Have a read of this lovely little Q & A with Jay. Then give a listen to the single ‘Ghosts’, below. Enjoy.
Hello Jay…..welcome to the DeClunk universe.
Please describe your surroundings so that we can all feel snug.
I’m at my desk with my laptop, outside Middlesbrough is cool and grey. To my right is my impulse61 keyboard and acoustic guitar, behind me a wall of fiction and books on writing. To my left are a pile of CDs of my album that arrived last week!
When did you know that you had songwriting talent and the voice to carry your songs?
I first started writing songs when I was 10 and everyone told me straight away that I could write songs. I never really believed I had the voice to carry them though. Confidence in my voice only started growing in the last 4-5 years, and that was realising that I could learn to develop and control my voice more than I thought I could.
Can you remember the first song that you wrote? What was it called and what was it about?
I grew up in church so I seem to remember my first ever was a hymn type of song. I think it was even a round. Lol. When I was older I started writing songs for my friends to make them laugh.
Ghosts is the latest single. It sounds rather personal. Is that so? If so, please tell us about the song.
Although I was born in the UK, I grew up in Turkey and at the age of 14 I was sent to school back in the UK away from my family and friends. I felt really lost and alone, I struggled with culture shock. The positive side to being there was I had access to music lessons and a piano for the first time and one of the music teachers gave me a key to the music rooms so I could practise on the weekends. The song was about viewing good and bad in one moment. If I’d lost one would I have gained the other?
The album Anniversary is out there now. It’ your cool debut album from last year and some extra tracks, including Ghosts. Is there a second album of new material on the way?
I am dying to put out a second album. There is a lot of material, I started writing songs for album 2 as soon as album 1 was out. I’m working on what the album itself would be and look like currently. I see albums a bit like novels. I don’t just like shoving a bunch of my best songs on an album, I like to have a concept or a storyline and sonically I’m looking at a few different roads with the next one. Stay tuned.
Which song on Anniversary is your favourite and why?
American Tennessee will always be my favourite. It was one of the first songs I wrote for the album and it made me feel happy during the pandemic and lockdowns when it was very hard to feel happy.
What have you in store for 2024? A tour? A gig in Carlisle? A holiday in the sun?
I have some local shows booked in for 2024 and later in the year a second show with a full band which is exciting. Other than that I will be writing new songs and releasing some new singles.
Please tell us the last book that you read, the last music that you listened to and the last film that you watched. Were they good?
The last book I read was The Bell Jar which I had never read before. Takes a turn does that one! The last song I listened to was Bleachers Call Me After Midnight which is one of my favourite songs and the last film I watched was Erin Brockovich, which is one of my all time favourite films.
If we were to come to your neck of the woods for a weekend where would you take us? You are the entertainments committee!
I would probably take you for a walk on Redcar beach or across the Moors. I love walking in the beautiful countryside and nature around Teesside.
A couple of times in a summer my friend and I go fishing. It also involves staying out for a night and plenty of beer. A bankside disco tends to break out around 11pm. What would your playlist be for a drunken late night bankside disco?
My playlist would definitely involve S Club 7. And possible the theme tune for Denver the Last Dinosaur
Do any of you have any hidden talents away from music? Maybe you are a master of origami or brilliant at making balloon dogs, for example.
I wouldn’t call it a talent but I enjoy drawing and painting digital illustrations. I once made my godson a kids story book for Christmas when he was younger. I don’t get much time now but I love drawing I find it helps me switch off a part of my brain that always seems to be on.
Have you any bands/ artists that you recommend we give a listen to?
I’m part of a band called The Running Minds and we just released our first single What It’s Like With You that I think is pretty awesome so definitely going to recommend that. I’m hooked on Maya Hawke’s music at the moment too. I think her songwriting is just so cool and real.
Thank you Jay for taking the time with DeClunk. We hope to catch a show sometime soon.
DeClunk 