Q&A: Transparency and New Sounds with Jae Luna’s New Single “i’m having a hard time being myself”
WITH TRANSPARENCY, HARMONIES, DISTORTION, GUITARS, AND MORE — Jae Luna’s new single, “i’m having a hard time being myself,” shows a different side of the artist. It’s been a year since Jae Luna dropped his last EP, Phases (2020), which he describes as “a developmental part of his music-making career.” In “i'm having a hard time being myself,” Jae Luna plays with a more definitive sound, drawing inspiration from the 2000s alternative music scene, distortions from garage rock, and ninth and eleventh harmonies that stem from Tshchovsky in classical music. With lyrics that exude transparency, Jae Luna expresses how easy it is to get lost in trying to perceive yourself in a way that doesn't feel true. But embedded in this are the frustrations of seeing others who are able to switch between personas so easily.
With an EP in the works, Jae Luna feels more liberated with this sound. He explains that this newer sound feels right; how it feels good to go beyond his comfort zone. With “i'm having a hard time being myself,” Jae Luna puts out a sound that he’s wanted to for a while now.
Read below to learn how Jae Luna’s developmental sound helps him blossom into a more raw and transparent artist.
LUNA: Congrats on the new single, “i’m having a hard time being myself”! I know it’s been a year since you’ve dropped your EP Phases. How do you feel? Are you excited?
JAE: I’m super stoked! I’m in particular excited because the last EP I wrote was kind of a developmental part of my music-making career. There are a lot of songs that are me playing around with this sound [and] playing with certain kinds of writing and stuff. So nothing was really definitive and I feel like this single was really definitive and was me putting my best foot forward. This is a sound I really wanna go for, and it feels nice to have that all figured out now and to channel it into the song.
LUNA: Do you feel like you are being yourself more through this single and showing more of your vulnerability?
JAE: Yeah, I kinda feel like the single [is] sonically … very transparent. I think it’s a really good show of my abilities as a producer and my interest as an artist and my influences. And yeah, lyrically speaking, I do think it’s a little more genuine and a little more honest.
LUNA: I know the lyrics to the song are pretty straightforward, but can you go in depth about the song and what it means for you?
JAE: So I wrote the song with my friend, and [it] is essentially about how we talked about how it’s really easy to get lost in being a different person or having a different face in general, but in particular, in the industry. I think for me, when I started putting out music several years ago, I got really caught up in trying to have a certain kind of way of how people will perceive me — trying to have a certain kind of image or whatever. And I know it’s very taxing, and it made me really unhappy in the end. Like, trying to upkeep something that wasn’t very honest. And yeah, it was kinda about that and how it’s just not real, and a lot more energy. And I feel like so many of my peers were kinda like in the same race, but didn’t feel like it bothered them so much. But I always felt so conflicted about that and being able to reconcile with that feeling.
LUNA: I understand that this song portrays strong messages that many artists out there can relate to. Are there any other messages that you would want to portray in your music, in general, in the near future?
JAE: Not, like, particularly so. I feel like every song is different. The songs I’ve been writing about lately are a pretty mixed bag of identity stuff. I have a song that’s coming out soon — that I want to put out next — that is more driven towards a scenario [of] high school sweethearts. That’s just like a love song, you know? I do like writing a lot about personal experiences, so I don’t know. I guess it’s not like a specific message, (laughs) but I hope I answered your question.
LUNA: Can you break down what your songwriting/song-making process is like?
JAE: Yeah, but I would say that it’s pretty different with this song in particular. I wrote this song with a guy named Remy Gautreau, who is also an artist. We wrote the song first, which I don’t do a whole lot. But I do tend to like it more when I do it like that. We wrote the song first, then we took the song and did a bunch of production stuff to it. I think it’s always been a little easier for me to produce than to naturally write. Once the song is there, I build a bunch of elements to kinda stress or underscore certain parts more, and that’s kinda how we did it for the song. We wanted to make sure that the production was really doing the song justice.
LUNA: Do your past singles/EPs represent who you are now and what you want to release in the future?
JAE: I think that’s kinda a hard question to ask or answer. I think in terms of who I am now, I think yes in the way that I think those singles led up to who I am now, if that makes sense. I would have not gotten to this point in this sonic-whatever if I didn’t have singles like that. But I think in the current sound-alike direction, it’s pretty different though from what I put out in the past, [so] I would say in that way, no. I do think the single is pretty new. I feel like it’s unique for me, but it’s kinda the right choice. It’s like what I always wanted to put out. It just feels like the good, right sound to do right now.
LUNA: As a follow-up, I know you mentioned that this sound is different for you now, but do you think you were scared to put this sound out before?
JAE: I guess you can say that. I think I had a lot of inhibitions as an artist for some reason. I think it’s really easy to get locked into a sound; into what you can or can’t do. I think that I was always pretty alternative. I wouldn’t say experimental, but it’s a little more distorted. Like raw in that way than I’ve done before. I was always scared to do that ’cause I [was] a vocalist mainly before being a producer, and I always thought to myself that, for a distorted song, I gotta yell. Like I listen to a lot of alternative, garage rock, and punk, and stuff like that. So when I hear sounds like that, I always think of hard-core singers. But I always felt like, “Oh, I can’t do this.” I don’t know. I don’t know why I thought that way. But these days I feel a lot more liberated to do those sonic qualities and combine my voice, and it feels like the most natural thing to me.
LUNA: Wow, that’s deep! I really enjoy how eclectic your sound is. You are described as a “genre-fluid” artist. Who are your musical influences?
JAE: That’s hard...I started producing in college. So when it comes to the actual creation of music, I think, sonically, I was really inspired to make music that was future-based actually, so I feel like I was doing a lot of one-hit stuff. I think in terms of writing, I really have always liked Frank Ocean, and I really like Sufjan Stevens. As I said, a lot of those garage rock people — I think I really identify with those sonic qualities to the distortion and whatever. I can’t really think of much. I really like The Velvet Underground, The Strokes, Ty Segal, and Cali Surf punk kinda shit. And yeah, I don’t know. That’s kinda like a mix. I really like James Blake, too, and a lot of the IDM people like Flying Lotus and Brain Feeder. I know that’s like randomly a lot, but I think all of those artists I started listening to a lot in college, and they all play a really big part in my sound and the way I produce.
LUNA: So I heard that you’re a classically trained singer and pianist — that's really cool! Can you tell us how you incorporate that into your sound?
JAE: I think it’s obviously not blatant. It comes along the most through cadence and harmonies. For me, being a classical singer, I did choir for a really long time. So I think that the way I do harmonies — especially in my vocals — has been in a larger, almost dissonant, kind of harmony. And those were harmonies I always gravitated towards when we did songs. And I think either by memory or gravitation, I always wanted those ninth and eleventh harmonies. I think for classical piano or just being a classical musician — I majored in classical music originally — I listened to a lot of romantic music growing up. Those also had a lot of rich ninth and eleventh harmonies. But also, in particular, I liked a lot of Tchaikovsky, and people in the type of romantic music, because he has these incredible swells and builds and rises to them and [they’re] really unique to that period. And that’s something I try to emulate a lot. Like a really big swell of emotion and a big disappearing of it, and I feel like those are the most pragmatic uses that I’ve had for those.
LUNA: Nice! I know you have an EP in the works — can you give us an idea of what we could expect?
JAE: I guess sonically it’s pretty vague, but there are songs that are a bit more liberated. I think if anyone has listened to my catalog, they’ll know I’ve dabbled with certain sounds or I feel like a lot of the songs I’m doing now are really a good show of my evolution. Like an arrival point almost, or the beginning of that arrival point where I’m really feeling like I’m starting to hone in on what makes me “Jae Luna.” And that’s really exciting for me.
I think it’s gonna be a lot of mixed songs and ballads and more upbeat stuff. I think I used to not have upbeat stuff, but I’m excited to have songs like that. Like this next song I want to release is gonna be an upbeat song… I’m really getting in touch with my alternative roots and with my childhood roots, too. I know everyone is listening to 2000s shit, but I’m 25, so that’s like me pulling up my 8-year-old playlist. So that’s fucking amazing. So lots of ’90s hip hop, alternative stuff. I don’t know, just a lot of influences from that era.
LUNA: Now that live shows are starting to open back up again, are you looking forward to them? If so, what are you looking forward to?
JAE: Yeah! I’m really looking forward to it. I haven’t played in God knows how long. I think it’s been, like, two years. I think I’m really excited to play new songs like this one. ’Cause they’re faster, like I said. I used to do live shows and they were like 80 percent slow songs, and I was like, “Dang, do people even wanna come to this?” So I’m really excited to do shit. I kinda feel like the writing is a little more easily digestible. I’m excited for people to hear the songs and catch on to the lyrics by the end. I miss the energy; I miss just talking to people you know? That’s gonna be fun playing guitar.
LUNA: Yeah, I get that! That in-person interaction. I know a lot of people adjusted to this remote lifestyle and, honestly, some just want it to stay that way. But I feel like you miss out on those genuine interactions and connections.
JAE: Yeah, I feel like I used to get a drink and chop it up with other artists, and I think I miss that the most. Like meeting other people who are coming up just like me, getting a drink with them, and hearing their set. That was so fucking cool.
LUNA: Now a question for fun - you can only recommend your top three favorite artists to a stranger. Who are they?
JAE: Easy pressure! I’ll do three songs. “White Ferrari” by Frank Ocean, “Kid A” by Radio Head, and I’ll just say something I’m loving right now. Probably “Clan in Da Front” by Wu-Tang Clan.
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