Interview: Jassick
By Sophie Minello
Jassick had nothing short of a packed 2020, releasing two EPs preceding a college experience that had him traveling to a new country every few months. His latest work, the Youth EP, is a stand out work that really captures the feeling of adolescence. It's a summer, windows down, live like there’s no tomorrow collection of songs. Read more about Jassick’s journey in our interview below.
What is your background in music? How did you begin?
Honestly, my very early background is something I think a lot of people can relate to. I was writing those shitty, angsty, pop-punk kind of songs back in middle school. Not even to record or anything, just to get some feelings out. I always wanted to be an artist though, and I've always been a singer, so in early high-school I said to myself, "What's stopping me from just .. making a little EP?". Even if nobody listened to it, I just wanted to say that I did it, and I chased that dream. I remember crying tears of joy when Loverboy got so much love. It made me feel like I was a real artist.
The Youth EP went a different direction than your previous music. What prompted the switch?
Youth, I think, is my highest-quality work. I think of my 3 EP's like this: Loverboy was me emulating the style and personas of artists I liked a lot at the time. I tried to sound cool & confident, not completely fronting outright but definitely trying to sound a certain way, yknow? With Love, or Lack Thereof, I went the opposite direction in an attempt to be more genuine. It was a bit more self-deprecating, raw, stripped down. With Youth, I think I've finally settled into who I am as an artist and as a young person growing up quickly, balancing those elements of insecurity and confidence. I tried to speak to the shaky, vulnerable, exciting parts of growing up, as well as those universally-relatable themes of unrequited love, hard goodbyes, things like that. I really am so proud of that project.
What music inspired you during the time you were writing your EP?
Oh boy, a whole lot of stuff. Single songs in particular come to mind, actually. "North Pole" by Injury Reserve heavily inspired “Moonbeams”. The laid-back, summery vibes ever-present in Youth were spawned from Drees' "The Ocean With my Friends". The entirety of Ritt Momney's record, "Her and All of My Friends", was in rotation throughout the writing process.
Did you write all these songs while traveling?
All of these songs were written during COVID, actually. Maybe the occasional one-off bar here or there that popped into my mind on the train or plane, I usually write stuff down or record myself humming melodies that just come to me, but this project was written pretty much entirely in my bedroom in the U.S. It started with “Moonbeams”, a detailed account of the breakup that sent me spiraling after I got back from Italy, and the rest of it flowed through from there.
How did the changing space around you inspire you? Do you think you could have written the same type of thing without your travel experience?
My "nomadic lifestyle", as my professors like to call it, is absolutely vital to my music-making. Not only in the songs about the struggle of maintaining a romance while traveling, like "buona notte, amore", or "chasing sunsets", but every song is influenced by constantly being in the move in some way. The experiences, the people you meet, the things you see ... everything has an effect on your perspective, and that naturally works its way into the music.
Jumping around different cities and countries was difficult. What did you learn during that process?
Oh geez, so much. Many tough lessons were learned the hard way, but that's sort of why we do it, right? My favorite one is, if you're sad in the United States and then you go to Spain, guess what, you're just gonna be sad in Spain. Another big takeaway is the knowledge that there are so, so, so many wonderful people in the world that are out there for you to meet, if you just take that leap. It's always worth it. Taking leaps, that's a big one. Go on that date, go to that museum, go eat that food. You never know when you'll be back here again. And call your mom every once in a while, even if it means doing so real late at night so it's a reasonable hour for her.
How did it feel to travel the world right before corona?
It feels like a different world. I've been trying not to live in the past too much, but man, I was the happiest I've ever been when I was living in Florence. I'll probably be reminiscing about those days for the rest of my life. I'm so very fortunate to have been able to have those experiences before things shut down for who-knows how long. Many, many travel plans were squashed, unfortunately, but I got a decent amount in before the world turned upside-down, and for that I'm grateful. I'm itching to get back out there though.
Have you been doing any fun activities or new hobbies while events have been shut down?
Well, I've added quite a few hours into my steam library, I'll tell you that. I've always loved the escapism that video games provide, and like a lot of people they've been life-saving during these COVID days. Shout goes out to Bugsnax, Demon's Souls, Hades, Stardew Valley, Hollow Knight ... and League of Legends, I guess.
Do you have any upcoming projects to let us know about?
I wish I could say I've got some super-secret project waiting in the wings, or that I'm sitting on a vault of hits, but truth be told ... there's not much to speak of. Youth took a lot out of me to create, both creatively and emotionally. I had decided to take a bit of a creative break while people enjoyed it, and I'll be sure to get back on the horse when I feel like I can produce something of quality. It's never good stuff when I force it. I'm proud of myself for releasing two projects this past year, though, and the love I've received on Youth especially has honestly made me the happiest I've been in quite a while. The positive reception of that project got me though some dark COVID days, and I cannot say thank you enough.
