Jess Spahr isn’t your run of the mill musician. She picked up the violin at the age of 6, going on to train as a classical pianist. Young Jess started winning eisteddfods all around Sydney, receiving countless awards and high fives along the way.
In 2018 she recorded and released her debut single, ‘Betray Me’. The track channelled the electronic downtempo vibes of Morcheeba and picked up spins via unearthed and triple j. Over the past several months Jess has been writing and recording, churning out tracks to get a feel for her artistic sense of direction. This brings us to her follow up single, ‘Tensions’.
Despite being a quirky and catchy-as-hell slice of Electro Pop, the lyrical content of ‘Tensions’ is more serious, describing the challenges and unwarranted propositions most young women experience throughout life.
“Tensions was written about my personal experience with sexual harassment. Unfortunately an older man took the conversation I was having with him to a whole other level. It is an experience I have to say, no matter what age you are, still shocks you and you go back over in your head thinking ‘did I do something to lead him on like that?’. The answer is ‘HELL NO’.
So, to put a dampen on some of my rage and anger, my friend Luke Carra (also my producer) thought I should write about it. TOOK ME DAYS TO WRITE THE BLOODY LYRICS with Luke sitting there and saying ‘write about misogyny’. When composing the song I wanted it to be upbeat and not a ‘down and out, feeling sorry for myself’ kind of piece. I wanted the piece to be more of an anthem for women who get extremely irritated by men who think it is ok to touch us inappropriately. It is a totally ‘stick the middle finger in their face’ song.”
- Jess Spahr
Serious lyrical content aside, Jess loves the collaborative nature of making music. She is delighted to have found her ideal collaborator and producer in Luke Carra from Sydney band, Caravana Sun.
“Luke has been a good friend of mine for many years and, not only has he helped create these songs, he has helped build me into an artist and really understand the ins and outs of the industry – he is a real support unit. He is great with ideas and hearing a whole piece of music – I usually come in with the foundations (my choruses are usually changed, cause they suck most of the time haha) and magic all happens within the studio; it is a real creative space.”
– Jess Spahr
GIGS
Thursday June 6th – Brass Monkey – Sydney, NSW
Supporting Lee Coulter and Dixie Maxwell
Sunday September 29th – Islington, LONDON
More European dates TBC
‘Tensions’ is now available on all digital platforms
