Jess Locke

Following her widely acclaimed 2017 album Universe, Melbourne singer-songwriter Jess Locke has also released a new 7” vinyl featuring two new singles My Body Is An Ecosystem & Nothing At All, out now via Pool House Records / Remote Control Records. To celebrate the release, Jess Locke has announced she will be hitting the road this December on a six-date Australian tour, visiting fans in Melbourne, Adelaide, Brisbane, Sydney, Port Macquarie & Wollongong. Jess answers a few questions for Hi Fi Way: The Pop Chronicles about the upcoming tour.

Congratulations on the new single My Body Is An Ecosystem, is it a relief to finally have it out?
Thank you! It is definitely a relief to finally have it out in the world. We worked really hard on these songs and so it was quite a journey from writing the songs, arranging and rehearsing to recording them. I listened to the songs so many times during the mixing process, and with such a critical ear that you can kind of get a bit lost in it and lose to ability to hear things as a whole. So its nice that other people can hear them with fresh ears and its finally out of my hands!

What’s the story behind the single?
I guess this song came out of my relationship with my body. About the struggle to accept it for what it is, functionally and aesthetically. I have had all kinds of health issues over the years which have all challenged my self-perceptions, of my abilities and limitations and of my self-image as a woman. It’s about the alienation you feel when the idea of yourself and what want to do and be is at odds with your actual physical being and capabilities. The song is kind of just a voicing of that frustration and also an attempt to accept our flaws and vulnerability.

Was it exciting hearing it premiered on the radio?
Yes! It’s always exciting hearing a song on the radio for the first time.

How cool is it to have this single out on vinyl?
Honestly, I am just happy that it’s out there in any format at all. Some people love vinyl and some don’t, so it’s great that there are options for both kinds of people. But there is something nice about the permanence of a vinyl record.

Do you think your sound has changed much since your debut Universe?
Yes, a bit. I think every song i write is always testing out some slightly different angle. The seven inch is a bit more rockin’ than Universe I think. Some of it is a lot more layered and I’ve experimented a lot more with synths and guitar tones. I think the next record will have a different vibe again. But it’s always building on whats come before.

What was the biggest learnt from recording your debut?
It’s hard to say there was one big lesson. Before I released my first album i had done a lot of demoing and home recording, so in a way it didn’t feel like my first record. Even from the first crappy computer recordings i ever did I have been learning. Maybe the biggest thing is just that a record is never perfect, but its just a piece of a whole that isn’t finished yet and will never be finished. At least that’s how I see it.

How is work going on the album?
We’ve got a few new songs in the works but I need to spend a lot of time writing. I have a lot of ideas and starting point. I just need to see where they go.

What does 2019 look like for Jess Locke?
The plan is to finish writing and recording album three! So we’ll take a little break from heavy touring to focus on writing, but we’ll will still play the odd show here and there.

Interview by Rob Lyon

Catch Jess Locke on the following dates, tickets from https://www.jesslocke.com/