Author: Eli Serrato Photo Courtesy of 25/8 PR The future of the music industry is extremely uncertain. With all the craziness in our world, we have to ask ourselves, "Who should we be paying attention to right now?" The answer isn't set in stone. There are so many artists that deserve to be seen a bit more and today we're talking to someone who I believe is contributing to the future of rock music. First things first, thank you so much to Jen Janet for talking to us today about her new music. I have to ask, how are you feeling about your newest releases, "Possession" and "I Don't Belong"? It’s feeling good - I wrote the lyrics and a lot of the music for these two songs a few years ago, so just having them exist in the world is nice, finally. “I Don’t Belong” in particular has very personal lyrics and it’s a reflection of a very different time in my life. But writing it helped me to feel whole at the time, and that’s how a lot of my songs start off. Both songs are fantastic and I'm sure it wasn't easy! What was the hardest part about writing and recording them? Honestly, just making the decision to do it was the hardest part. I’ve been in bands before, and when you have four other people to work with or if they know how to do things you don’t, it can seem a lot easier. But it’s daunting to know that you are 100% responsible for anything musical that you put forward, including the music, the visuals, the marketing, etc. I waited to unleash this project, because I wanted it to be the best it could be, and I wanted to be proud of it. So I spent a lot of time learning some videography, photography, marketing, and of course, more about audio and recording. Being a completely independent artist is great because you have total control over your project, but it’s definitely busy. The songwriting process was fast in my opinion, but it was everything else that took time. You mentioned to us that you were into fashion and makeup, how do things like that play a role in your career as a musician? What inspires your aesthetic? I’ve always been interested in visual art as well as music, and I used to be very involved in theater when I was a kid. To me, music is very visual. If I hear a new song, sometimes I picture different things in my mind, or different colors. I think makeup, fashion, and videography are all really powerful ways of expressing yourself and trying to bring a song to life even further. I like making up stories and characters, and pairing them with a song. On your youtube, you said "Possession" could appeal to listeners of bands like PVRIS, Halestorm, and Muse. How have these bands and their sound influenced your own and how do you think they've helped pave the way for the genre? These three bands are ones I’ve been listening to for a long time, and definitely helped shape the type of solo artist I am now. With Muse, I love that they blend rock with many classical elements like piano for example, and they are able to create songs that sound reminiscent of that time period, but also sound unique at the same time. I think that’s a huge talent - to be able to pay homage to a style but still make something totally new out of it. With Halestorm, I think they just have fantastic, hard-hitting rock songs. I love their songwriting ability, and of course, Lizzy’s voice is fantastic. Pvris is really interesting because of their ability to blend genres. They are a blend of atmospheric rock, electronic music, pop, and they always have darker tones in the lyrics. There’s nothing wrong with happy music of course, but for me personally I don’t find it as interesting. I find the darker emotions to be much more interesting to explore, probably because we aren’t always allowed to do so in our daily life, and talking about anger or sadness can be frowned upon in some social contexts. I think all three of these bands do a great job of discussing more ‘negative’ emotions and creating something beautiful out of them. "I Don't Belong" definitely feels like an anthem of sorts and I wanted to get your input on what the lyrics mean to you and how the song came to be. Thank you! I am no longer feeling the way I did when I wrote it. It was a long time ago - but I was in a place in life where I had a job I knew I wouldn’t stay in. I stayed there for less than a year. I didn’t feel fulfilled and I knew I could do so much more. I was spending a lot of time in a place where I didn’t fit in. The title is extremely blunt, haha. I didn’t feel like I really belonged anywhere, in terms of location or social context. I think that’s somewhat normal though. I grew up in a very small town and there weren’t many different types of people around, in general. I’m glad I was able to branch out and meet lots of different people in the music scene in places like Boston, Providence, Philadelphia etc. Overall the song’s lyrics were just about how I was feeling at the time. I approach songwriting like a diary or journaling - if I write down my thoughts and feelings, I often feel better afterward, and it’s good to create something positive out of something negative. There's so much going on in the world right now that makes the future of music uncertain. What do you hope you'll be able to do in the near future and do you think we'll ever be able to go back to how the industry was before the pandemic? I feel really terrible for people who had just broken into becoming a touring musician full-time. I know a few people who had just quit their day-jobs to pursue music with 100% of their time and passion, and then this happened. I definitely think it will affect the industry for a long time. A lot of venues closed already also, so even when things open up again there are less opportunities for up and coming artists and bands. For me, I’m not as concerned with playing live just yet. I would love to perform live with my solo project, but I don’t want to do it unless people actually want me to, and if I’m ready. If I do it, I want to do it big and do it right. Mainly at the moment I’m just trying to write as much music as I can, and release it. I love creating videos and photos, and I can do that from home as I have a home studio. I would love to grow my audience more on Spotify and Youtube as well, because I think both of those platforms can be great for finding new music. You're extremely multi talented and have such a bright future in store especially with music. As of now, what will be your main focus and how does your music play a role in your other interests? My main focus is just to create more. Yesterday I actually shot half of a music video at home, so that will probably be out in a few months. I have a lot of ideas that I’d like to see become real. Music has always been the main constant in my life as far as I remember. The first time I sang on a stage in front of an audience, I was four. So it just feels like something that was always part of me. The other creative mediums came later. So it’s the other way around - the photography, fashion, and other interests help to bring the music to life, visually. I love that they can all work together. Before we go, is there anything you'd like to mention about your new songs that you'd like people to know? If anyone would like to be notified by email when I have a new song out, they can sign up for my email list here, and watch my videos as well: https://jenjanet.com/ I love interacting with everyone on social media too: @jenjanetmusic I really appreciate the support so far for “Possession” and “I Don’t Belong” and there’s more music coming your way!