An Interview with UK Artist Jane Weaver

Photo by Nic Chapman

The lovely British artist Jane Weaver first caught my attention with the 2017 Fire Records release, Modern Kosmology. She was kind enough to sit for an interview which we conducted over email. Thank you to Jane for her time and to Jenna Jones from Fire Records for setting this up.

EK: Growing up, what were your biggest musical influences, both bands and family members?

Jane: I saw Kate Bush on TV and that was a big musical imprint for me aged 5. I also really loved synth pop music like The Human League and Tubeway Army. When I started high school, I got really into early U2, the War and Boy era. I still think Under a Blood Red Sky and the Red rocks concert are so good, although I kind of dropped off not long after this. As a teen, I liked alternative music and and that progressed into space rock and metal. As the Manchester scene was breaking in the late 1980s, I was more into watching Hawkwind and going to free festivals.

My parents weren’t musical performers but listened to things like Elvis, The Beatles, and Gerry Rafferty. My brother was the first kid on our street to have a CD player, so that was quite fascinating as only certain artists did CDs. My Grandad was an ex-sailor from Liverpool, a bit of a club singer though so maybe that’s were I get it from?

EK: Did you take lessons, or play in the school band? How many instruments do you play besides guitar?

Jane: I was raised Catholic as a child and hymns were a daily thing at school and then church. I really loved singing at church, probably because all the other parts of the mass were very serious and you had to not fidget and be quiet. I eventually joined school choir. I started learning violin then got a electric guitar when I was 14. I had a few lessons, I can play synth and piano a bit…I’ll try to play anything really although I am not a precision musician at all.

EK: When did you officially get started in music as a career?

Jane: I was in a band and we got signed when I was 19, but I’d been in bands from the age of 16. We had a few record deals along the way then broke up, but to be honest it wasn’t until my 2014 album The Silver Globe when it seemed to suddenly get busy and I was asked to perform at festivals and started touring, even though I’d been a performer and songwriter for decades. It’s probably the last 10 years that have been the most fulfilling!

EK: Can you describe your various early bands, such as Kill Laura, to later side projects like Fenella?

Jane: Kill Laura was indie guitar based (no synths) we went a bit ‘brit pop’ before we split up, Misty Dixon was downbeat and more atmospheric, and Fenella is a synth band and sounds more like music for film.

EK: Can you describe running your own label, and how you decided to do that? How have you fared in these streaming times?

Jane: I started Bird Records years ago initially as a vehicle for my own music: small run vinyl releases plus other contemporary female artists who I liked, there seemed to be so many boy guitar bands getting record deals and being heard in the late 90s, and it was disappointing that so many female artists weren’t being heard and/or giving up.
Sadly, Bird Records has been on hold for a while because I can’t give it my full attention, nor can I do it alone. Some people may not realise the work that has to go into one record release. Once the songs are finished, there’s so much admin and post-production and PR. I understand both sides from an artist and label POV, and I don’t want to put someone’s record out and not be trying my best to make people hear it. You can’t really earn anything from streaming, it’s a good tool to get heard but I would still do vinyl.

EK: Please walk us through your numerous albums. What was the easiest to record?

Jane: I don’t think any album is easy to record they all have hurdles and some take longer than others.

My first solo album was the 2002 release, Like an Aspen Leaf. This was an exciting time, we got to do some shows and a radio tour in Europe, more alt-folk, downbeat inspired as that was on heavy rotation at the time.

Seven Day Smile (2006): This was more of a collection of songs pre-dating Like an Aspen Leaf. They never really came out when they should have because the boss of the label I was signed to in the 1990s passed away, so the songs were tied up legally. I had to buy them back off the label’s new owner…always a bit challenging.

Cherlokalate (2007): This was mainly new recordings, I’d just become a new mum so was facing those challenges plus still trying to keep creative and work with other musicians. It was recorded in different sessions, more trad guitar, bass, drums, piano. I remember recording a few tracks on a digital 8 track at home, and then one of the tracks ending up on the record as it was.

The Fallen By Watch Bird (2010): I felt at a creative crossroads and was even more challenged for time after having another baby. It gave me an added determination because I refused to be confined by my decision to have a family as I was still wanted to be creative and grow as an artist. I would write songs late at night and nothing seemed easy or possible at the time, it was my foray into the more experimental and electronic side of writing. I had the basis for some tracks and the studio had some synths and keyboards so it was just a case of letting myself go and letting myself go down avenues of sound I hadn’t explored that much. It was also my first concept album and inspired by Germanic folk tales and featured a narration by 1960’s American Folk singer Susan Christie and vocals by Wendy Flower.

The Silver Globe (2014): I rented a small studio room in a disused mill that was waiting for planning permission to be converted into apartments, so there were hardly any tenants and it was really cold and spooky and falling down but the rent was super cheap! I started to record my ideas on 8 track and voice memo and work the demos for songs that became The Silver Globe. I went to America to LA and recorded 2 tracks with my friend David Holmes in a studio called Vox. In the UK, I got a band together with the help of a drummer and guitarist I’d previously worked with and we recorded quite sporadically between 2/3 studios in Manchester, over 2 years maybe. I remember when we decided to have a launch party for the record prior to its release we planned to do a few more shows maybe, but after that it kind of blew up, the reviews were really good and the attention even though at a small indie level was so unexpected and I was really happy!

Modern Kosmology (2017): I started working with a new and bigger independent label Fire Records, looking back I’m not sure how I managed to record this at all with the amount of shows we were doing and me having a young family but we did it, it was a lot of juggling. I recorded it in 2 main studios that featured on The Silver Globe and used to just book 3/4 days when I could, again probably over a period of 2 years. Henry Broadhead (who I mainly worked with at Eve studios) and I had a really intuitive way of working together so at least this part was easy, again a more conceptual record inspired by the Swedish artist and mystic Hilma af Klint.

Flock (2021): My intention for this record was to record a collection of different styles of pop songs so that was its only concept, being a ‘flock of songs’. I’d moved to a new bigger writing/demo studio by this point, again in a spooky disused mill to start demo-ing the new songs using the same synths I’d been using for years that formed part of the sound. At the recording studio Eve, I’d previously used a guitar synth and if you listen to “The Revolution of Super Visions”, the production on this was inspired by the 1970s pop group Hot Chocolate. Apparently they used the same thing in their studio back then for their definitive guitar sound. Part way through recording the album COVID hit and government lockdowns, so it took a while to finish due to restrictions. When we released Flock in May 2021, record shops weren’t even open and we couldn’t do any shows. It was so frustrating and upsetting, but it was the first time I’d ever got into the UK Album Charts at #24, so it was a big deal for me despite the bizarre circumstances.

Love In Constant Spectacle (2024): I reached out to the producer and artist John Parish in 2022 as I was looking to work in a different studio maybe in Bristol or the south of UK to put me outside of my normal zone so was asking for his professional advice! Long story short, we ended up working together in Rockfield Studios and Invada after March 2023. It’s been really great working with someone who is so experienced and I love the clarity of the sound. For me it feels like a more emotionally charged record due to circumstances of things going on in my life for the whole time in parallel to my writing and recording. I could only think about it in terms of writing from the perspective of others and different characters in scenes because I didn’t want to intentionally write about me.

EK: What is your favorite of the many records you’ve created?

Jane: Probably The Silver Globe because it was a mini breakthrough moment for me, it was totally organic too and people still come up to me and talk about loving that record.

EK: Do you have a favorite genre?

Jane: Not really, I’m not snobby about music at all, I live with someone who collects records and so accidentally hear so many records from so many genres and eras, but then I’m happy listening to the latest chart hit if it’s good! I’m currently listening to a lot of instrumental music for film as that’s the next thing I’m writing.

EK: I noticed your music is often described as polymath. I’m not sure I even know what that means. Do you find such pigeonholing to be of limited benefit in people finding your music?

Jane: I think writing more concept type records probably put me in that zone of perception. These days, I don’t really think about it I just want to keep writing and recording, I think I’m in the alternative section in record shops which doesn’t bother me.

EK: When did you step in as a producer? Do you also produce other bands?

Jane: I’ve always been the producer from day one, making decisions about how I want songs I’ve written to sound, creatively ,dynamically. It’s the transfer of the way something sounds in your head and then trying to replicate that and make it sound better. From the moment I start a record until it becomes a physical product and beyond, I live and breathe it. This record I worked with a producer for the first time for a whole album because I wanted to do something different and sound different. I haven’t really ventured into producing others much, but maybe I will!

EK: Raising a family, was it ever difficult to create your music, given the time constraints of young children?

Jane: Yes, for a long time when the kids were small, my husband was away a lot working and it seemed impossible to get anything done, but I would write in the evenings, make up songs when I was driving, and just try and make sure I made plans to go in the recording studio when I could. Being a mum has definitely made me a more determined person, I haven’t got the luxury of free time I used to have.

EK: Tell us about your current band. Does the same group of musicians record and tour with you?

Jane: Yes, more or less we try to keep consistent and we all get along and roll with it!

EK: Do you ever play any instruments in a live setting? I saw you in NYC in ‘22, and your band covered all the instruments.

Jane: Yes I play guitar and synth, although for some shows I like to feel free and not play too much, this new album I’m definitely playing more guitar live.

EK: What inspires you when writing songs?

Jane: It could be anything, it could be conceptual and directly inspired by a subject. For this record, I was in pursuit of happiness and looking for joy in small ways like in nature and my surroundings. I was writing about emotional issues, comments of relationships drawn from observations combined with personal experience.

EK: Do you ever draw from art, film, or literature when penning lyrics? How about world events? That is a tough one, since many of us listen to music as an escape from global issues.

Jane: Yes, I guess all of the above. You can’t avoid the terrible things and what is going on in the world, but I perhaps write more ambiguously than direct. I have admiration and support for protest and those who can vocalise exactly how they feel. On my album Flock, on “Modern Reputation” and “Pyramid Schemes”, I write about the patriarchy and the economy.

EK: Do you co-write music with other band members?

Jane: Fenella is the synth project I do with Pete and Raz, who have played in the band, so yes, we write together!

EK: Can you step us through what a typical recording session involves, right down to mixing?

Jane: If it’s a traditional band song, usually we run through the songs with me playing guitar and guide vocals with the bass and drums. Getting the rhythm tracks nailed are the backbone to build from, once we decide on the best take, I can build everything instrument wise on top of that, whether that’s a band member playing it or me doing it, or it could just be a drum machine from home or a file of a demo I’ve taken from garage band as a start point. It varies. Once the ingredients are added, I don’t commit to the lyrics or vocal takes until a lot of the music and production of sounds is already at a certain point, I have to feel it sounds right for me to want to sing it. The mix is also another opportunity to creatively express more ideas or add or take away things from the whole picture of sounds. I like to experiment with outboard effects on vocals or anything really, and it’s genuinely based on how I would like it to be. Working solely with the engineer, we’ll probably do a few mixes and various vocal levels or effects and then go home and decide the best mix. The good thing about pro-tools etc is that edits and drastic changes can be made if you’re not happy or want to recall previous versions of the session.

EK: I’d love to know more about your forthcoming record. What has it been like putting that together? How does it compare with earlier releases? Can you talk about some of the songs?

Jane: It’s been a really positive experience working with a producer that I admire, sometimes I stress about the burden and weight of decision making and the creative sounds, so it was good to have John Parish and his experience with us. In some ways, it’s bolder working somewhere else outside of what you normally do, it’s a slightly different edge, but it’s still me and the sounds I’m used to. This record personally has been hard to do because lots of difficult things were going on in my personal life that I had no control over alongside it. It coloured how I was writing without me trying, it wasn’t easy by any means. In places, the record is more stripped back and exposed and you can hear everything clearly and not collaged with lots and lots of effects like earlier releases, though there are still moments on certain songs! The song “Love in constant Spectacle” is about searching for joy in different places and uncovering it under rocks and stones.

EK: You have a dedicated contingent of fans here in the US. What was your first show in the States? Will you be touring here again behind this album?

Jane: We played SXSW as our first US show some years ago after the Silver Globe was released, and yes of course we hope to return because we really enjoyed our run of dates in 2022 and 2023. We’d love to venture to the East coast and Midwest too.

*EK: What can fans expect in the future musical realm of your work?

Jane: I’m currently working on a more experimental instrumental project which will feature an ensemble, so watch this space!

Catch up with Jane on Facebook and check out the latest album on Bandcamp.