Sam Jayne Talks ’95’ EP And More

You have released your new EP ’95’. Who did you work with on the tracks? 

We recorded the tracks at Greenmount Studios in Leeds, I’ve recorded many tracks there in the past so it felt only right to make the EP there aswell. You’ll hear the wonderful Jamie Hart, Rob Slater and Sam Jarps performing on the track in various roles, as we well as me on vocals and the odd bit of acoustic guitar. We tracked everything in five days, and the songs were later mixed by Jamie, and mastered by Carl Rosamund. I honestly just feel so lucky to be able to work with such lovely, talented people.

Where is your hometown and could you please describe it in five words?

I was born in a little countryside town called Thame in South Oxfordshire, the kind of place where if you walk five minutes in one direction you’ll find yourself on a quaint little cobble-stoned high street, and if you walk five minutes the opposite way, you’ll be in a cattle market. If I could describe it in five words, it would be these: cows, fields, and lovely people.

One of the tracks on the EP is ‘Hell Out Here’. What is the story/inspiration behind the song?

Hell Out Here is a song all about how life can get you down and leave you feeling like you’re not good enough, and that there is comfort to be found in the fact that we all feel that way sometimes. At the time, I just felt overwhelmed, endlessly worrying over whether I was doing enough or achieving as much as everyone else. But, I knew there was a song in there somewhere, and that if I wrote about it, it might help someone who was feeling the same way. 

In addition, the single is accompanied by a music video. What was the thought process for the video and do you have any funny stories from the filming?

I worked with the incredible Declan Creffield and Dan Tremble on this video, and we knew from the start that we wanted to keep the video concept really nice and simple. We decided upon the idea of two scenes, a day and a night, and moving seamlessly between the two. We really wanted to capture a bit of Americana sparkle to compliment the song, so you’ll see lots of neon lights and corn fields throughout. There were so many funny moments from the shoot days – I got hopelessly lost on the way to the field we’d chosen for the daytime shoot, absolutely ruined my shoes in the mud, tripped over my own feet a number of times mid-take and could barely keep my eyes open because of the blazing sunshine. It’s definitely not all glamour! 

Do you have any favoured stage instruments, pedals, effects, microphones etc.

At the moment, I’m loving my Faith Neptune Blood Moon guitar. Faith Guitars are some of my favourites out there, this guitar just has so much warmth about it and such a gorgeous tone, I really wouldn’t be without it for a live show. I’ve been using my TC Helicon VoiceLive Play GTX lately too. This is a multi-effects pedal that allows me to get really creative as a solo performer, mainly with the use of the in-built looper and vocal harmoniser. Their software is second to none in my opinion, I’m always recommending their products to people!

Do you have any plans to support the EP release with any live shows?

I was lucky enough to play a 13-date tour over the summer before the new songs were announced (which was incredible) so in the run up to the EP release, I wanted to hit pause for a minute and focus as much of my energy on the tracks themselves as I could. There may be one or two dates on the horizon before the end of the year though, so watch this space!

How do you look after your voice?

I tend to keep my vocal regime pretty simple! I always start with a 20 minute vocal warm-up around 1-2 hours before a show, and I make sure to use my vocal steamer for 10-15 minutes beforehand too. This, plus a few cool down exercises post-gig and plenty of vocal rest seems to work for me. Luckily I used to be a vocal coach, so I’ve always got a few tricks up my sleeve to help me stay on top of my vocal health.

Another song is ‘Nineteen’. Was that a difficult song to write?

Actually, this was one of the easiest songs I’ve ever written, as I wasn’t even trying to write it. It was back when I was still teaching, I was sat waiting for my next vocal student to arrive, and I began messing around with some chords on the piano. The first line of the song came to me out of nowhere, and the rest of the song just poured out in about 20 minutes. It’s probably a good thing that person never showed up for their lesson, otherwise the song might never have been written!

What makes Sam Jayne happy and what makes you unhappy?

Ooh, good question. Things that make me happy? Autumnal walks, caramel lattes, books you can get lost in, RuPaul’s Drag Race, my wonderful fiancé Andy, my friends and family, and big fluffy dogs. As for things that make me unhappy; queueing, staring at my phone for too long, traffic jams, snapping a guitar string halfway through a gig, and when my Uber Eats delivery arrives cold.

Photo Supplied By PR

Sam Jayne’s debut EP ’95’ is out now.

For more information visit: https://linktr.ee/samjaynemusic