Photo by Mark Oliver
For years, Jens Kuross operated in the shadows of the music industry—a talented session musician and songwriter in Los Angeles who eventually retreated to Idaho to become a cabinet maker, convinced that his personal music was destined to remain unheard. Sidelined by the scene and dropped by his management, Kuross believed his musical chapter was closed.
The catalyst for his return, and the subsequent creation of his new album, ‘Crooked Songs’, was a serendipitous meeting in a Boise basement. There, Kuross opened for musician Hayden Pedigo, delivering a performance that struck Pedigo with immediate and profound emotional force.
This pivotal moment led Pedigo to insist that Kuross capture that stripped-back, weighty, and sincere sound on record. The result is ‘Crooked Songs’, Kuross’s debut album for Woodsist.
Co-produced by Pedigo, the album is a mysterious, warm, and deeply heart-stirring work. Kuross uses minimal instrumentation—primarily just his voice and electric piano, delicately enveloped by ambient synth—to enhance his minimalist approach. Tracks like the lead single, “Beggar’s Nation,” feel like the sound of an artist making music purely for himself for the first time.
‘Crooked Songs’ is more than an album; it’s a testament to rediscovery. It is a collection of heavy, beautiful, and magical songs that may just find listeners precisely when they need to hear them most.
Huge thanks to “Patrick Tilley* at Pitch Perfect for coordinating and to Jens for his candid responses.
James Broscheid: The bio mentions you used “just voice and electric piano” with ambient synth on ‘Crooked Songs.’ What was the intention behind this minimalist approach? Did the stripped-back instrumentation influence the songwriting itself?
Jens Kuross: So the minimalist approach was very much informed by how I play these songs live. I’ve always loved intimate and minimal balladeering and out of necessity I’ve mostly had to perform solo. But it was really Hayden Pedigo’s conviction, after he had seen me perform, that this was my music at its most affecting, totally without ornament or polish, and that gave me the courage to approach an entire album this raw and unrefined and yeah, this crooked.JB: Hayden describes your music as “otherworldly naturalism.” What was your collaboration with him like, and how did his perspective shape the final sound of the album?
JK: I love that description. Our collaboration was entirely long distance. After our initial meeting in a Boise basement venue he spoke very eloquently about what a new Jens Kuross record could sound like but we didn’t meet face to face again for about 2 years. Essentially I would record stuff in my living room and send it to him and he would let me know if he thought I had captured that special something that made him fall in love with my music to begin with. Eventually I did.
JB: After your experience in the LA music scene, you moved back to Idaho and became a cabinet maker. How did that period of stepping away from music influence your perspective and ultimately lead you back to creating this album?
JK: That’s actually a really long story. Just because the nature of the internal journey is so difficult to explain. There are events that are incredibly significant to me personally but when described can sound so banal I actually shy away from trying. I never really saw myself as “stepping away” from music. For me it was more of what felt like life and reality rejecting my professional musical aspirations. Covid had effectively killed the chances of my first album, I could no longer afford to support myself as a musician in a city as expensive as LA, my booking agents had moved on from me, my lawyer stopped returning my calls, but I never stopped practicing or writing.
Even in the midst of moving back to Idaho I had written and recorded an album I was (I am) immensely proud of. It was shortly after delivering that to my then manager that he called me to say he couldn’t manage me anymore and I had to get a job as a cabinet maker to support myself. I didn’t really have all that much pride left after that. It took a lot of soul searching to convince myself that I, me, my art, – all of it – was not a total waste. Miraculously somewhere in the midst of all this soul-searching through what felt like a wasted life, my connection to music only became deeper and more meaningful, my past failures made sense, my sense of purpose made more profound.
Any attention paid to my music felt like what it actually was – a profound gift. The career that had rejected me, the career I thought I wanted began to seem like a sick farce, like a gross misuse of a divine gift. The whole idea of being on stage in front of people seemed absurd unless it was accompanied by that realization and my posture towards audiences became something much more like that of a servant. It’s rare for me now to get through a show without tears of gratitude. It was in the midst of this quasi-existential transformation that Hayden first heard me and was able to convince me that my music was valuable enough to not give up on professionally. Hayden’s influence and conviction was also a total gift.
JB: The bio also states that being “dismissed by the music industry for so long” was exactly what you needed. What does it feel like to release an album that comes from such a personal, insular place?
JK: I feel like going unnoticed by an industry that today is so incredibly boring, and that only celebrates the most corporate, safe, and uninspiring art was an incredible gift. In some ways it feels like I dodged a bullet.
JB: ’Crooked Songs’ feels like a “debut” in the truest sense—the music you were always meant to create. How does it feel to share this deeply personal work with an audience after believing for so long that your music wouldn’t find one?
JK: The most pronounced emotion for me is gratitude. It didn’t have to happen and the world might be done with me and my music by tomorrow. But just having the experience of putting something so true and personal out in the world and watching it percolate in listeners’ lives is an experience that I don’t feel a lot of artists get to have. I’m nothing if not grateful.
Photo by Mark Oliver
JB: You’ve had a diverse career, from playing jazz in Idaho to touring with major bands and releasing your own music. How have these different experiences shaped you as a musician and a person?
JK: Well some people have to get a job to support their artistic careers and I am no exception. Only difference with me is that my job and my artistic career are both in music. So I suppose that spending so much time on the blue-collar side of things has really kept me humble. It’s hard to take yourself too seriously, or watch any other artist take themselves too seriously for that matter when you’ve spent so much time playing a supporting role, or when you have an idea of how much somebody’s success has to do with the people they surround themselves with.
JB: You’ve released several EPs and a full-length album, and your work has been featured in a TV show. What themes or ideas do you find yourself returning to in your solo work?
JK: I’m not consciously returning to any themes, though I may very well be unconsciously. I’ll let someone else dig through my lyrics and unpack that one though.
JB: After moving to Los Angeles and working as a session musician, you earned a master’s degree in Jazz Performance. How did that advanced study influence your playing and your approach to music?
JK: I’m just a fan of learning. A master’s degree was an opportunity to dive into a subject that fascinates me from an academic perspective. Technically it was a degree in jazz performance but most of the interesting stuff I learned was from a deep dive into music history, giving me a more fully fleshed out idea of the 21st century context I’m creating in and how unique it is, as well as the genius that’s preceded me and that I’m now beholden to. And also in more academic disciplines like counterpoint, or form and analysis, really dissecting great works of art and figuring out what makes them tick. Being more fully aware of what’s going on in a composition like (Johann Sebastian) Bach’s “St Matthew’s Passion” (BWV 244, 1727) changes the experience of writing a little three minute verse, chorus, bridge thing.
JB: You’ve had to navigate the music industry through various highs and lows, including a canceled tour and an unreleased album. What have you learned from these challenges, and how have they impacted your creative outlook? Did you ever consider stepping away from music permanently?
JK: Put most simply, the challenges keep me humble and grateful. I have considered stepping away from music in a professional capacity, but only in a professional capacity. To the degree I know myself I’m confident in saying that a musical discipline of some sort will always be a part of my daily life.
JB: Your first professional gig was at age 15, drumming for a jazz trio. How did learning from a seasoned session player like Jeff Rew influence you at such a young age?
JK: That was some high-quality “on the job” training. I was such a baby at the time. All I wanted to do was play the drums. Jeff was just a patient and gracious guiding hand. I learned mostly how to serve the music, how to put the song above my ego’s need to be seen as good or cool and prioritize the experience of everyone else on the band stand over my own.
JB: You’ve moved around quite a bit from Seattle to Ketchum, Idaho, at a young age, and then to Boston, Los Angeles, and back to Idaho. Have those different places influenced your music?
JK: Probably, but I couldn’t tell you how exactly.
JB: What advice would you give to a young artist who is just starting their career and wants to pursue a path similar to yours?
JK: I’d tell them that they better have a guiding light that burns brighter than their ego or else both their failures and successes will bring only misery. Then I’d tell them to read “Letters to a young poet” by (Rainer Maria) Rilke. If they’re still open to the idea of making a career out of art then God bless them.
For more information or to purchase, please visit Jens’ Website, Bandcamp or Woodsist.
Jens Kuross Tour Dates (all dates supporting Hayden Pedigo):
Wed. Oct. 22 – Albuquerque, NM – The Cell at FUSION
Thu. Oct. 23 – Colorado Springs, CO – Lulu’s Downtown
Fri. Oct. 24 – Denver, CO – Swallow Hill
Sun. Oct. 26 – Salt Lake City, UT – Parker Theatre
Mon. Oct. 27 – Boise, ID – Shrine Social Club
Wed. Oct. 29 – Portland, OR – Mississippi Studios
Fri. Oct. 31 – Seattle, WA – Ballard Homestead
Sat. Nov. 1 – Vancouver, BC – Wise Hall
Tue. Nov. 4 – Santa Cruz, CA – The Crepe Place (Outdoors)
Wed. Nov. 5 – San Francisco, CA – The Chapel
Thu. Nov. 6 – Pioneertown, CA – Pappy and Harriets
Fri. Nov. 7 – Los Angeles, CA – Barnsdall Gallery Theatre
Sat. Nov. 8 – Ojai, CA – Ojai Valley Woman’s Club
Mon. Nov. 10 – San Diego, CA – Casbah
Tue. Nov. 11 – Tucson, AZ – Pidgin Palace Arts
Thu. Nov. 13 – El Paso, TX – Lowbrow Palace
Fri. Nov. 14 – Marfa, TX – Ballroom Marfa
Sat. Nov 15 – Austin, TX – Central Presbyterian Church
Sun. Nov. 16 – Houston, TX – White Oak Music Hall (Upstairs)
Mon. Nov. 17 – Dallas, TX – Sons of Hermann Hall
Wed. Nov. 19 – Kansas City, MO – The Ship
Thu. Nov. 20 – Omaha, NE – Reverb Lounge
Fri. Nov. 21 – Minneapolis, MN – Icehouse
Sun. Nov. 23 – Chicago, IL – Sleeping Village
Mon. Nov. 24 – Indianapolis, ID – Turntable
Wed. Nov. 26 – Toronto, ON – The Great Hall
Thu. Nov. 27 – Montreal, QC – L’Esco
Sat. Nov. 29 – Brooklyn, NY – St. John’s Lutheran Church
Sun. Nov. 30 – Philadelphia, PA – Black Squirrel Club
Mon. Dec. 1 – Washington, DC – Union Stage
Wed. Dec. 3- Atlanta, GA – Masquerade (Altar)
Thu. Dec. 4 – Nashville, TN – The Blue Room at Third Man Records
Fri. Dec. 5 – Memphis, TN – 1884 Lounge
