Jenny Dalton
Photos by Tony Nelson
To say I am a fan of Jenny Dalton music is an understatement, I love what she does as a musician, I have all her albums, all the recordings she has done. Plus she has been on all of the compilation cd’s I have put together. I hope to have her on all the CD’s I do, If more happen in the future. So I am a huge supporter of beautiful Jenny Dalton and her amazing music. She kindly does another interview for me so read on.
1. Are you happy how things have gone for you so far?
There are things I’m happy with and things that are frustrating. Music is just always something that I’m doing; my purpose is to DO it, not worry about particular outcomes. So in that sense, it has gone mostly very well except when music and I had about a 2-year break-up when we weren’t seeing eye-to-eye. That is to say, I had one of those “creative hiatuses” when it seemed my muses were on strike. It was terrible. But we’re back together and all seems right with the world.
2. You happy to be playing loads of gigs at the moment?
It fulfills the wanderlust for sure. I love the pace, variety, and new people that touring brings. It’s great to go out there and see the world.
3. What is inspiring you now when writing music?
I’m not sure if there’s a particular topic for the songs (usually that makes itself clear to me when a record is near completion), but what inspires me lately is a good challenge. I’m going about songwriting a bit differently and using new technology which is really fun for me.
4. What will your up coming release be about?
The theme hasn’t made itself clear to me yet, I’m still figuring out what songs I want to include.
5. Are you happy how people have responded to your latest release?
The Blood Folk EP was something I put out without a lot of fanfare, but I am happy that it has been received well by fans who have been with me since the first release.
6. How is important to you is connecting with your fans?
The music is personal by nature, so I’m grateful for the connection it has found in people. That’s really the best thing about putting it out there. The hard part is to be sure I’m making music without getting carried away by thoughts like “will they like this song?” I’m trying to evict those kinds of thoughts from the process because I think worrying about that stuff can really water down what’s created.
7. How does social networking help you?
I have a modest music career at the moment, but if it wasn’t for social networking, I’d probably have no career at all. It’s amazing to have “traveled” to places like Australia and connected with people there, and I’ve never actually been there in person.
8. What has been your favorite place to play?
It’s really hard to choose. I’ve had some of my favorite shows in New York and Washington D.C. It’s fun to have an attentive audience who knows my songs enough to request them by name. Doing shows in that kind of environment feels more to me like having a personal conversation. It’s intimate.
9. What do you like to do to unwind?
On a free day, I like to grab a coffee and wander around and explore places: popping into boutiques or bookstores etc. I’m kind of an observer. We’ve just had a long winter where I’ve tried to go downhill skiing as much as possible, and now that we have nice weather, I’ll be out and about hopefully seeing as many shows as I’ll be playing.
10. Who would you most like to collaborate with?
Johnny Marr. He’s always been one of my favorite musicians, and I was lucky enough to have met him when he was coming through Minneapolis recently. The way he writes makes my heart melt; it’s addictively mysterious and is, at the same time, beautifully simple.
11. What are you listening to at the moment that is inspiring you?
I love Nordic pop lately. Maybe that’s not a real genre, but these women out of Sweden, Iceland, etc are making some really dark and wonderful pop music. Especially Fever Ray, Soley, and Lykke Li.
12. What does 2013 mean to you as an artist?
Firstly, that I survived the supposed end of the world, so that’s good. Second, it’s time to put out an album and tour tour tour.
13. Will the new release feature any new instruments that you haven’t used before?
I have a feeling this new release will be mostly synthetic. As in synthesizers. For everything. I’m having a great time playing with these things. It’ll be different from the previous releases in that I’ve recorded live instruments in the past, but the style of music will be the same. I think. Sometimes it’s hard for me to judge that.
