Jae Franklin
Jae Franklin; photographed by Nabeela Huda.
This past week Jae Franklin released her Cheers to Life EP and we present you with both a listen and a conversation with the artist. Influenced by her world travels who draws inspirations from various locales from Korea, Ethiopia, United Arab Emirates, to stateside sounds; Jae embraces the various arts and approaches she has observed and experienced and incorporates them as facets of her own ever evolving styles in earnest. Drawing from global and personal experiences, Franklin illustrates her songs to spring forth from the journal pages to soar to new heights, new lives, and freshly realized essences of being.
The flight toward future days and a plethora of new tomorrows takes off with the opening life toast of “Higher” that sets the stage and tone of the EP with an expressive and unbound beauty. Jae’s songs mix the happiness with the hurt, the triumphs with the tribulations that together create an experience that couples aspects of lovers rock with electronic threads of world learned elements that creates a fully engaged sound. Jet setting sentimentality strikes true with dub inflected rhythms and brass on “Costa Biscaya”, to bathing in the ethereal realm of “Ronnie’s Theory”, mixing the globally minded hearts with the galactic shine of “inteRstellaR”, to the love note piano kissed committed cut of dedication and unwavering persistence and permanence on the romantic “Always Needed You”. Notions of deity and spiritual leanings and healing are heralded in the celestial sun shone beams of “Creator’s Hands”, to the stripped down reckoning of sadness, reality, and hope on “Weary”, right before the closing cut “Ordinary Things” brings everything full circle that reminds us all that the “ordinary things can be the most beautiful…” Stay with us now for our interview with Jae Franklin.
From your travels through the States, Korea, to UAE; how have you found these experiences and migrations have impacted the dimensions and depths of your sounds?
My parents played soul, jazz, classical and r&b music in the house when I was younger. My sis, Judith, and I were exposed to all types of music. It’s funny because it was like my destiny was predetermined by the type of environment in which I was raised. My love of music began at a young age and funneled into my adult life. I always search for music. It’s like I am hungry for it. Everywhere I live I have to find music and the people who are creating it. No matter where I live I find myself being drawn to people who have a love for the arts whether it’s an expression of poetry, music, visual art, photography, or even fashion design. My eyes and ears were exposed to even more music genres from the first few weeks I lived in Ethiopia. Living abroad, you have to embrace new cultures. Now, I’m always running into these eclectic, open-minded creative types of people who share a passion for music. I hear different styles of music almost every day in a live and direct way. You can’t help but be inspired hearing someone playing an oud or gayageum. When I hear those sounds, I want to incorporate them into my music. My new album, Cheers to Life, is the perfect example of what I like to call future soul. It’s multi-dimensional and a hybrid of soul and electronic elements. You can definitely hear worldly influences on the album.
Describe the life affirming testaments and testimonials that informed your album Cheers To Life.
Humanity and community greatly affected me while I wrote the songs on Cheers to Life. Some songs I wrote did not make the album, but they were directly influenced by the social and global issues that persist today. In the three years it took to wrap up the album from writing the first song to signing off on the album artwork, I was directly affected by loss and unspeakable joy. Like everyone else in the world, I had to deal with the highs and lows of life. Life has a way of throwing curveballs when we least expect them. Three years ago, I kept getting knocked down. Month after month, I kept experiencing major life events that shook me. I began to wonder what was happening. I didn’t understand why these things were happening to me and I almost didn’t recognize myself. That’s when I found refuge in writing about my experiences. Day after day, I journaled and put it all on paper. It was my therapy. As I wrote I noticed that I became stronger and I gained clarity. My relationships had more purpose and my purpose became refined. I began to heal. I’m actually still healing. That’s the beautiful part of this whole process. When I sing the songs on the album, I’m actually attached to every lyrics because they come from an honest place. One thing I know for sure is that adversity is inspiring. Through adversity, we are able to pick ourselves back up and gain the strength we need to move forward. In some of my most challenging situations, I’ve discovered that when it’s all said and done, I’m mentally stronger and my perspective about life shifts a little more.
What was the writing, arranging, and production process like during the making of this album?
The process was majority technologically-based. I worked with a number of producers around the world and we shared files through Dropbox, WeTransfer and Gmail. It was more like I would send a vocal recording to a producer. The producer would build around the vocals and send ideas back to me. We collaborated this way and it worked well for us. The producers and I had worked together in some capacity in previous collaborations so they understood my vision and knew my general style. We pushed each other with new ideas and respected each other throughout the process. It’s amazing how a whole album can come together this way.
What have you been obsessively listening to/binge watching/reading/etc so far this year?
I’ve been constantly listening to a song called Vultures by Vaults. I connect to it because the music is beautiful, lyrics are amazing, melodies are yummy, and the singer’s tone is layered and distinct. I’ve also been listening to one of my favorite bands called David Beats Goliath. My friend, George, is the lead singer and he writes most of their songs. Their lyrics are so thoughtful. My fave song of theirs is Maise & Neville. The Compton album is in constant rotation. All in a Day’s Work and Talk About It are my favorites from the album. Distance by Emily King is one of my favorite songs. Her new album, The Switch, sounds like a rainbow. It’s so colorful. Laputa by Haitus Kaiyote is such a beautiful song and I listen to it at least once a day on the long rides from Abu Dhabi to Dubai. I’ve been binge watching all things VICE. Their content is enthralling. I just watched a VICE NEWS panel discussion from the World Economic Forum about government, privacy and technology. My favorite VICE-related series is called Noisey Atlanta. It’s about the trap in Atlanta. I just started listening to audiobooks this year. The current one I’m listening to is Between The World and Me by Ta-nehisi Coates. I’m also re-reading Do Cool Sh*t by Miki Agrawal. It’s a great book about following your passion which should be inclusive of a CSR initiative. I’m also a d-i-y novice so I’ve been looking on IKEA and Pottery Barn hack websites to try and make home furnishings for half the cost. Haven’t made anything yet, but I plan to within the next month. I’ve also been following the good works of Humans of New York, Amnesty International and Race Forward. It’s my intention to use my music for good so I’m moved every time I see a movement or organization changing lives.
Projections, hopes, & missions for 2016?
I plan to travel internationally and regionally in the UAE to support my new album, Cheers to Life. After listening to the album, I hope everyone picks a few favorite songs and plays them over and over again. I hope they share ‘em with someone special. If they’re in pain, I hope this album heals them in some way. I also hope that Cheers to Life lifts their spirits and fills their hearts with joy. I also have some collaborations and future projects planned. I will definitely use my music as a platform to create awareness about social issues in 2016 and beyond.
Jae Franklin’s Cheers to Life EP is available now.
