Music > Interviews
Interview with Jess Morgan
04/03/13
Jess Morgan has a sharp wit, a storyteller’s tongue and sincere humility despite the talent that’s seen her picked up by those in the know, including the priceless attention of Steve Lamacq. We could be satisfied knowing she’s simply a delightful musician, with the sweetest lilt that shares folk’s secrets, but it makes it all the nicer when Jess is all kinds of nice herself. Jess accepts our apology for listing her not once, but twice, in this magazine as first, Jeff Morgan, and second, Jess Organ. Far from being disgruntled at now being confused for someone who sounds like a 70s bassoon player, Jeff Organ, Jess is her perpetually delightful self as she gives us her time before her NAC gig this month…
You’re playing a homecoming show in March, which looks to follow suit and sell out like your last. You’re well travelled, but is there nothing like playing on home turf?I really hope it does. Playing a big gig at home for me is so much more than a gig – it’s a celebration, an exam, a thanks, a please and a massive milestone all in one. I feel nervous just thinking about it!
The tour stretches well beyond Norwich, with a good many dates. Is the road your new home? How do you respond to life on the road?I wondered for a while whether, beyond the obvious advantages of saving on fuel costs and being able to focus your effort, there was much point to touring. I mean – playing consecutive days as opposed to just gigging at regular intervals. I wondered if touring like that was one of the leftovers of the old model – and that maybe musicians were kidding themselves if they think we can carry on romanticising when the industry has changed so dramatically and music is so readily available to anyone in so many different ways. But as soon as I get stuck into a tour I remember the amazing feeling of packing up your car and going off – I love it. It forces you to up your game and rediscover your resilience. For me it’s extra challenging because I'm a nervous driver and I don't like being on my own very much... but I get on with it and I grow a little bit as a person and I think it transfers into my playing and writing too. When I play in Europe its even more challenging yet thrilling because I do it all on public transport and I carry everything I need on my back.
Tell us about the ‘Richer Thinner Smarter’ EP…I recorded the EP over several sessions at the end of last summer; I set up a mic in a barn near to where my parents live in east Norfolk and also recorded a session at the Old Merchants House – which is a beautiful house, which serves now as a museum on the South Quay in Gt. Yarmouth. There are 4 new songs and 3 new versions of tracks from ‘Aye Me’ – all recorded pretty much one mic, one take. On one hand I just wanted to sit down and play just to satisfy myself and on the other I wanted to bridge the gap between ‘Aye Me’ and my next full-length record.
How did you choose the locations that the songs were recorded at?I've always loved the South Quay in Yarmouth. I must admit to being a serious nerd here but the museums in Yarmouth are amazing and I always try to get to a couple every year. As soon as I walked into the Old Merchant's House I knew I wanted to sing in there. I only had the place for an hour on my own so I had to switch on and crack on in there. For the rest of the recordings I just needed a place that was quiet and peaceful.
You’re a troubadour of the best kind; as is great folk tradition, you tell stories that go beyond your own experiences. Where do you pick up your tales?They can come out of nowhere and for no reason at all – but I try to keep all the ideas catalogued in my brain or jotted in a notebook. Essentially it’s when I sit down with my guitar that the right parts assemble – I always go with feeling over functionality, via much trial and error.
We’re the proud owners of ‘All Swell’, your debut full-length; you recorded the album in Norway – how much of your surroundings crept into recording, if any?That album for me will always be the marker of some really magical times. I recorded most of it 'live' through a couple of mics – sitting around a table playing the songs with my friend and co-producer HP. Although I can't say I ever feel the urge to put on my own CDs – people have told me that there is a lot of life in that record – and I certainly felt alive when we made it.
How did it compare to your experiences with ‘Aye Me’?Aye Me has its very own story, in that it came together in spite of a whole heap of adversity. It was only really through people's kindness and enthusiasm - especially that of my co-producer Tom - that it got to be an album at all. I learned so much from making that album.
I read your blog recently about Glee being woefully ‘traditional’ in the approach to who holds the instruments – the guys, or the gals? It was a point well made! Do you believe girls are still underrepresented in the commercial channels?I don't think the problem is underrepresentation of girls but it’s more the expectations – or lack of them. As much as I love a good episode of Glee now and then, it does infuriate me how rarely you see a girl pick up an instrument. I think the writers of Glee either have a problem with the expectation that girls can be musically self sufficient – or they have accepted the idea of the guitar as a masculine symbol and made no attempt to challenge it. Either way I think Sue Sylvester needs to get on the case.
I also really enjoyed your post about loving CDs as a format. They sometimes seem quite unromantic compared to vinyl, but I adore my collection. What album do you always return to, that circumvents the notions of your favourite genre, or favourite artist, that just. is. awesome?Might be predictable but... Bruce Springsteen – ‘Devils and Dust’ just goes round and round on my car stereo. It gets me from A to B, it’s been with me lost in the middle of Manchester on match-day trying to find a Halfords and just recently down a mountain in Scotland in a blizzard. (Note to self: don't book Scottish leg of tour in December.)
We’re fans of your album artwork – they look like earthy linocuts – are they? We’ve also seen on your blog you’ve been having some fun making videos? Do you revel in the visual side of your work, and who helps?Yeah, they're linocuts and I experiment with the colours in Photoshop. I'm not brilliant at them by any means and when I see other proper artists’ wood and linocuts I feel like giving up completely! I only really got into printmaking fairly recently but I've fallen in love with the risky side of it – the not knowing whether you're going to get a good print – whether you've carved the block just right... and no two prints are ever the same. You get to work with limitations. The carving is sometimes physical and the mark making tactile. The elements I love about making prints are the same things I love about music.
Are you any acquaintance, or relation to an oft-advertised musical act called Jeff Organ?!Oh yes I know Jeff very well. We dated for a while but he was too much for me – in bed.
Emma Garwood
Jess plays her homecoming gig at Norwich Arts Centre on March 4th. For tickets, go to www.norwichartscentre.co.uk.