john

This is your first single. Why now? This is something I have wanted to do for a very long time and I now feel that I am comfortable enough with my songwriting to put it out there to be heard. It has also helped working with a producer who understands the music and genre and is in sync with me as an artist. Have you enjoyed the process of making the single? I love the process of making any songs. I have a multitude of ideas a day, so it is good to get even one of them down and see it develop from a seed of an idea, into something that can be fully fleshed out. It’s also nice having someone to bounce ideas off of, something that SongStuff provides in the critique section. Where was it recorded? It was recorded in the Home Studio I have set up and produced in the south of England. I didn’t go there, that is the wonderful thing about technology these days. Was anyone else involved in writing, recording or producing the songs? I wrote and recorded the song, it was produced by an artist by the name of Fused. What has been most challenging? The most challenging thing for me, is me. I need to get past the stage of everything I do I hate. So if I like something, I feel that there must be something there, something to work on and get right. Then I need to get over the hurdle of actually finishing the song. Do you have a favourite song on the album? As this is just a single at the moment, Fused and I discussed which song to work on first. Heroes seemed like a nice song to start my journey with and it was one of my favourite songs I have written. It is not my favourite out of all of them. That will come at some point, but my second favourite of my songs, will be the second single from an EP. Will you be gigging or touring? I have no plans for either, but Fused and I have discussed whether this could be a possibility, so never say never. If the chance arose, I would have to have a serious think about it. Do you have any other plans relating to this release? A video? Online Shows? I had a video made by someone on the Fiverr website and it is on my YouTube channel. I have posted it on Twitter as well. I have no plans for an online show, but I would like to look at expanding on the video aspect going forward. Appearances? None, other than I turn up when I need to - so I suppose that is making an appearance. My wife says it’s nice of me to make an appearance, as she thinks I am always in the studio. Would you have any advice for would-be artists or songwriters wanting to follow in your footsteps? Just watch out for the hurdles I have left behind me to slow you down!! Ha ha, joking. Just believe in your capabilities and practice. Write something everyday if you can, even if it sounds terrible. Keep writing. Keep every little snippet of music or lyric you have written. One day you might turn to it and think that it fits in with another song you are stuck on. As Peter Gabriel and Kate Bush say “Don’t Give Up”. Where can your single be bought? Where can people buy your merch? No merch, but the single is available on all major music platforms including iTunes and Spotify. Amazon seem to be a bit slow, which is strange for them. The song is also on BandCamp and CD Baby. Heroes links https://itunes.apple.com/gb/album/heroes-single/1316173982 https://open.spotify.com/album/5mlN2HJLIC8O0a6CKLRDZ2 https://jigsawsequence.bandcamp.com http://store.cdbaby.com/Artist/JigsawSequence

Why this album? Why now? Fairytales and Fears is in many ways a reaction to my previous album (Paper Thunderstorm). That album had more people involved, and and co-ordinating everything added time and a bit stress to every stem, so it was released nearly two years after I had originally planned. I kept writing songs through all of that, partly to stay sane! Have you enjoyed the process of making the album? I loved making this album, from start to finish. Part of that was the flexibility of doing more things myself. But also the style of the music was something I really needed: time to think, time for introspection. Even the more energetic songs come from that same place - Carcassonge's inspiration came while playing board games with family, and Lazarus by leaving a job that was stressing me out. Where was it recorded? I recorded the whole thing at home. I don't have a fancy studio setup, I have a small collection of kit that I like and that feels familiar (a Zoom H6, an AKG C1000S, and a pair of Rode NT1-As). A studio engineer could tell me all the ways the sound could be improved, and when I get a dedicated music space next year I'll put all that into practice - but for this project, I was happy to just use what I had. Was anyone else involved in writing, recording or producing the songs? It wasn't a completely solo effort - the most obvious element is the cello featured on four of the tracks, which was performed by Alison Berry. My sister also co-wrote the lyrics to Carcassonge, and that was a really good collaboration. What has been most challenging? The most challenging bit was probably recording the vocals, but not for reasons I expected. I was in the first few months of a new job, which was a bit tiring - it turns out most steps I could still do while a bit tired, but performing vocals wasn't as forgiving. Do you have a favourite song on the album? It's hard to pick a favourite song from the album, but there's definitely one which is the most personal. I Just Know is the closest to a classic love song I've written, and it's still a little apocalyptic. However, it was inspired very genuinely by my partner - and even though I'm really happy with how it came out on the album, the truest version was the one I performed at our wedding. A close second is Good Examples, which is about my problems with the rules of conventional masculinity. Will you be gigging or touring? I've only fairly recently been putting proper effort into getting my music and my name out there. I realised that I want to share it, that I want people to enjoy it, so I'm straying outside of my comfort zone (which is creating music) and trying to perform more. One of the goals of this album was to create songs which I could plausibly perform live by myself. Would you have any advice for would-be artists or songwriters wanting to follow in your footsteps? I'm not sure what advice I could give for anyone else making music. I spent most of my time doing only what felt natural - that's not really a good route to building an audience who will appreciate what you're doing, though! So I guess the only advice I'd have is: get yourself out there earlier than I did. Make sure someone knows your name, even if at first it's just as "the person who performed after me a that open-mic night yesterday". Where can your album be bought? Fairytales and Fears is on Bandcamp, Spotify, Amazon Music, and many other online services.