Inspired by classic poetry, this EP continues to pay tribute to Murray’s literary heroes as referenced by the song titles and Jesse’s lyrics with a distinct musical vision crafted in collaboration with Montreal producer and multi-instrumentalist Patrick Krief.
“Hi, Jesse! You have a terrific new EP called “Un cœur qui nous comprend.” What can you tell us about this EP? What inspired you to write it and what is it about?
Thank you for your kind words! The EP is a culmination of three years’ work and it speaks of communication from the heart. Notably, this album touches on when you don’t need to say anything to understand each other’s feelings and intentions. This is especially true of the three French songs on the album of which the texts are pulled from French poets Alfred de Musset and Théophile Gautier. The English poem, “Alone” by Edgar Allan Poe, talks of longing and the hope of connection.
What was it like recording this EP? What was the vibe in the studio, and how did these songs come together?
I was fortunate to have Patrick Krief in the cockpit for this EP. He did a terrific job; melody-wise, I had an idea of what I wanted each song to sound like prior to studio time so he worked with me to create a base model with me on guitar. From there, we decided on the beat, on the drum and the bass.
It’s always a pleasure working with him; he’s talented, professional and patient as a producer, putting in the right amount of input and open dialogue. He doesn’t push and fosters creativity in session. Respectful, passionate, grounded – what more can I say? I’ve always appreciated his dedication to bring a project to competition from A to Z.
What do you hope these songs convey to those who listen to it?
First and foremost, I believe the music itself is amazing but I hope more so that folks focus on the poems themselves. Specifically, I hope those who listen to these songs pay attention to the resonance of each word used by poets like de Musset, Gautier and Poe that create the poetic echo heard in this EP. I consider it a great feat to bring these poets back into the 21st century for people to appreciate their writings.
When you reflect on your career, you likely see yourself as a very different artist compared to when you first started. Factors like life experience, time in the industry, and your work in the studio and on stage have all shaped your journey. Do you find that your sources of inspiration have changed? Where do you currently find your greatest creative inspiration?
That’s a great question as my inspiration has certainly evolved. I have always been an avid reader of poetry and, for this EP, I found myself reading a lot of Poe, de Musset and Gautier; how these poems made me feel were my sources of inspiration for these four songs.
My origin story as an artist was born of anguish and a lack of a sense of belonging, especially growing up in British Columbia and Québec as a bilingual speaker of English and French. Today, this feeling of ‘not belonging’ has morphed into a pursuit of meaning that I find through my music.
Songwriting is often a deeply personal process, yet releasing a song, album, or EP means sharing that part of yourself with so many people. How does that experience feel for you? Do you ever find it challenging to share your music so widely? What kind of feedback do you hear from fans who connect with your songs or feel deeply impacted by them?
Songwriting and sharing my music doesn’t come as too much of a challenge to me as finding the right outlet for my songs to be heard. For the songs that I have released, I have found feedback to be powerful and have been lucky to have folks from all over the world reach out. For instance, an international lecturer on William Blake with expertise in his influence on contemporary music shared with me that she had never heard such beautiful music accompany the poem of William Blake in my song titled “The Tyger”. It’s comments like these that underline my hope to have these poems be accessible now in the 21st century.
What has been the most exciting thing to happen for you this year?
A highlight for this year was definitely the trip I took to Toronto and Montréal to shoot a music video and record the accompanying song. To give some context, I’ll be releasing a song of Dr. Maya Angelou’s poem “Caged Bird”, which required back-end legal work with her estate and gave me more insight into the business side of the music industry. Sometimes it can be challenging to only stay in the creative state but, these days, artists need to be conscious of both sides.
For this song, I worked with the wonderful Maïa Davies in Toronto who shot and edited my music video then went on to work with Patrick Krief in Montréal to record. I’m excited for this music video and song to be released and hope that you enjoy it!
Got any tour plans? Where can fans see you on the road?
Currently, I don’t have any tour plans as I’m focusing on releasing songs that I have in the works and working on my company and presence on social media. I want to add to all the singer-songwriters out there to keep having fun and know that it will happen one day or another; time works in your favor!
