By the age of 16, Heather Jayne had reached the semi-final of The Voice UK and worked closely with Boy George and Paloma Faith…
That’s not a bad way to start your music career! We caught up with the ACM Guildford Creative Artist student to listen to her new track ‘Better Than This’ and to see how her ‘The Voice’ experience ignited her will to succeed in this industry…
Tell us a bit about yourself…
“I’m currently on the Creative Artist course at ACM Guildford. I was classically trained in voice, piano and flute and starting writing songs when I was 11. When I was 16, I entered The Voice UK and got to the semi-finals, working closely with both Boy George and Paloma Faith. This gave me a taste of the music industry and confirmed that this was something I wanted to do forever, so I applied to ACM, started working on a new sound and image and here we are today!”
What’s the creative process behind writing your songs? How do they go from an idea to a body of work?
“All of my songs come from either an emotion that I’m feeling or through empathising with another person’s emotions, that I then enhance and create in song form – this is the inspiration behind each one of my songs. Sometimes I feel like starting with lyrics or a song title, and other times I will start with a chord sequence. But usually, I do these both at the same time – I start playing around with chords on my piano and when I start singing over the top, lyrics come in to my head – the songs almost write themselves! Then I will get my ideas into Logic and start adding bass/drums/synths etc. to get the right feel for the song, and then work with my producer to enhance everything.”
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Tell us about the recording process of ‘Better Than This’…
“‘Better Than This’ is the first song I started working on with my new producer, Nick. We developed the song quite a lot from how it was written; changing the structure and making it a good bit faster. We laid down the vocals at his studio and then worked on it for a couple weeks, really trying to refine everything. It was such a fun experience and it was lovely to hear the track blossom.”
Who are your biggest musical influences?
“When I was a child, Delta Goodrem was a huge influence on my music, alongside Florence Welsh, Kate Bush and Tori Amos. More recently, Anne-Marie, Banks, Lorde and Tove Lo are huge influences on my sound – lots of strong women!
Who should we be listening to right now?
“Some of my favourite artists (and my go-to track of theirs) include; SG Lewis – Aura, ARY – Childhood Dreams, Vera Blue – Regular Touch, Billie Eilish – Bellyache, Au/Ra – Panic Room and Zak Abel – Unstable. Check them out, you won’t be disappointed!”
What’s next for Heather Jayne?
“I’m currently working on my EP – ‘Shadows’ – which will be out at the start of June! In the meantime, I will be releasing another single – ‘If The Stars Align’ – on April 27th. It’s a beautiful electronic ballad – something a bit gentler and more intimate from my other songs which I love. So keep an eye (and an ear) out for it!”
Follow Heather Jayne : Website / Facebook / Instagram / Twitter / YouTube / SoundCloud.
If you’d like to study at ACM and follow in the footsteps of our students like Heather, please call our Admissions Team on 01483 500 841 or visit www.acm.ac.uk/open-days to book a place on an ACM Open Day today.
