Words by Art Jefferson
Photography by Maxx Peter
According to the Guinness Book of Records, Liverpool has had more music artists with number one records than any other city in the world. Dubbed the ‘City of Pop’, Liverpool’s history of pumping out hit acts extends beyond those infamous four lads responsible for helping to change the landscape of music. It’s also no surprise that Liverpool is the city that singer/songwriter Jennifer Davies calls home. Sonically polished with a multifaceted style of pop nirvana, Davies is set to shoot to the stars with a sound that contains an irresistible charm and flair.
Jennifer Davies’ current EP “Lapse of Time” is a 5-song package of stadium-status pop and indie, graced with catchy hooks, personal songwriting and the impressively grand production of Tord Knudsen of The Wombats fame. With each song on the EP a possible hit record, Davies has all of her bases covered to gain certified chart success in an organic fashion. Similar to the pop tradition that is steeped in Liverpudlian culture, Davies’ legitimate star-like qualities and imperial sound is helping to comfortably place her in a position to bring home not only a number one for herself and her team, but another one for her city.
Art Jefferson – Walk me down your music history. Were you performing and singing as a kid?
Jennifer Davies – I think I was mainly just jumping around to whatever my mum and dad were playing on the record player at the time. Although, I did once pay my brother 7p to join me in doing a dance performance to “Take That” when I was about 8 and he was 5, which my mum and dad filmed. Money well spent is all I’m saying. That video definitely came back to haunt him at his 18th birthday haha! We always had a huge range of music being played at home…Led Zep, Madonna, David Bowie, The Beach Boys. We also had an old piano that my Dad bought for £50 from a charity shop. He couldn’t play it beforehand, but he bought it so that he could learn well enough to be able to play us nursery rhymes which, looking back, is such a lovely thing to have done. I became obsessed with playing the piano and when I was 9 the obsession showed no sign of fading. My mum and dad, who didn’t have much money at the time, agreed that I could start having piano lessons and my love for music kept growing and growing from there.
Art Jefferson – You’re from Liverpool and interestingly enough, you chose to stay there and record your album. Many artists tend to head down to London to continue their music career. Talk about the importance of Liverpool and why you have chosen to stay in your hometown.
Jennifer Davies – Liverpool is everything to me. I was born in Chester down the road but have lived in Liverpool for years now. Although, I never moved down to London, I kind of did the whole pop songwriting circuit thing for a while down there. I would come down and stay on friends’ sofas, sometimes doing two writing sessions a day with the latest, hottest producer, then escape on a train back to Liverpool. It was a good challenge as a writer, but after going through the process I felt like I was never going to write anything that actually meant something to me, with a producer who I’d only met that morning. It felt very machine like. Don’t get me wrong, some great songs are written that way, but it didn’t feel like the right thing for me. It just got to that point where I was like what the hell am I doing!? From then onwards I was adamant that I would be making the record in Liverpool with some of the very talented people that live there who know me and know what I’m about.
Art Jefferson – Pop music has been really interesting in the past few years. Artists have almost broken the rules that would normally dictate what actually qualifies as a ‘pop’ hit. How do you feel about the state of pop music currently?
Jennifer Davies – I feel it’s a bit of a weird time for pop. I think there’s a lot of records that are just very formulaic and thrown out without much thought or care that just sort of appear in the chart top 10. However, I think as a reaction to that you get artists who kind of rebel against it and strive to make something more imaginative and thought provoking. I think it’s going to be a really interesting time moving forward.
Art Jefferson – How did you meet Tord Knudsen of The Wombats and when did you two decide to work together on your debut EP “Lapse of Time”?
Jennifer Davies – I worked in the box office at Liverpool Academy music venue around the same time that The Wombats were starting to break through. I would run the guest lists for their shows so we initially became friends there. I was also in a band for a while and we supported them at a few shows. They were always so supportive to other artists from Liverpool. Working together came about when we were all out having some drinks. It was around the time I was feeling a little bit disenchanted with everything. Tord said he’d been doing a bit of writing/producing in his time off from Wombats. I was really keen to hear it. The following week we wrote a track together and it was just the best time I’d had making music in so long. It completely restored my energy and passion for songwriting and it reminded me that making music is supposed to be fun!!! Tord is so talented and a complete perfectionist. I feel incredibly lucky to have him on board.
Art Jefferson – Your music has a really big feel to it which would seem to work well with the live element of performing. Was that something that you were conscious of when recording the EP?
Jennifer Davies – Yes definitely. I try not to let how things might work in a live scenario dictate how I write a track however, I think any musician would be lying if they said they weren’t thinking of that end result a little throughout the writing process.
Art Jefferson – Tell me about the song “Silhouette”. It’s about regret and losing someone due to a bad mistake made. What inspired that track?
Jennifer Davies – I think as human beings we can be very stubborn (well I know I can be haha), so much so that it oftens stands between us and our own happiness. Whilst it’s good to be strong and your own person, never backing down and never saying sorry can sometimes be the wrong decision. I feel like if you don’t communicate and aren’t willing to compromise you can damage a relationship to the point that it’s impossible to repair. The lyrics are inspired from personal experiences. I’ve learnt from it…and I guess that’s what’s being a human being is all about.
Art Jefferson – As an artist, how easy or difficult is it for you to release material that may have been spawned from deeply personal situations? It’s sort of like baring your soul to millions of strangers.
Jennifer Davies – It’s actually very cathartic and because the songs are all so personal and draw from my own experiences, you pour so much love and emotion into creating them. “Lapse Of Time” was written just after the time I’d been spending down in London. I’d been pushing myself so hard, putting so much pressure on myself that I’d forgotten to take stock of the things that actually mattered to me that I loved. The little things in life that at the time may seem insignificant, for me, are actually the big things and “Lapse Of Time” is a realisation of that. I now cherish the little moments.
Art Jefferson – Now that the EP is out, have you already started working on material for a debut album? What’s next for you in the near future?
Jennifer Davies – I’m actually going to be back in the studio next week recording some more tracks for the album. It’s so exciting taking a track from the demo stage to the next level.
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