2017 is only a few hours away for us here in the UK and Ireland, and so what better way to usher in the new year than by catching up with Irish singer/songwriter Corrina Jaye, who answers Six Quick Questions for us!
EP: What’s the Corrina Jaye story?
CJ: Corrina likes to write songs. A lot. I do love writing, I adore making melodies, it’s really effortless for me. The hard crux involved with finishing a song and getting it to a production level until you’re 100% satisfied with whole thing and process of getting it out there to the public in the right package is another ball game though. It is a complex but addicting relationship, one I can never see quite myself relinquishing.
I have been writing songs for about 15 years now but it was only 4 years ago that I had that inner confidence to say I’m actually gonna go for this. I am going to take this metaphorical bull by the horns and try my damnedest to make this work. I have been tossed around a few times but here I am still holding on.
I released ‘Dark Room’ in November 2012 and it did really well for me. Not quite viral but close, I did a “50 shades” theme which at the time was on the periphery of just about everyone’s consciousness and it just kind of tapped in to that. After that I released my first EP, sold out Whelan’s upstairs and did a National Tour with my lovely band. In 2014 I released an electro pop track “‘Gold’ which got a fair bit attention from blogs but it really is my most recent single that has gotten the most radio play and blog attention to date.
EP: Your track, ‘What Do You Want?’ was released back in October and has seen some considerable success – how did it end up as the soundtrack for the 2016 Irish Film Festival London trailer?
CJ: They approached me about it, Panti Bliss a well known and celebrated Irish drag queen who actually released her own film/documentary on her life, ‘The Queen Of Ireland’ in 2016, heard the song, loved it and tweeted about it. As the Irish Film Festival in London were helping promote her film they got wind of it and they contacted me straight away saying that they had been looking for the perfect track and been unsuccessful and mine fit the bill perfectly and could they use it. I said let me think about it…not! Well I said let me check with my co-writer PaSv (Patrik Svennson) which I did and we were both really delighted. It really was a great feeling and I loved the job they did on trailer, it was great to be associated with such a high degree of Irish film talent in an international setting like that.
EP: Do you have any New Year’s Resolutions?
CJ: The usual I think, to get fitter, keep healthy (not bad but could always improve). Continue to make music and find a way that helps reach my music I write to as many ears as possible. And generally just try to become a better, happier, stronger version of the person that I am right now. To be more self-disciplined and less reactive.
EP: This next one is a three part question:
(i) If you could speak to your younger self, what would you say?
CJ: It’s not easy. I think when you’re younger you have this idealistic view of life and unfortunately life is not easy. I think part of the suffering all human kind experience is these expectations that life should be this, should be that, should be like that persons. We forget the whole point, is every single person is different. Every person has their own race, their own part to play. We don’t start at the same place so it’s unnatural we all want to end up the same place. A lot of us chase happiness and run away from pain but I think you can strive for greatness but have an acceptance of what is, and that’s very important. Be okay with where and who you are whilst aiming for more. And generally just stop worrying so much, most of what I worried about was nonsense. But hey, here I am still worrying! 😁 Re-edits title: Advice for present self 🙂
EP: (ii) Is there anything you’d do differently, with the knowledge you have now?
CJ: Yes, I would be more practical in my thinking and less idealistic. But then I may not have even tried to follow my passions to the same extent if I knew how challenging it could be. I guess I would have managed my expectations a bit differently but we live and learn. So much learning is experiential, you just have to go through it.
EP: (iii) What advice would you give to anyone starting out in music today?
Believe in yourself, always. Believe in your talent. Be nice, work hard, be open to learning. And don’t try to be perfect, I think aiming for perfection has held me back in many ways in some ways it can be a virtue but in many ways you just have to let go of the work at a certain point and I find that very hard. Finally, do it for the love of it, do it because you love it. I really recommend the book ‘Big Magic- Creative Living Beyond Fear’ by Liz Gilbert it helped me to put my creativity in perspective. We should do it because it’s fun.
EP: Similarly, what’s your take on the music industry these days?
CJ: It’s not easy. Well it hasn’t been easy road for me. I think people who are successful have worked damned hard to be as good as they are. I think a certain element of luck can be involved. But you’ll only stick around if you’ve got talent and a hard work ethic. Of course everyone gets their break differently. As I said it’s a perplexing relationship I have with music. But I think the best relationships always challenge you.
EP: What question do you wish someone would ask you in an interview but nobody ever does?
CJ: I haven’t been asked it yet. I liked all these questions. Something probably completely farcical and non-related that made me giggle a bit? But then what might tickle me might piss someone else off and also it would depend on my mood so probably just questions along the lines that you asked me. Thanks by the way and Happy New Year Lisa.
‘What Do You Want’ is the second single from Corrina Jaye’s second EP, ‘Could You Be Mine?’ and is available to download from iTunes.
You can find Corrina Jaye online on Facebook, Soundcloud, and Twitter.
