Artist Of The Week #154 - Amber Jay
This week’s Artist of the Week is Liverpool based artist Amber Jay - who has just released her debut EP ‘Never Too Far From A Dark Thought’. This collection of songs see Amber Jay embracing the bedroom pop genre and pushing it’s boundaries to create an atmospheric masterpiece. She took a moment to talk to us about the release.
Hey there Amber - how are you? So your debut EP is out now - how does it feel to have it out there in the world?
I'm good thank you WTHB! It feels great to finally have a body of work out there that I can proudly point towards when people ask what I do. The songs capture a moment of time and now they're fully grown and have flown the nest and I'm ready to keep going and growing!
It is titled ‘Never Too Far From A Dark Thought’ - what is the meaning behind that?
The title kind of sums up my mental state over the past few years in which these songs were written within. I just had this period of time from the ages of sixteen to twenty where I constantly felt like I was battling with something. I was happy but never at peace. I lived in fear of the fragility of my own brain but turns out it's kinda stronger than I gave it credit for.
Where was the EP recorded? Any behind the scenes stories from this experience?
I remember going on the first day to the motor museum where we recorded and I didn't know what to expect or really what I wanted from it. I'd saw a post on instagram from Kurran who produced the ep saying he'd set up a studio there, so I threw him a message asking if I could come down. My dad dropped me off and it felt like my first day at school. Now it's funny because we're all really good friends but I always think about how out of character it was for me to just hit up a stranger and go to a studio without any idea of really why i was going haha. The experience was great, it involved a lot of take outs from wootan scran which is a boss vegan chippy.
What are the key themes and influences on the EP?
A lot of the songs are about relationships whether my own or inspired by other narratives. When writing the songs i was influenced by the feelings of love, lust and loss but when it came to producing the EP much later on I wanted there to be an energy and playfulness to the EP. I was listening to a lot of Billie Eilish, Unloved and Marika Hackman at the time, so i was starting to discover artists who had similarly soft and delicate vocals to me but took their productions in unconventional directions.
You can sense a cinematic influence on this EP, if your EP could have any film story line to it - what would it be about?
I'd like to think it would play out this tragic love story which is riddled with darkness and mystery. Especially with 'Pencilled Brims' being this silky synth song which is quite gritty and haunting. I think it would fit quite well. I'd love to write a soundtrack for a film or series. I'd enjoy writing from a brief using script and characters to create a catalogue of songs that complement the on-screen story.
If you could have written any film soundtrack - which would you pick and why?
I love a soundtrack. I'm going to go with a series soundtrack (i hope that's not cheating) but if anyone knows me they know I'd say Killing Eve. The soundtrack is so sophisticated, sultry and filled with atmosphere and tension. The songs seem to just compliment every scene and magnify the on-screen action. I love the extravagance but intimacy within the songs and her voice is so endearing.
Do you have a favorite lyric on the EP? If so, which one and why?
My favourite lyric is 'never too far from a dark thought, bleeding from both ends.' Which is the start of the bridge for 'Stay the Same'. It's my favourite because I encapsulated what i wanted to say perfectly without having to really say it. It's that feeling of hurdling towards the inevitable with it only being a matter of time because your 'bleeding from both ends.'
Now the EP is out there, what next from you?
This EP has kind of topped up my self belief levels. I'm ready to take more songs into the studio and make an even better record. I'm right at the start and so I know i've got a lot of growing to do but this is the fun part and i'm just excited about making more music.