Jeremy M may only be nineteen, but this talented singer-songwriter is already showing a great deal of talent, with his song gone forever sounding epically beautiful to me. He’s actually based in York itself, showing another amazing local artist. If you missed the track, you can also catch it at the end of this interview!
By Jane Howkins
How has your year been?
Overall it was a good one I think. Weirdly, this year feels like it has been both filled with activity and completely empty at the same time. I put out some original music for the first time after taking a break last year and the response was amazing and I achieved all my goals, but I had a lot of health issues which affected my life in lots of different ways, including my music.
You recently released a track titled gone forever, which we reviewed. What can you tell us about the song?
I finished writing the song over the last few months of 2020. I had the melody for the chorus that I had written about a year before and I was mainly just adding lyrics over that year – once I had most of it I used my mum’s laptop to capture the piano part and I transferred it to my phone where I put together the majority of the track using the GarageBand app! Then in 2021 when I first got a laptop, I transferred my GarageBand project over to Logic Pro and continued working on the song. It was difficult trying to find the sound I was looking for as I wanted to make a folk-pop song, but one that sounded more sophisticated than my previous offerings. Eventually I recruited the help of my friend George Porlemad to add some guitar, bass and backing vocals to the track, which really fleshed out the production.
How has the reception been for gone forever, and where can it be purchased?
The reception for the song has been better than I expected. I have done some folk-pop stuff in the past but the last single I released before this one was completely different, and it was so amazingly received that I was afraid that people would not like it if I went back to my roots a bit. Thankfully I was proved wrong, and a few people commented that they appreciated the juxtaposition of the moods of the two songs. Both of them are available to buy on iTunes or on my Bandcamp.
Do you plan to release any more singles in the near future?
Yes, I am currently busying myself with the next single which I am aiming to release in February/March. It’s a continuation of the ‘story’ of the previous two and is probably my favourite out of them all as it think it sounds the most like me. I am so excited to share it and tell everyone about it but I want it to be *just* right so it’s going to be a bit of a wait.
Do you have any plans to release an album or EP?
Yes I do, I am working on my first EP that will include these three singles. It is called is it too late? and will be released next year at some point, probably in the summer. I set myself a goal about a year ago that I would experiment with home recording and release an EP before I leave for uni as something to keep me busy, and I’m quite proud of how it has come together and how my sound has developed.
What is the writing and recording process like for you?
It is different for every song, really. When writing the EP I came up with a lot of the songs in my head without any instruments, and then when it came to recording, it was a case of adding instrumentation to the melodies I had written. Nowadays I try to start by grabbing my guitar and playing around until I stumble upon something I really like,
Your music has a folk-pop sound. What/who influences you most as an artist? What have you been listening to recently?
Just before I wrote this song I discovered dodie on Instagram as she had just announced her first album, and I went down a rabbit hoke of listening to all of her music and watching her old content. I was inspired by her rise to prominence from just writing her songs and putting them on YouTube, and I admired the beauty in the simplicity of her sound. I was also really sad at the time, so that might have played a part in how the song ended up. More recently, however, my sound has taken a turn away from the folk-pop music I used to make and I have been experimenting with blending indie-pop and alternative pop elements with my songs, which I learned from discovering artists such as Holly Humberstone, Lizzy McAlpine and Cavetown.
You’re based in our very own city of York! What is the local music scene like?
I am a bit embarrassed to say that I don’t really know! I know that there are a lot of really good indie bands in York and there are a few open mics around but I have not had the chance to discover any of these yet. I should make it one of my New Year’s resolutions to get more involved.
Do you have any UK tour dates lined up?
Unfortunately I don’t, I would really like to gig this year and I am frantically looking into it but I’m not really sure how to start. Perhaps another one to add to the resolutions!
Any last words for the fans?
I am grateful to everyone who listens to my music and supports me in creating it. I have had an awful time over the past 5 years due to various health issues and other life problems and writing songs has helped me to survive and make sense of all this time that has passed – I hope that they can do that same for anyone who hears it. Here’s to a 2023 full of sound!