MEET : Jackie West
The first time I heard Jackie West’s music was the first day of 2022. Sat in a carpark in Derbyshire waiting for my train with a friend, we had overcompensated time-wise and had a while to kill. I had been sent Jackie’s debut EP and after a week of listening to loud familiar songs we knew back to front and inside out, her jazz-folk merge was just the respite we needed. The first moment of silence of the year… even through our crackly car speakers, it sounded like a dream.
Released through Westernesse Records (the brainchild of Lewis Lazar from Oracle Sisters) her self-titled debut EP, ‘Jackie West’ throws you into her world instantly. All the energy and momentum of a debut EP release is there, but the buzz is also coupled with the fact that West is the label’s first artist on their roster. Double the cosmic fizz.
We threw over some sound waves from our place in Paris to Jackie’s in the US and chatted about her NYC roots and it’s effervescent music scene as well as her love for harmonies and a good cappuccino.
Photos by Garrett Manley
How has the start of 2022 been for you?
Fresh, cold. Spent inside, recording mostly— I’m finishing an album. I got a boost of good feelings when I released the EP. It’s my first real release and I’m thrilled to begin the music sharing process, playing shows and all.
Where is home to you ?
New York City is home to me, but I grew up in Boston. I must have a co-dependency with the seasons. I also love the bluntness of the people here. I feel home whenever I’m in a Brooklyn Italian-American shop— the distinct fragrances of oregano, fennel, parmesan, and the sweetness of bubbling tomatoes all remind me of my family back home in Boston.
I think of home as a place where personalities that are larger than life exist in the same room as the shadowed, quiet sceptic. New York city has troves of these characters.
Tell us about your musical childhood…
When I think of my musical childhood, I think of singing hymns in church, new england summer camp songs, my grand parents’ love for Nat King Cole and Astrud Giberto, the bands my dad listened to: The Beatles, The Who, Yes, Kate Bush, Joni Mitchell— and his band ‘Sass To West’. Seeing my dad perform live with his rock n roll band probably informed me the most as a kid. I’ve been hooked on Astrud, Joni and the Beatles ever since.
Music has the power to transport people to different landscapes and dimensions… where do you think your music takes people?
If songwriting in its basic element: voice and instrument, exists in the middle of a listening audience, there is some transmutation happening there, and if the emotional rides of a drama working out its tension are all felt in the body just through sound— the songwriter’s medium of transportation is there on the stage. They have the floor. They are the guide. I think this round of songs I’ve been writing have been sort of incantations— methods of healing i’ve needed to have by observing life through a ‘magical realism’ lens.
I firmly believe a violin betters every song it’s featured in. Which instrument/component of a song does this apply to for you?
I think I’d take the traditional harmonies-improve-everything approach. I often cry listen to voices traveling together live.
Find Indigo is my favourite track off the EP, can you tell us about the song and how it came about?
Thanks for saying that. It was a special one to write. ‘Find Indigo’ is meant to bring you into a redwood forest set north of San Francisco. It’s also meant to express the dichotomy of living in reality where people are involved, validating our experiences versus living in a mystical place in our secret and private realities, wondering how they can merge. I pulled the upside down hermit tarot and believe that ‘Find Indigo’ is that personality: the limbo place where you’re coming out of contemplation and ready to realign with society.
Why did you choose to release with Westernesse?
Lewis Lazar, who started the label, is a dear friend of mine. We met on Martha’s Vineyard during a time where music saved my life. That was years ago and after a brief stint recording with him for another project in Montmartre, he told me he wanted to release my music, but that I had to write more first. I wrote a ton and I guess he liked the result! He started Westernesse with me as the first artist— I like to be a part of the beginning of things and since Lewis has an artistic approach that has always spoken to me, I’m grateful and happy to release music with his label.
What’s your favourite part of the EP process? Writing, recording or playing it live?
All the processes are fun in their own way, but the most natural is the writing process. writing is where I can play all the roles in the drama and choose the musical arc. Inception is a total thrill for me. It requires discipline and yet total freedom. Writing music is where I trust myself the most.
2 playlists you’re featured on are ‘Acoustic Coffee House’ and ‘Coffee Songs’. How do you take your coffee?
I love a good cappuccino with oat milk or almond - depends on the place though. Sometimes an americano is the way to start the morning.
Tell us about the New York music scene.
It’s like many distinct towns clustered together with their own architecture in a valley on Mars populated by shrewd, genuine, sultry, interesting, low key, high intellect, collaborative, harrowing spirits. There are so many musicians here in all realms of music that can and do make music together, mixing high energy with a totally relaxed vibe. I don’t know how it’s done, but I think I know why: it’s the result of music being both a survival mechanism and therapy for those who make it in this city.
Who are some NYC artists/band we should be listening to?
So many artists are rising right now and making special music:
Cassandra Jenkins
Allegra Kreiger
Renata Zeiguer
Miriam Elhajli
Maia Friedman
Johanna Samuels
Katy Von Schliecher
Hannah Cohen
Ian Davis: Rock Band
Liptalk
Kalbells
Tōth
Kyle Morgan
Scout Gillet
Katy Rea
Katy Pinke
Devon Church
Adam Brisbin
Miles Hewitt
There are so many and I’m really just getting started…
The sun is starting to peak through the cloud in Paris… what song shall we listen to to tempt it out even further?
Well if I’m going to plug one of my songs here, I’d say ‘Amelia’ — it’s got that after-winter-sun feel. And if I’m thinking about a friends song, man, he hasn’t released it yet, but watch for Ian Davis : Rock Band. I saw them live and it’s essential NY classic cool. A tune that will for sure bring out the sun is ‘dream free’ a new release from Sam Evian off his recent album featuring Hannah Cohen. It’s got all the good vibes.
You’re on the Last Bus home after a big night. What are you listening to?
I’ve been really into Jenny Hval lately. I find her music super specific to feelings I’ve had and inclinations towards worlds I’ve wanted to explore, yet haven’t found the musical way yet. I’m thinking of her EP from 2018 ‘The Long Sleep’… I’m in love with the tune ‘Spells’.
