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Jes - Web Exclusive Interview! |
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Written by Kirk Hartlage
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Tuesday, 11 September 2007 |
 Jes Connects With Disconnect
Listening
to the 14 tracks on singer/songwriter Jes' new album, Disconnect (Ultra Records), brings to mind a certain
quirky Icelandic singer—albeit a more controlled, focused version. Jes,
a former art student and native New Yorker, welcomes the comparisons.
"I got to see Bjork perform at Coachella this year," says Jes.
"She was playing with a 32-piece orchestra, violins and everything. She
does all those things that as a singer you'd love to do yourself."
"I really wanted my fans to see all sides of me and this album was my chance to do that," she adds.
Jes currently resides in West Hollywood, right in the middle of
"Boys Town," as she proudly proclaims. Though she appreciates both New
York and L.A., the differences are as distinct as her voice.
"New
York is much dirtier and WeHo is so manicured," she laughs. "The energy
between the two is very different. Things are a little more laid back
in L.A. You have to drive everywhere so you don't do as many
appointments in one day. New York is much more hyper – it moves very
fast."
She even finds differences in each area's gay populations.
"In L.A. they're a lot more carefree, there are certainly more parties
here," says Jes. "I live near The Abbey here and it's nice to be
sitting out in the sun at four in the afternoon. It's also easier to
meet people here in L.A."
As Jes has become bicoastal, her music has also transformed.
She started off in pop and R&B while living on the east coast, but
says she started picking up her guitar more when she moved to L.A.,
making her music more "organically." It was out west, says Jes, that
she became "a little more alternative rock-oriented."
She's found success with her rock-oriented sound in an unlikely
genre: dance music. Defining a sound called "Rocktronica," Jes has
provided vocals both in the studio and live on tour with such big names
as Tiësto and Gabriel & Dresden. With G&D she formed
Motorcycle, whose debut single, "As The Rush Comes," has gone on to
sell over three million copies worldwide.
She's now branching out on her own with her debut solo album. The
release shows Jes' many musical personalities, while still staying true
to the electronic dance format.
"You can help but want to have fun
in this genre," she says. "The dance audiences are very loving. The
rock world is a little harsher, a little colder and more judgmental. It
was really hard getting a couple hundred people to rock shows. But in
dance, a small show can be a 1,000 people."
One struggle she's encountered, though, is the constant evolution of the scene.
"DJs
are constantly looking for that next 'big' hit to play on their dance
floors," she says. "It makes it hard to stay in the game. They
constantly want to have new things, and are going through thousands of
songs in a week. So I'm constantly writing to fill that. I know I need
to produce a lot of material to keep up."
Jes says that having to be constantly creative isn't difficult, as she easily gets bored with herself.
"Even
when I was done working on this record, I was already at work on the
next one," she says. "Music is addictive in any way you can get it.
Making it is a process that you become very attached to. Besides,
practice makes perfect, right?"
Still, as a fan of acts such as Radiohead, The Killers, The
Cure and Debbie Harry, Jes believes a "great dance song" is a great
song on its own, "before you put a dance beat under it." And, as
apparent with her debut album, she's made that connection successfully.
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Instinct Online 
written by Tony Alonso (denver) on September 26, 2007
i fuckin love Jes. ive seen her at least 10 times. at the church in denver, at the past few years of global dance fest at redrocks, and at a tiesto concert in LA. shes amazing. and so sweet. i love that she loves us gay boys. i am sooo gonna try to bump into her next time im in weho!