Jehnny Beth rose to fame fronting Savages, and has since added acting, presenting and more to her CV. Ahead of new solo album You Heartbreaker, You (out August 29), she talks indie spirit, getting paid and why boredom is the enemy...
INTERVIEW: Lisa Wright PHOTO: Johnny Hostile
It’s been five years since your last solo album, why is now the right time for a new Jehnny Beth record?
“To make a record, it has to itch so hard that there’s nothing you can do but do it. We’ve been touring a lot; we played massive stadiums with Depeche Mode in Europe, and Queens Of The Stone Age in America. We also did some hardcore metal festivals where Korn or Tool would be headlining. I was on stage, and suddenly I had a vision of what this record was going to be. I knew I wanted it to start with a scream, which it does. The times are really absurd; it’s an insane time and I feel insane. Everything’s broken and we need music to bring it back together.”
How did You Heartbreaker, You come together from a musical standpoint?
“We had one rule in the studio, which was: ‘If we’re bored, we delete it.’ Boredom is the last thing you want people to feel; it’s a waste of their money and time. You don’t want to waste time getting people to understand your feelings – they don’t really give a shit. It needs to hit straight to the point and not take detours.”
The album is coming out via Fiction, which is owned by Universal but operates as an independent. What does independence mean to you?
“Independence is whatever’s in the contract – that’s where your independence is. You can have really hardcore artist contracts with independent record labels where they take a lot, or you can have licensing deals that free you very quickly. I look at the contracts and not necessarily which house they’re in.”
You’re also an actor, a writer, an artist… What drives you to keep making music?
“Music has to come via necessity, it has to keep me awake at night. When I worked with Atticus Ross on [2020 album] To Love Is To Live, he asked me things like, ‘What do you want this record to do? What context are you bringing it into? Where is your place in this current world of music?’ Those are really healthy things to ask. There’s so much music coming out these days; it’s about quality, not quantity.”
You’ve hosted a lot of emerging artists on your Echoes TV show – does it feel like a healthy time for new music?
“I’ve never believed people who said it was better when they were young, because I was told that in Savages. I was once invited onto the BBC to discuss the death of rock’n’roll, but I was there to be the proof that it still exists! For me, [a show like Echoes] is essential. Wet Leg and Kneecap did their first TV appearances with us. It’s important to give a voice to artists where we’re not just being invited at the end of a TV show to play and then sit down on a sofa for two minutes.”
As a solo act, how are you navigating the rising costs of touring?
“Times are definitely harder compared even to 10 years ago, but I’ve always been into the mentality of doing it yourself as much as you can. The responsibility falls on the artist more and more to multiply your sources of income so you can survive. I don’t give a fuck about becoming a millionaire, but you need to survive because that’s the only way you can keep creating. [The problem is] all the way from pay-to-play, to bands who’ll [only] pay you €500 to support them in a stadium. There’s a responsibility for [bigger] artists and management and the streaming services [to offer help].”
Is there one thing that you think would make a significant difference?
“Venues shouldn’t take a percentage on merch – it doesn’t seem like a big thing but it can be one of the last sources of income on tour and should be left to the band. If you’re using someone from the venue to sell your merch then yes, pay that person. But if [venues are] taking a percentage on merch, then I would like a percentage on all the drinks they sell!”
