doing this sort of collection of songs that you've been putting out and that you'll be continuing
to put out compared to your early projects? Yeah. Um, I mean, everything that I've been working on
comes from a place of I would write or I would have an idea and I would sit there for like hours
(30:13):
trying to like chip away at it and make it sound like I would try and chip away at like the words
that I was using to make it sound more interesting as opposed to being like,
I don't know. I don't even have an example really, but it's kind of like, I was listening to a lot of,
um, Lord, like Lord has always been a big influence and I remember seeing something,
(30:40):
one of the producers that she's worked with was talking about how she'll just like,
you know, you say like, oh, she walked across the street and she would like chip away at that
until it's like she danced across the pavement. She'd like, you know, like to figure out a way
more interesting way of saying something or a more poetic way. Right. So when I went into
(31:05):
making these songs, that was like something that was really important to me to like push
that boundary a little bit for myself because it was a boundary of my own. And so now I have songs
with like lyrical content in them where like my mama listened to them and be like, what are you
saying here? Like, what does that mean? And I'll be like, you don't get it. You don't get it. It's
(31:25):
okay. Right. And then I'll explain it. I have this one line in the song that's like, I don't want to
be wrapped up in silver. But initially what that started was was like, how can I find a cooler
way of saying I don't want to find a silver lining or like I don't want to be second place to someone
else? Like, I was just like, how can I make that sound cooler? And then I came up with, I don't want
(31:46):
to be wrapped in silver. Yeah. Anyways, no, that's great. That is, that is great. And it's a great
example as well. Yeah. How do you balance the technical sort of and technical skills and process
of like writing, you know, a more complex song with maybe emotional expression or communicating sort of,
(32:18):
you know, communicating in like,
I don't want to say more clear way for your audience. Like, is there now like,
is there now a balance between like, okay, making it a little bit more like complex and precise
versus more like general and sort of open to anybody kind of thing to understand the music?
(32:43):
I mean, it's not necessarily something that I consciously think of. Yeah. But it's definitely
like, okay, if we're going to have to like craze the kind of sounding lines, like poetic, really
have to read into them lines, then maybe we'll just be like, love you, baby, you know, like afterwards,
like kind of, you just want to clarify. Yeah, yeah, yeah, really like bring it all together
(33:10):
with something that everyone will understand. I don't know. It's not like I said, it's not something
that I think about really, because as I was writing it, this next like slew of songs,
I was like really trying to make every line be something a little bit more intricate than I
(33:33):
would normally write. Right. But it was all in an effort to like just become a better songwriter.
That's what I do. And it ended up sounding really cool when I did. So we're doing okay.
Yes. But yeah, I don't know. It's not it's not something that I really
that I'm like, okay, because we did this, we now have to say something a little more simple. It just
(33:55):
kind of like whatever works in the flow of things. Yeah. That's great. Can you describe the moment
when a song truly comes alive for you? Maybe it's maybe it's in the process of sort of, I don't
want to say changing your sound, but the evolving sort of aspects of Jade and your music.
(34:17):
Can you describe the moment when you like sort of found that sound and when a song truly comes
alive? Yeah. I mean, I think it comes into its own. Yeah, like multiple different stages,
like for absurdist reality, for example, when we were making it, I remember it was like one of
(34:42):
the first songs that I had written off the tail end of like putting out my last project. And I
remember kind of working through it and hearing the production. And as soon as we laid down the
vocals for it, and did like all the harmonies and stuff, and we built up the production.
(35:02):
And then I could, I could like feel the bass and the song like hitting me in the studio.
That was one moment. But then I would say another one is when we, I mean, we just performed it live
for the first time ever, which I didn't like clock in my brain that we had never done it before.
But I think that looked like reflecting on that show that we just did. And remembering that we
(35:27):
played it for the first time. That was another moment where I was like, Oh, this is like a real
song that now people have heard. Right. Right. Right. I don't know. I think there's like multiple
different, there's like checkpoints until it gets until it's, you know, released. And even
once it is released, that's like a whole different version of being alive. Yes. How do you navigate
(35:50):
that? Because I know a lot of artists are like, once it's released, it's like, okay,
now like they're not responsible for it. Or it's like, it's like, this is like, this is yours now.
You know, which, which is, you know, a lot of people say that and it's sort of cheesy, but
there's some, there's definitely a degree of truth to that in regards to like the artist
not necessarily having ownership over it anymore, because it's just now the world.
(36:14):
Yeah. Well, I think because before you release a song, it's like all your opinion about it and
all of your feelings about it are exclusive to you, like no one else outside of like family and
friends who are naturally going to tell you that they love it. Yeah. It's like the only opinion
you have is your own. And then when you put it out, you're like, it's like this wave of what
(36:39):
other people think of it after sitting with it for who knows how long. Right. So yeah, I would say like
it's, it's one of those things that it's still yours, but it kind of like takes on this new
persona. It kind of like puts, it takes its mask off finally, you know, right? Yeah.
(37:03):
How do your collaborations influence your personal sound and what do you seek for in collaborators?
That's a good question. I don't know, because for this project specifically, I was really
just working with like one producer. Yes. Shout out. Yeah, shout out TJ.
(37:30):
TJ Whitelaw, everybody. Yeah. Great producer, great guitarist. I think a lot of it comes from
just a willingness to be open to like any idea. I think that that influences a lot of
what I was doing because with a lot of people that I was working with before, A, because I didn't
(37:51):
know what I wanted to do, but also B, because a lot of the people I was working with before are like
pop R&B producers. Right. Oh, they kind of know production style, what they want to hear. And
because I was like not fully knowing what I wanted to do, I kind of, you know, ran with it. And I
(38:11):
mean, it works, but it's also like not entirely, it wasn't like heavily influenced by like my
decision, if that makes any sense. It sounds like it's not. But I think going into this new project,
having like an openness and a willingness to just like, you know, change something entirely or
(38:34):
what if we took all of this production out and put in a guitar here instead? Or like, you know,
I think it's just a willingness to try anything and kind of take the strangest requests and like
run with them. Like when I first met TJ, I walked into the studio and I was like, yeah, so I just
(38:57):
put out a project. And now I'm thinking about doing like, imagine if Charlie XCX and Stranger
XCX and Strokes did like a collab. Right. That's kind of, he was like, okay, I'm down.
And, you know, from there, it was a lot of like, we would start a song on a guitar and then I'd be
(39:20):
like, we need synthesizers, we need really crunchy, wavy synthesizers to come in. Yeah. And I mean,
you kind of hear that on, I don't want to hate you less on absurdist reality, because it is very,
like, very techno-y, you know, but yeah, with I don't want to hate you, the whole song is like,
(39:41):
really guitar, piano, really pretty sounding, not super far off from what I was doing before.
And then at the end of the song, we have that like massive, weird dance break. We didn't get
enough of doing those. We did that on like three different songs over the course of that, like,
couple weeks. No, fantastic. What's the most profound lesson you've learned from another musician?
(40:09):
I don't know if it's profound, like it feels kind of like a really simple thing to say, but
yeah, that mutual support can go such a long way. Yes. Like, I've been really lucky to come into some
really amazing friends in music in the last couple years that I've never had that before.
(40:32):
And I was actually talking to my mom about it because at the show that we just did, like,
all of my music friends are all there. Right. They're all like front row singing every lyric
and my mom was like, it's so nice to see that. And I was like, yeah, but like, I do it for them too.
And it's not like, we don't even think about it. It's not even like a, it's not even, it's just like
(40:55):
the support that you can get from one another is so beyond helpful. And it's not something that I
had ever had the pleasure of experiencing before. Yeah. I think that that's a lesson that I'm learning
right now is that it actually is so important, the people that you surround yourself with in such a
vulnerable kind of space. Yeah. Do you think that creating that like tight knit group of people was
(41:23):
natural or was it sort of intentional? I think it was a mix of both because I think that it was
like I needed it to happen. Sure. Whether or not I knew that it was going to happen or if it was
going to be this wonderful group of people that I know now, I definitely needed people that understood
(41:46):
the way that my brain works in terms of like trying to be in the music industry. Yeah.
So I don't know. I think like in a roundabout way, I had been looking for something like that.
But I don't think like I do think that I kind of stumbled into it in the best way.
And I'm like so, so grateful for it. But yeah. Yeah. No, that's really great. And you know,
(42:11):
I've been seeing the friends and the people around you for a little bit of time now. And it's so great.
And just even their energy at the front of the stage is great. And Shadow of Maddie specifically.
Yeah. Nia Natterada knows how to sing and dance at the front of the stage. Yeah. She's great.
(42:32):
How do you approach the concept of vulnerability in your songwriting?
I don't ever like consciously approach it. It just kind of happens. I think because
when I started songwriting, it was very much so it came from a place of me not being able to
actually confront people with how I was feeling. Like the first song I ever wrote was this song
(42:56):
about how my three best friends at the time in like grade eight, they had posted a photo of the
three of them for National Best Friend Day. But it was initially a picture of the four of us and
they had cropped me out of it. Oh. And so because I was like, I don't know how to talk to them about
(43:17):
how this hurt my feelings. So I'm just going to write a song about it, I guess. Because I don't
know how to, I don't, me as like in grade eight, I'm like, I don't know how to like have conflict
with people. I don't know how to do that. So I just did it. And I think like starting from that kind
of vulnerable place, I haven't known anything different. Right. Yeah. So I don't, I don't really
(43:43):
like approach it. It just kind of is totally. You've just always sort of had that. That's great.
What role does silence or space play in your music, especially these days?
Yeah. I don't, I don't know. I don't, I think that it's, I don't know. I'm always surrounded by like
(44:08):
sounds. Like when we get off this, like there's going to be music playing here. And my mom always
says I don't put enough space in between some of my lyrics. Like I'm very wordy. Oh, interesting.
Yeah. I'm not like, I'm not great with silence. I don't think that it plays a huge role.
Right. Maybe, maybe the question is, how have you sort of included the musical technique of
(44:36):
dynamics in your, in your, in your, in your new music? Because that's, for me, that's one of the
biggest differences in your new sound compared to your past projects. It's very much dynamics and
very much different structures and not necessarily because, because you're, you know, your structures
(45:01):
are still very like verse pre-chorus verse pre-chorus bridge chorus, things like that. But
there's, I just, from my perspective, there's been just a very different approach of production
and sort of simplifying, but also going crazy sometimes as well. Can you speak a little bit
(45:23):
about that? Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I think because we were doing, at least to me, what felt so intense
in some of the choruses, I was like, we need to like, we need to rein it in. Because if we just
keep going down this like chaotic, really heavy sounding kind of vibe, people are going to,
(45:46):
you know, start to like have a panic attack because it's like really overwhelming sounding.
Yeah. And I think it was just, it wasn't really like, again, I keep saying nothing was conscious,
like it just kind of happened. But I think it kind of needed it. You need to breathe
there after like a big chorus, like what the absurdist reality chorus is or the don't leave
(46:11):
me alone choruses. Like, especially with don't leave me alone, which is not out yet and it won't
be out for a while. But it's like really, really big, intense lyrically and production wise in the
chorus there. And then all of a sudden, everything's back out. And it's just like this really pretty
vocal. Yeah. And it's like guitars again. I think when you're writing things with such depth,
(46:36):
you do kind of need to like, it feels almost like you're almost out of the atmosphere. And then
it's like, Oh, now just getting your back. Yeah. So I think, I think it was like, it was a, it was
weird because it happened without planning, but yeah. Well, I honestly, I think a lot of the best,
maybe not the best, but the more natural creative processes are like that, you know,
(47:02):
it's not necessarily conscious, but it's almost like, okay, what comes to mind? And what fits
just naturally. And you know, no, I think it's, I think it's great and all fits together. And
yeah, just giving you your flowers for that and TJ as well. So there you go.
Sorry. I'll pass along the message. Yeah, please. Or TJ, if you're listening to this,
(47:26):
I wanted to ask you how you navigate periods of creative block or doubt. Oh, not great. I don't
navigate them great. I think it is like, I'll go through periods of like really low self-esteem
(47:50):
with everything. And then one day I'll wake up and be like, what am I doing? What am I doing?
I'm really self-aware in the sense where I'm like, I need to like, relax a bit because I'm so like,
I'll do 10 things in a week and then like three weeks go by where I'm like, I have nothing to do.
(48:10):
Right. And I'm like freaking out. But I also have gotten a lot better at kind of like
giving myself time and space to like just be a regular human and not like trying to necessarily
like always be doing something because I think it's really important, at least for me,
(48:34):
to take space from music so that I can come back and do something a little bit more productive.
Because when you're making music, you're very influenced by the things that you're making.
It's not only influenced by things around you, but it's influenced by everything that you've been
(48:55):
doing. And so sometimes I find I get like very similar patterns to like production ideas or
melody ideas or lyrical content. And then I'm like, I'm just writing a different version of the same
song over and over again. Like I need to take a break. And so I think that I've gotten a lot
better at navigating that. Okay. I'm realizing the pattern here. I need to like take a few days
(49:22):
off. I need to take a month off. I need to just like sit around and play Zelda for a month. And
then I'll do that. Fantastic. You touched on this a little bit just a few seconds ago, but how does
your environment influence your music? And do you have a specific setting where you feel the most
creative or an L add setting, but also like brain space? Yeah. I think brain space is really
(49:50):
important to me. Yeah. I think that I have to be in a place where I feel like I am able to create
because if I'm like, if something really horrendous has happened, then I definitely need like a
couple days of like a breather before I can go and like make something out of it. Yeah.
(50:16):
But I would say the environment that I create the best in is somewhere where I'm like comfortable
with the people I'm with. Because I feel like sometimes when you get into a session with someone
that you've never worked with before, it can be a little bit anxiety inducing and you're not
(50:36):
necessarily going to get the best product, which I mean, sometimes it happens. It's happened to me
as well where it's like, these are brand new people and then we've made like a great song.
But I think like the whole energy and of the space that you're in when you're trying to make music
is really important to me. I'm like, I need a blanket. I need like a warm drink. I need to
(51:03):
have eaten something so that I'm like just fully, honestly, it's like a very similar way to how I
play video games. It could be like wrapped in a blanket, feeling cozy. And also, I feel like
when you're doing that, it almost, you almost trick your brain into being like, you don't have to
stress about writing a song right now. Because sometimes you'll be in sessions where you're
(51:26):
like, I must write something. Like I did like a pitch camp and I'm like, on my computer, freaking
out, make the best thing that I possibly can. But like when it comes to writing the best thing
for me at least, I have to be like sprawled out on a couch or something and like just on my computer.
Right. Yeah. No, it's great. And it's good that you know that about yourself, right? Because
(51:54):
it's like, it's only after so long that you sort of get to know that about yourself and where you
can thrive and things like that. Yeah. Well, and also like the places in which being sprawled out
on the couch with a blanket around you with a laptop on you is like acceptable and professional.
Right. It's a good balance. Yeah. If you could only convey one message through your music,
(52:18):
what would it be and why?
A message. I would say like, no matter how hard things feel, they're never as bad as you think
they are. Could be a lot worse. I feel like that's what my music lately has been saying.
(52:41):
It's been like, it might seem like it's bad, but there's still a verse after this very intense
chorus. Yeah. It's the light at the end of the tunnel. Yes. There's always a next step. That's
funny. Yeah, exactly. It's never like, you know, I mean, you know the chorus to the one song I'm
(53:02):
talking about, but like it's never, whenever actually that close to dying. Yes. Yeah.
How do you envision your music evolving in the next few years past this,
this project that you're producing right now?
(53:22):
I would say, I mean, I hope to keep doing what I'm kind of doing right now.
Because it feels really good. It feels like someone plugged the USB into my brain and then
just like downloaded it. Right. That's a great feeling. Yeah. And I've never felt like that before.
(53:44):
So I kind of hope that it just keeps growing in the way that it's growing. And you know,
like I always want to be a better songwriter and a better vocalist and a better performer.
So kind of just hoping that because this feels so new, it kind of feels like I'm starting over in
a weird way. Yeah. But I kind of hope that it just continues to like build on top of one another.
(54:09):
You know what I mean? Yeah, totally. I just kind of wanted to like get better.
Sure. Sure. The most simple way of putting it, I just want to get better at the way that I'm going.
Yeah. Yeah. And I mean, it'll evolve the way that it's meant to. It's again, never a conscious
thing. It's just kind of something that happens over time. Yeah. That's fantastic. I think if
(54:36):
everybody strives to just get better, I think that's fantastic. And better, but also just
more specific to what they want. And like your wants always like evolve through time and through
the years. And when you're like you're saying like influencing and influenced and hearing other
projects and stuff like, you know, I'm just I just hope that that's somebody that's something
(55:02):
that people always want to thrive is just to become better. For sure. Looking back, what advice would
you give to your younger self that's just starting in music? Oh, goodness. I think I would tell myself
(55:23):
to go a little easier on myself. I'm like violently hard on myself. And I think that it's
done some good things for me. But I also think that like, just knowing when to take a break,
especially given like who I was influenced by at the time. I think that taking time off is
(55:49):
really, really important. And I think it only took me, you know, nine years to realize that.
But I think I would say, yeah, like, give yourself a little more credit for the things that you've
accomplished. And remember that like time is moving quickly, but also like painfully slowly.
(56:10):
Yeah, yeah. You know, fantastic. How do you hope that your new single absurdist reality
will impact listeners? That's my first question. And also just for context for the people,
we're recording this on the Tuesday before its release. So just even just asking you now in
(56:34):
the present moment, how do you hope your new single absurdist reality will impact listeners on Friday?
I'm hoping that people will, this can sound really weird. So hear me out.
I'm hoping that people will accept like where this new project is going, because I feel like
(56:57):
the first single off the project was more of an intro to it versus absurdist reality does feel
quite different from what I was putting out before. If anything, it's like a really, really,
it's an older version of like some of my first releases, different.
But I don't know. I just kind of hope that people will listen to it and hear the growth
(57:28):
from the last project. Right. Yeah, that's kind of all I'm hoping for at this point is just for
people to listen to it. And of course, I want people to like it. Sure. But I just hope that
people can hear like how far everything's kind of come and how different how I'm in a different
(57:50):
headspace. Yeah. And what can people expect for the other songs on this project?
I don't know, actually, like it gets crazy. We have a lot of dynamic. Yes. Like we have a lot of
like really big songs. And then we have like some more chill ones. So I think there's something
(58:13):
for everyone in this project. Yeah. Because we have like our slow kind of like ballad, sad,
cry yourself to sleep kind of songs. And then we also have like, I should probably visit a rage
room kind of songs. Yeah. And you know, I've had the chance to listen to the project. And yeah,
(58:34):
it's great. And I can't wait for for people to listen and continue on listening. Me too.
I wanted to wrap up this pod with what we call the producers game on this podcast. So for those
who maybe it's your first time listening, we play a few games on the podcast. One is called the
dream fest game, which is basically giving our guests the chance to basically design their own
(58:59):
sort of festival lineup and stuff. But with Jay this week, I thought it would be interesting
to produce basically her dream album from the executive producers chair. So I'm basically
going to ask her who would be slotted in these categories and slots. And this these can be
people that are dead or alive. So anybody on it. And I don't know, maybe I didn't plan this,
(59:27):
but maybe it's also fictional characters. I want to add, which is because we've been
chatting about movies and stuff like that. Like Shrek is the artist. Just as a fun, fun game here.
So basically asking you who the artists, producers, the genre of music, the band,
(59:48):
the studio and city. But this can be this can be like, and for you, especially when we talk about
environments and stuff earlier, it doesn't need to be necessarily like a studio studio. It can be
like your couch on Mars or something or something like that. What era this would be released in.
And then also the live performance concept. What we would you do for the live performance
(01:00:13):
that in that and also for yourself specifically. I've also added who would be the writers on this
project. Yeah, okay. So this is a big, it's a big process, big questions, but I also want to have
fun with this. So please let me know what you would you want to talk about first? Okay. So
(01:00:35):
artist, I can't, okay, here's the thing. I kind of want it to be me. I want to, I want to build my
yeah, please, please let's do that. Okay. So if I'm the artist, yeah, I want to write a song with
Lorde. I just want to know what that's like. Okay. I really want to know what that's like.
(01:00:59):
Yeah. It's insane. And I just want to like, watch that. Yeah. I feel like Lorde would be one of the
writers. Who else? I'm like blanking on every person that I put up to. It could be artists as well,
(01:01:19):
like artists and other artists. I mean, I would want Lorde to be a writer for sure.
I want to say like, I want to say Kevin Parker, but also I feel like they want producers.
Sure. So like Dua Liva just did that. So yeah, I don't know. I think yeah. He can be a producer.
(01:01:46):
Yeah, he can be a producer. Okay. Yeah. God, I'm like blanking on everyone.
It's okay. Any fictional characters in those writers or producers?
Also, this can be dead or alive. That's true.
(01:02:07):
Yeah. I don't know. Me as the artist, Lorde as one of the writers, maybe Clara as a writer too.
Oh yeah. Yeah. Her new album is Get Me. Get Me. Oh, another producer. I would love to work with
(01:02:27):
George Daniel. Oh yeah, of course. Yeah. What would be the genre of the album?
Genre is going to be pop. It's got to be all pop. Yeah. Yeah. It's got to be like some weird pop.
Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. And then the band, are there some people that you'd want on the record just to
(01:02:50):
maybe contribute musically to the album? Maybe play some songs?
I don't actually like, I'm not very knowledgeable on like really,
really talented like musicians, like what their names are. That's okay.
Okay. What about some fictional characters here? Like if you could have like anybody play
(01:03:11):
drums or like play guitar or like even if it's like, even if they don't play guitar or drums.
Well, I want August Rush to, of course. Yeah. Yeah.
Yeah. Who would I like to see in the drums? I'm trying to think of like a really funny
fictional, I feel like Bob from Bob's Burgers should be the drummer. Okay. Fantastic. What about a bass player?
(01:03:40):
Bass player.
I keep wanting to say Shrek and it's not good.
He would slap on the bass for sure. Oh, you know what? I'm actually going to use a video game
character. Yeah. I want, I want Mario from like Super Mario Bros on the bass.
(01:04:10):
That's crazy. He's holding it down, you know, say it's like, it's just so, so steady.
Yeah. He's reliable. Yeah. Reliable. It's funny.
What about the studio in the city? I've always wanted to work out of New York and that's probably
(01:04:31):
not going to stay true when I actually do it. Right. Just because I feel like I'll be overwhelmed
and I'll want to be in like a cabin in the woods somewhere. Right. But for now, I'm going to say
a studio in New York, but I feel like I would want it to be like the studio that I've been working
(01:04:52):
out out of. Right. But just in New York. New York. Yeah. Yeah. No, that's great. I mean,
pretty much what we're doing now, like in Toronto. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. It's very similar. Yeah. Maybe
with Kolipe as well. Maybe I'll move into LA. Kolipe has to come. Yeah. Yeah. I'm taking that with me.
Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Along with the studio. Kolipe for those who don't know. Shout out Kolipe at
(01:05:16):
the Thai restaurant in Toronto. So good. I actually ordered the last night. Okay.
Fantastic. And then what era would this album be in? Like current. Current. Yeah. That's great.
And then what about a live performance concept? Is Mario playing the bass live as well?
Or Bob's Burgers on the drums? I really need someone to draw this image.
(01:05:42):
Me on the mic. Kevin Parker is playing guitar and then Mario and Bob's Burgers.
Holding it down. Yeah. Yeah. The cursed image. Yeah. Very cursed. The only reason this happened
is because I genuinely couldn't think of anyone else. It's just a thing that came to my mind
and I was like, yeah, sure. No, that's fantastic. I pushed you into that direction. But that's how
(01:06:09):
we conclude the episode. Thanks so much, Jade. Thank you so much. Today we've had the absolute
pleasure of chatting with Jade and discovering her profound journey in music and her creative process
from her earliest music memories to now releasing her latest single Absurdist Reality.
It's clear to me and it's clear to many others that she's pushing the boundary of recording
(01:06:36):
and writing. And I really need to recommend her latest single, but even her past projects and
to look out for her new music coming out soon. To our audience, you can connect with Jade and
stay updated on her latest projects and her latest music by following her on social media at its
(01:06:56):
Jade Music. It'll be in the link below in the description below. Thanks for tuning in again.
And don't forget to like, comment, subscribe and leave a review on this podcast. This podcast is
made for networking, but not necessarily networking, but resources and educating ourselves on the
(01:07:17):
music industry through the experiences of music industry professionals. Also, be sure to join
our vibrant community on the AIDS network, whether you're a musician industry professional,
you know, somebody that's interested by the music industry, you can find like-minded individuals
on this Discord channel. It's, you know, we chat, gain valuable insights, and you can also access
(01:07:42):
exclusive conversations and insights on this Discord. Visit the links in the episode description
to join today. Thanks everybody. Stay safe and see you next week. Bye.
(01:08:18):
you
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