After a stunning run of success at last year’s Western Canadian Music Awards, which saw her named Country Artist Of The Year, fast-rising artist Jess Moskaluke recently returned to deliver her latest album ‘The Demos’.
Featuring the previously unveiled singles ‘Halfway Home’, ‘Mapdot’, and last year’s hit release ‘Country Girls’, the record has seen her popularity grow even stronger in the last few months, seeing her finding new fanbases around the world.
So with all this hype building around her, we decided to have a quick chat with her to find out more about her latest release and where she plans to go from here.
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Hi Jess, how are you today?
I’m doing great, thanks for asking!
For those that haven’t heard of you yet, how would you best describe your sound and who have been your biggest influences so far?
I’d say my sound is, and always has been pop-country. I love fun sounding songs with purpose, whether that purpose is making you dance, making you reminisce, or making you think. Shania has been one of my biggest influences since day one, and I’m sure that probably comes across in my music as well!
And what would you say has been your biggest moment in music so far?
Oh my gosh. What a tough question! There have been so many massive musical moments in my career over the last 10+ years it’s impossible to single out just one. Being the first woman in Canada since my idol, Shania Twain to have a platinum record is a big one. But there have been countless awards shows, performances, charity events, and fan moments that are high up there on that list as well.
You have just released your new album ‘The Demos’. Can you tell us how that record came about? Is there a story behind it?
Of course! That record may not have happened had it not been for the pandemic. I really thought that the next few years of my career was going to be focused on releasing 1-3 singles at a time in order to get the freshest music out there as frequently as possible. But when the pandemic came around, I knew it was going to be challenging to get into the studio as often as I wanted to. So I realized I had a TON of songs I’d already written over the years that I hadn’t had the opportunity to release, and still absolutely loved. So I decided to use it as a chance to show fans a peek behind the curtain into my songwriting process a little. What we did was take the songs as they were on the day we wrote them, added them onto the record that exact way, and then made another “prettier” more refined version of them that’s ready for radio. I decided to call it “The Demos” because that’s all the songs ALMOST ever were- just demos.
And can you tell us how it compares to your previous material?
It’s very much still my classic pop-country sound, but as mentioned above, it was a totally different process! We had to do everything remotely, but I think in terms of quality, it’s absolutely still the same. It wasn’t the easiest process, but we pulled it off!
Would you say you have a favourite track on here or is there something you enjoy about each of them?
I always say that I wouldn’t put a song on an album if it wasn’t one of my favourites. So there’s something I enjoy about each of them, for sure! “Mapdot” has a special place in my heart for obvious reasons, being written about my hometowns. “Nothin I Don’t Love About You” is a little more rock than pop for me, so that was a fun style to explore. “Country Girls” was my first #1 and will always hold a special place in my heart for that. I could go on and on about each song!
The coronavirus outbreak has obviously affected everyone’s plans, but what have you got in store for the rest of the year?
Things here in Canada are starting to look a little better, thankfully! So we’re starting to be able to play a few live shows here and there which I’m very much looking forward to! Other than that, we’re also working on the 3rd edition of “Handpicked by Jess” which is a specially curated box of some of my favourite things from my favourite brands that fans can purchase for a fraction of the cost it’d be to purchase each item individually. Hopefully a few more restrictions will start to ease up soon so some of our other plans can come to fruition!
And finally, do you have any rituals or habits that help you to write new music?
For me it’s just trying to live life in the moment as much as I can so I can write about things that are truly relatable to people. If something particularly inspiring happens, I have a note in my phone that I like to write the idea, or title, or lyric down. Then I just expand on those ideas before writing, and try to enjoy the energy in the room and see what we get out of it!
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Jess Moskaluke’s new album ‘The Demos’ is available to stream now. Check it out below.
