Interview with Courtney Jacobs

Hello everyone! Today we have an interview with American synth-pop artist Courtney Jacobs. Her first solo single 'Canary' has just dropped and it's a really dreamy thought provoking song. I have been lucky enough to ask Courtney some questions about 'Canary' and her future plans for music.

Hi Courtney! Could you describe your musical style to the readers?

Funky, synth-heavy electro pop with dreamy vocals.

Who are your biggest musical inspirations?

Daniel Caesar, Lauv, and Shawn Mendes are some of the musical inspirations for Canary in particular, whereas for the vocals I’m influenced by Lorde, Lana Del Rey, and H.E.R.

I love your new single 'Canary', the moody atmosphere and dreamy vocals are incredible, and those who know me know how much I love that style. How did you go about writing this song?

Thank you! I actually wrote and recorded the vocals for the song at 1am into the microphone attached to some wired Beats headphones. I just wanted to get the melody down in a recording and thought it was going to be a demo, but my tired voice took on a sultry aspect that I didn’t know I was really capable of and I decided to run with it. Since then I’ve developed my voice to be able to produce this “signature sound” at times other than 1am :)

You say that you like to avoid writing 'poor me' songs about heartbreak, which I think is really interesting and a refreshing way to look at songwriting. How did you decide that this is what you wanted to do?

When I was experiencing the downfall and end of a very difficult relationship, I felt an urge to write songs about the relationship in a very one-sided way. After lots of self-reflection, I didn’t identify with the victim mentality of the songs and realized it would help me work through the feelings and issues if I took a more honest view of what contributed to the pain on both sides. As soon as I decided that, the songs started to pour out because they were authentically how I felt. There’s at least two sides to every story and that is reflected in my music as well.

Could you explain the thought process behind 'Canary’?

The song is sung from the perspective of a condescending, manipulative person who controls their partner and refuses to let them succeed. The “canary” is the partner who is stuck in a cage on a shelf instead of being allowed to fly free, and no matter what kind of “moves” they try to make to improve themselves, they will never be good enough.

This is your first solo single following your band Silver Retriever's EP 'Valley Days'. How different was writing for yourself compared to writing with your band? Were there any challenges you faced that you weren't anticipating?

I used to be in a 6 person team, and now I’m in a 2 person team. My producer, Peter Wellman, takes my crappy Garage Band demos and turns them into a beautiful, full soundscape. I think the main benefit of this team is that we have exactly the same vision for my music, whereas it’s hard to get 6 people to agree on anything, regardless of how good of friends they are! Having direct control and being able to get my hands dirty in the instrumentals has been really rewarding.

And lastly, what's next for you in terms of music? Are there any more songs on the way?

I have another single due to come out in August, and I hope to release at least 1-2 more before the end of the year. I want to come out swinging with this project and really give it 110%.

Thank you so much for taking the time to answer these questions.

I would really recommend you go and listen to 'Canary' as it's a great song that I really enjoy listening to, as well as listening to Silver Retriever's EP while you're there. Both well worth a listen.