GEMZ
Photo credit: Kelly Segre
The latest single from the marvellous GEMZ is out now. Have a read then a listen below. We like it so why wouldn’t you?
Hello GEMZ, welcome to the DeClunk universe!
Please tell us who makes up GEMZ and what each person brings to the project.
Jen Wood: Hello! GEMZ is myself, Jen Wood, and Ted Chen. I write all the initial song/lyric ideas on an instrument (piano, guitar or ukulele) and record them in voice memos. We’re currently working from a big batch of song ideas I’ve been writing since 2017, which I’ve stashed away in “The Vault” as I like to call it. I basically just have Ted choose which song ideas he likes and then we go from there!
Ted Chen: I primarily do the production and collaborate on arrangements and occasional songwriting edits with Jen. I love building a happy / sad tension in the music that we’re creating, the songs we’re writing tackle some big themes but we’re embracing the idea that we get to feel all the feelings but we can dance it out too!
Please describe your surroundings, what the time is and the clothes that you are wearing.
Jen Wood: It’s in the morning on a not-so-typical rainy day in Palm Springs, California. We’re currently having a storm / flash flood warning and I can hear the rain pattering loudly. I’m sitting at my dining room table and am on Zoom with Ted right now, who lives in Sebastopol, CA. I’ve got a cup of coffee and I’m wearing grey sweatpants, a cute fuzzy blue & white zebra pattern zip up sweater, a white neff beanie, gold hoop earrings, my new clear light pink glasses and three blue crystal bracelets on. Oh, and some fuzzy pastel knit socks too.
Ted Chen: I dunno if it’s the glasses with your hair parted in the middle and tucked behind your beanie but you’re giving futurist-neo-prairie vibes and I’m loving it!!! In my music studio / spare bedroom (we’re on Zoom together) in the cottage that my wife and I are renting in Sonoma. Wearing a ratty old pair of jeans and a red flannel because I just came back from a beginners pottery class. I’m pretty shite at it but having a lot of fun trying. I hope to walk away from six weeks of classes with at least one semi-usable coffee mug. 🙂
How did you folks get together to form GEMZ?
Ted Chen: I’ve known Jen for a long time, probably about 20 years. Ironically I met her through coworkers at a video store because all of them had bands on the side. We started collaborating when I reached out to remix one of her songs “Fell In Love” near the end of 2015. From there it grew kinda organically, working and building songs, letting them mature and evolve at their own pace. I started putting more energy and focus into GEMZ once I moved from Seattle about mid-2021. I lived in Joshua Tree for a few months so it was really great to collaborate with Jen in person (she’s in Palm Springs) since we had been collaborating remotely before then.
Jen Wood: When Ted reached out to me about doing a remix for “Fell In Love,” I was stoked to hear what he could do with it! Once I heard his final remix, I was blown away and loved it! From that point on whenever I thought about people I wanted to collaborate with, Ted was on my very selective list of special people. Ted is brilliant and an absolute genius… I’m lucky and honored to be collaborating with him.
How did you come about the name GEMZ? Were there other names in the hat? If so, what were they?
Jen Wood: I have thought of all these song ideas in “The Vault” as my little gems. A gem being akin to a tiny seed of an idea; a little crystalline melody-bubble, a sparkly thread of something beginning to take shape. I also really love crystals and when I thought about my intention for the songs we are creating, I really wanted there to be this deliberate infusion of light and light reflection of light to be felt and heard in our songs. So referring to our songs as gems, well I suppose it just made sense to me to call ourselves GEMZ. It was the first idea I had actually. When I pitched the idea to Ted he liked it right away, so we just ran with it!
Ted Chen: I think a few other influences contributed to the name as well. One, growing up as late 80’s / 90’s kids, both of us fondly remember the cartoon “Jem” about a protagonist who has a secret alter ego as a popstar. Similarly, GEMZ is a bit of an alter ego for both of us – for Jen coming from her singer songwriter roots and I’ve been UX designer and researcher for the past 12 years. We’re also both into a bit of hippy spiritual mysticism and really can’t pass up a good crystal shop.
“Younger” is the new single. Tell us all about it. Who wrote the lyrics and why?
Jen Wood: I wrote the lyrics for “Younger” as a reflection of some transformative and healing experiences I had back in 2017… I guess you could call it a spiritual awakening of sorts. This song, to me, represents transformation and evolution combined with ascension… It’s not just about healing, but it’s actually about human consciousness and the way that we as humans are deeply transforming. I felt compelled to write about this experience as it was such a profound feeling; a sudden flash of insight which then completely changed me in an instant. I thought that this song could hopefully help or inspire other people who are going through the same process. At the same time I wanted this song to be dancey and uplifting… So you can experience it from either a place of deeper introspection or just crank it up loud and dance! Sometimes just dancing to loud music is the best way to shift your energy, get into a vibe and just feel good.
Ted Chen: Yah I as soon as I heard her voice memo I pretty instantly knew how I wanted to produce it. It inspired multiverse visions of time travel and wanted the production to reflect that with sounds whishing in and out as if you were listening to a song while time traveling.
What are your plans for 2024? Tour? Album? Holiday?
Jen Wood: An EP is in the works and ultimately an album, release date tbd. I think a release party show will happen for us and as far as touring, we don’t know yet but we’re open to it! I’m just happy going with the flow and just letting the universe guide me.
Ted Chen: Lots more songs! We have a few in the works that will be coming out pretty soon. This project is so new that we’re kinda figuring out our energy and vibe as we go. But that’s what also makes it so exciting, trusting the process and discovery of the unknown.
Have you have other talents? You know, spinning plates, growing huge marrows, that sort of thing.
Ted Chen: Well bad pottery for sure. Outside of that I’m always on a tangent about some random micro-culture interest or hobby. I’ve also been cooking a lot lately and planning to start baking again (thanks COVID). I also try to do some photography and design when I can – I illustrated our GEMZ logo and the photo in our record art is from a repository of a bajillion shots that I’ve taken over the past decade.
Jen Wood: Oh this is a tough one for me! I asked Ted what he thought. He said that I’m very talented/gifted as a music teacher & artist coach. I do believe that one of my true callings is to be a teacher and I absolutely love it. Ted said I’m a really amazing Dog Mom too, which I take as a high compliment. I think I have a knack for poetry but I don’t know if I would say I’m super talented at it, but I do enjoy writing poetry. Which reminds me that I had a Tumblr account at some point many years ago where I was posting my poetry under the name “The Tiniest Story That Ever Lived”. Perhaps I will reactivate that account now! Other than that I would say I have some pretty intense clairvoyant gifts/abilities. I also remember my dreams every morning and have really amazing dream experiences which are highly detailed, insightful and sometimes just wildly entertaining!
If you were to make a video and you needed an old bloke sitting in a chair, by an open fire, sipping a malt whisky or something would you consider me?
Ted Chen: Sure thing! As long as you’re ok with a nice Japanese or Taiwanese malt whisky. Kavalan perhaps?
Jen Wood: I’d add that I might want to put you in some pastel colors, probably a big fluffy pastel jacket and have you holding a gigantic amethyst crystal as well!
This is the bit where you get to add anything you would to share with us.
Part of the GEMZ message/mission is to spread love and inclusivity! We want to help create a community which is LGBTQ+ and BIPOC friendly… So we welcome ALL of you with big open arms!
Many thanks for taking the time with DeClunk. We hope to catch you out there soon.
DeClunk 