Interview w/ JayWood
Written and Interviewed by Sarah Evangelista
JayWood doesn’t stop moving. By day, he’s delivering mail across Montreal, and by night, he’s delivering genre-bending performances and shaping his next sonic chapter. His new album, Leo Negro, is his most daring yet. It’s a sharp, cohesive project that pulls together every facet of his restless creativity.
Sarah Evangelista (TMEB): First off, I want to say thank you for taking the time to do this with me, especially while you're working. What's your favourite part of your morning routine?
JayWood: I guess when I do get one, it's pretty consistently just like shower, eat, stretch, and then emails if I have time. Any quiet and stillness I get is probably my favorite part before just being overly stimulated by constant movement and people.
TMEB: 100%. What is your fondest musical memory?
JayWood: When I was a kid, driving around with my mom and my brother. I remember going to Toronto. She had the cassettes of old Soca and Caribbean music. She would play that all the time. A lot of that stuff really just sits in the back of my brain.
I was even able to find one of the songs that was super prominent that would always be on repeat. I don't know how I found it, but I found it on Spotify.
TMEB: What was that song?
JayWood: It's called “Somebody at the Party” by Mighty Sparrow. It's a weird song, but it's a very nostalgic song for me.
TMEB: This new album is absolutely incredible. The album art caught me first. It is absolutely stunning and so unique. I wanted to ask you what the significance of this album art is to you?
JayWood: I think I was trying to play off the theme of identity on this cover. there's just several versions of myself in one tiny room trying to coexist and do their own thing.
It's like a plot device to move between the different versions. Like, “all right, pass the phone, it's my turn to talk” type thing. It’s me trying to exist with all these different versions of myself: I can be, want to be, shouldn't be, currently am… and trying to find some kind of balance in this very tight space that is my brain sometimes.
TMEB: Every song on this album is capitalized. Where your last album, that wasn't the case. So what changed? What made you switch to all caps?
JayWood: That's so funny. I do still like a lowercase letter… I think they can be really cute. They're all capitalized as a ways to feel just fully confident within them. For example, Kendrick [Lamar]’s DAMN., where one syllable or phrase is all caps and there’s a theme to it.
TMEB: It's almost like they're like, statements and not suggestions.
Being a Leo is a main theme in the album, especially “PISTACHIOS”. At what moments in life do you feel most like a Leo?
JayWood: That's such a funny question. Most moments I guess would be when I'm actively trying not to feel like one. I have a weird relationship to attention… I don't know what to do with it once I have it.
I'm trying to be a better performer, confident, leaning into that power. What's your sign?
TMEB: I'm a Scorpio.
JayWood: I've met a lot of Scorpios and I don't really know what their attributes or traits are.
TMEB: I honestly don't really know myself… I heard we’re really intimidating though.
JayWood: Well, if I see you in person, I'll be mindful of this.
TMEB: This whole album is so cohesive, and this record is self-produced (it's not your first time self-producing an album), so how does wearing both the artist and a producer hat change the way you approach an album?
JayWood: I think sometimes I think too heavy into concept and every song needs to feel like a part of that whole thing. I have a vision for what I want the whole thing to be.
TMEB: So do you consider yourself like a perfectionist with your albums?
JayWood: I wouldn't ever call myself a perfectionist. I think I'd be more like a particularist. I always like the idea of getting something close enough to the idea to keep the thing moving.
I don't like to be fixated on something to get it just right, that taking away of momentum. If it lands close enough where I can feel satisfied moving on from it, that's sick. Because realistically, if I was a perfectionist, I don't think I'd be putting out music as much as I do.
TMEB: It's so hard to know when an album is done. So you not being a perfectionist is an advantage for you.
JayWood: Big time. I'm around a lot of people that are perfectionists, and sometimes that could feel like I'm not doing enough or I'm not really good at what I do… I would love to be better at practicing and routine. I'm excited to keep trying stuff rather than perfecting things.
TMEB: I love that. What was the last puzzle piece that made the record click?
JayWood: That's a good question.
Honestly, I think seeing the songs all together, only recently did it feel like it actually clicked. I think they're slowly finding their groove within the overall puzzle.
And I also think seeing the album cover really also put it together for me as well. I had it in my brain that this is what I wanted to do. It all just kind of came together.
TMEB: I think it's one of my favorite album arts of the year, to be honest.
JayWood: Dang, that means a lot. Thank you.
LEO NEGRO album cover
TMEB: I went on RandomQuestion.com and came up with a question for you: Would you rather be stuck on a broken ski lift or a broken elevator?
JayWood: That's actually so hard. Have you seen the movie Frozen? Not the Disney movie.
TMEB: Yes, I have. It's such a bad movie, but it's so terrifying.
JayWood: I hate being cold, and then there's another movie called Devil, where it's a bunch of people stuck on an elevator. It's kind of like a whodunit, but it's a little campy and cheesy.It's a M. Night Shyamalan movie. It's pretty horrible, too.
See, this is what I do with Would You Rathers… How cold is it on the ski lift? Like, am I comfortable in a decent small jacket or is it like freezing, freezing, freezing cold?
TMEB: I have no information, so you could totally go wild with this.
JayWood: I hate being cold, maybe an elevator. I think there's a better chance to being rescued in that scenario. That's terrifying, though.
TMEB: We're going to move on to something more happy. If you could live in any album for a week, which one would it be?
JayWood: Oh, that's a fun question.
Call Me If You Get Lost (Tyler, the Creator). Nice weather, nice travels. If I could just be rich and travel the world, that would be pretty sick. You're going to just live your best life.
TMEB: Who are your favorite artists right now?
I just went to see Nourished by Time this week, and that was a really great show. Blood Orange just put out a new record that has been on repeat a bunch. Dijon. And Tyler's always on one of those lists as well.
TMEB: Well, thank you so much for chatting with me. This was so great. And again, this album is incredible.
JayWood: Thank you for the lovely convo.