A Quick Chat with JXCKY

Can you tell us a bit about your inspiration for your A Body For An Eye EP?

‘A Body For An Eye’ is a twist on the phrase ‘an eye for an eye makes the whole world blind’. Similarly to my debut EP, Thriving In Perpetual Darkness, ‘a body for an eye’ is a phrase that someone had said about me. Taking a body instead of an eye means getting back at somebody in an infinitely worse way than how they’ve hurt you initially. It’s not balanced. It’s not a regular tit-for-tat. It’s unequal. And I found this concept of revenge intriguing because there is so much more to it than just ‘getting even’ which is how it’s regularly presented in music. What about… how did we get here? How do we feel about our actions? What are the consequences of getting even (if any)? For this EP, I wanted to dial up the dark-pop to a level I hadn’t created before to match that theme.

What are your influences and how do they affect your songwriting?

My interest in songwriting has always stemmed from literature and lyricism and since I was a kid, I religiously listened to and studied Taylor Swift’s discography. I love the details, the sassiness, the references, the easter eggs and how it feels like we’re reading directly from her diary. For A Body For An Eye, I wanted it to feel like listeners were doing the same – reading from my diary or my iPhone notes app. SB90 (one of the main producers and co-writers on this project) also helped to expand my palette sonically. We were inspired by Labyrinth, old school Kanye, Childish Gambino production-wise and I tapped a little further into a mix of trap and hip-hop which pushed me out of my comfort zone.

What’s the creative process like for you?

For me, the creative process can begin anywhere – in the car, the shower, my room, at dinner, at a concert or even waking up in the middle of the night. But it always comes in the form of a title or a lyric and it grows until it becomes a fully-formed melody. With this project, most of the songs started off as titles that were expanded upon in the studio as opposed to how I used to write on the keyboard at home first before bringing it to a producer. I love how much more comfortable I am with beginning from scratch with another person rather than going at it at home alone.

If you could change something about the Australian music industry, what would it be?

There is so much good music by phenomenal Australian artists that are missed, don’t receive airplay (whether it’s mainstream or Triple J) or are heavily slept on. I wish there was more of a push to get more local, independent artists’ music across to the general public here. We’re always so caught up with international acts or major label backed artists that the rest of us just get lost in the heap. Recently, a friend of mine told me to vote for the ARIAS Song of the Year on Spotify. I looked at the list and out of curiosity, went back to previous nominations and winners over the last few years and I echo the same sentiments – there’s so much more music out here that should be spotlighted to the general public.

What do you think life would be like for you if you didn’t have music as an outlet?

I’ve been thinking about this often. If I didn’t have music as an outlet, I think all of the money I’ve invested for it would go towards travelling and exploring the world. I’ve been in Melbourne all my life and every time I’ve ventured out, I’ve realised there’s so much more to experience outside of my lil bubble. Although I did receive a grant of $5000 from Creative Victoria for this EP (which I was and am extremely grateful for), being an artist in this industry is expensive. I ended up spending $23,000+ in total – the production, the masters, the visuals, the advertising. And it’s always a fine line going back and forth about it (e.g. “What if I put all this money towards something else?”) but at the end of the day, I’m always going to appreciate that I was born with something gnawing at my neck to tell my story through this expression of art because no one else is going to share my stories to the world for me but me.

What’s your advice to young people who want to make a career for themselves in the industry?

Be open to everything. Don’t box yourself into one corner unless you’re 110% sure that it’s what you want and need at that moment. That extra 10% makes a difference in your certainty. Otherwise, be open to trying new things, meeting new people and expanding your palette. Versatility and brutal honesty in your craft is essential.

Who’s the most interesting person you’ve worked with/met?

LAIUS (queer Asian artist from Brisbane), who flew down to Melbourne earlier this year and co-wrote and produced Cheatback off A Body For An Eye, is definitely the most interesting person I’ve worked with. I don’t even mean interesting in a bad way. I was in awe of his skills as a producer, a lyricist and arranger. Usually producers leave the lyricism with me but because he’s an artist himself (and his lyrics are astounding and in my opinion, otherworldly), he’s never shy to point out to me when a line I’ve written isn’t up to par. He’ll literally also hold me at gunpoint to record the most difficult written backing vocal parts and harmonies. I had to really let myself go and trust his process.

Any upcoming shows?

I’m supporting Juniper Care at his headline show at No Vacancy (QV, Melbourne CBD) on November 8th. I’ve become so accustomed to playing the acoustic/slower songs off this EP live but for this show, I’ll be going full force for the first time in a while and performing tracks like Thirsty and Busted Halo, which I’m super excited about! Also… I may be participating in a “First Time Drag” event at Pride of Our Footscray on Saturday, November 15…