Knowing what the drink is going to do, we sat with the excellent UK-based underground poet JED as he describes the story around his new release, keeping the phone away from the bedroom, his creative process and offering vital solutions for the current mental health issues society finds itself headfirst inside.
Hello there JED. We appreciate your time. How have you been keeping and how do you usually start each day?
JED: No worries, appreciate you having me. I try to keep my phone outside of my room, so I usually start the day seeing how long I can put up with my alarm going off before I get up and turn it off. By that point, it’s usually about 10 minutes before I’m meant to be at work, so it’s just a rush to get ready then a jog to the office. It’s a pretty great routine. When I’m not working I’m usually either making music or having a drink, or both.
You started writing music when you were young. How has that process evolved and can you believe the progress you’ve made?
JED: My songwriting process has changed massively over the years and is still changing all the time. Nowadays the concept always comes before I know any of the words, the structure or the instruments. I’ll usually come up with ideas for songs when I’m not working on music, mostly it’ll happen when I’m walking around town, watching a movie, out for a drink, or just see or hear someone say something that inspires me. At that point, I’ll usually write it down on my phone. Sometimes I go straight to my room and make the track there and then. Other times I’ll sit on an idea for months, adding to it until I feel like I know exactly what I want it to sound like. By the time I go to write one of these songs, I already know how it’s going to end and how it’s gonna arrive there, it’s sort of just filling in the gaps. So actually writing the words usually happens pretty quick.
Please tell us more about your debut album Saturday to Saturday.
JED: Saturday to Saturday is my first album. It follows a week in the life of a young lad growing up in Devon, based on my life when I was 16 to 18. About a year ago I noticed that I kept talking to my mates about when we were that age. I guess as you start getting more and more responsibilities in life you start missing the days you had a lot less. Anyway, because of this I just started writing a bunch of songs about particular stories of shit that happened or the feeling of doing different things for the first time. I ended up having the idea to tell a story of a typical week at this age, and yeah I ended up with this album. Can’t wait for people to hear it.
What is it like being a musician from Devon and what is the scene like? Are there any local venues worth checking out?
JED: I was never fully pursuing music when I lived in Devon. I didn’t really know anyone else that did music so I mostly just kept my songs to myself and occasionally showed them to a couple mates. It never seemed like there were many people doing anything that creative and I kind of felt like you’d get laughed at if you said you wanted to do music as a job. It was only when I moved to Brighton that I started releasing and performing my songs. Because of that, I’m actually not that clued in on the Devon music scene. However, I know there’s a few things starting to happen. Sound of the Southwest is a new platform that’s promoting rappers from that area. Venues like The Phoenix in Exeter are sick for live music. Does seem like there’s a bit more going on than was when I was growing up.
Do you recall your first-ever live performance and what it was like?
JED: There were three different types of first performances. When I was like 8 I did a cover of ‘Knocking on heavens door’ at this school event. Did it with the guitar and my proper bad Bob Dylan accent, at that age I didn’t think nerves existed for me so I was calm. My first time performing hip hop was actually part of this cypher in Zhara Bar which Arrdee and a few guys from the Brighton scene were at. It was right after Arrdee had blown up and I was crazy nervous about it. I didn’t even grab the mic until near the end and then once I finally did all the nerves went, I wanted to spit way more. Then my first proper live set as an artist was actually at a show I put on with AGB, which is the collective I started. That was unreal, definitely one of the best nights of my life. Loved pretty much every performance since then.
Why do you think there is a dismissive attitude towards mental health issues and what are the solutions?
JED: I think it’s a mixture of things. Firstly, it’s uncomfortable to talk about. Throughout my whole childhood me and my mates would just have a laugh every time we were together. So it sort of becomes hard to talk about something serious, it’s almost like it’s not in your social vocabulary. Also, I think pride is a massive factor amongst myself and people I know. Personally, I don’t really like complaining about stuff or people feeling sorry for me. So I used to be reluctant to open up to my mates because I didn’t want to be someone that complained when really I know I had a pretty good life. But all this seems to do is make people find bad solutions to their issues instead of actually solving them. In Pride Will Win I say “Our mentality is dealing with the hand you’re dealt, so in reality the dealer is the only man that helps’. Which is basically what I just said.
In terms of solutions, I’m definitely not an expert. But what’s worked for me is realising how receptive my mates are talking about mental health problems. You realise as you get older that everyone goes through the same spouts of depression or anxiety here and there, obviously some people for a lot longer than others. So the conversations about it aren’t awkward or even that difficult once you start doing it fairly regularly, it’s just nice to know that other people relate. Plus it definitely can help you figure out solutions that help you out a bit.
Last, who are your heroes in the music game and who should we be listening to?
JED: I’d probably say Bob Dylan is my favourite artist of all time and has had a huge influence on the way that I write. My middle name is actually Dylan because of him, so guess that was always gonna be the case. Also Lenoard Cohen is one of the best lyricists ever. I’d say Kendrick, Andre 3000 and Eminem are definitely some of my favourite artists of all time. At the minute though I listen to a lot of Boldy James, Benny The Butcher, Action Bronson, Westside Gunn and anything produced by The Alchemist. Also loving a bunch of old Blues and Jazz right now. So yeah, a lot of American stuff to be honest.
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Interview by Llewelyn Screen