Jehnny Beth

Name, where are you from?
Jehnny Beth, born and raised in France, 12 years in London, currently living in Paris.

Describe your style in three words?
"Well, you wonder why I always dress in black, Why you never see bright colours on my back, And why does my appearance seem to have a sombre tone, There's a reason for the things that I have on…” Johnny Cash, 'Man in Black'.

Whatʼs the best gig youʼve ever been to?
Possibly the first one that I went to as a teenager. I took a train to Paris with my friend to see the Yeah Yeah Yeah’s. Karen O blew my tiny mind, she was so free, acting stupid like Iggy. Their first EP was my favourite, also 'Date With The Night'. There were a few bands from NYC at the time I loved, Liars, who I saw years later in London in a packed and sweaty tent at Field Day festival, my feet couldn’t touch the floor in the moshpit when they started 'Plaster Casts On Everything'.

If you could be on the line up with any two artists in history?
Sonic Youth and David Bowie, both for their last albums which are masterpieces.

Which subcultures have influenced you?
Jazz. When most people think of jazz they think of figures like Miles Davis or Louis Armstrong, but Jazz is a blend of many different styles and it grew out of communities. When I started learning how to play music I had a wonderful teacher who taught me to sing and play jazz standards on the piano. I was eight years old. That’s how I first learned English. It’s definitely part of my DNA.

If you could spend an hour with anyone from history?
Nina Simone - To sit down in a corner and watch her perform 'Little Girl Blue'. Or Miles Davis, to be in the room when he recorded his trumpet line for 'Elevator To The Gallows'.

Of all the venues youʼve been to or played, which is your favourite?
The Roundhouse in London has a particular uniqueness. I love circular rooms, spheres are more natural than squares - one has never seen a squared galaxy in the universe yet… seeing QOTSA perform ‘Song For The Dead’ there was like a transient cerebral revolution, like spit on a griddle.

Your greatest unsung hero or heroine in music?
I know a cat who's a hidden Mozart.

Songwriter, singer, and multi-disciplinary artist Jehnny Beth is getting set to release her debut solo album, 'To Love Is To Live' via Caroline Records. You can pre-order it at https://jehnnybeth.lnk.to/TLITLSo.

You can also listen to the first two tracks to be taken from the album, 'Flower' and 'I'm The Man', below.