interviews

Jennifer Rene

Hi Jennifer, Trance Hub wishes you a very happy birthday! First of all let us know what are you doing on your 24th birthday?
Thank you! It's Dec. 9th. I think my parents are coming down to where I live and we'll go out to dinner. Then probably go out at night with some friends.

How soon can we call you 'DJ Jennifer Renee'?
Well you can call me that now! But just Jennifer Rene. No 'DJ Jennifer Rene' haha. I've started playing out this year so ya, I am a DJ now!

Can we predict that you will soon start producing music too?
Yes, I intend to produce my own music one day. Some without vocals and some with. It'll be nice because I'm one of those people that always feels I can do it better myself. But then I'm also my own worst critic so who knows.

Is Jennifer planning to give Armin a hard time behind the decks?
Haha no of course not!

What motivational factors drive you to pen down lyrics? What feelings do you associate with Trance music? Even artists who sing for Pop or Rock have their personal experiences detailed in the lyrics they make. How the lyrics of a Trance song differ from other genres?
I am really inspired by emotional, melodic, and uplifting trance I think because I'm an emotional person. There's nothing like having a good cry because a song has touched you that much! When I write it's all based on emotion and a lot from past experiences. I try to think if I was the listener what I would hear and how I could relate to what I'm singing about. Great trance to me is either going to be hard and powerful and make you want to dance so hard you put holes in the floor or be so uplifting and emotional it'll make you want to drop to your knees and throw your hands in the air and shout to the heavens. So that's what I try to write. Sometimes the end result comes out as I'd hoped for when I imagined it and sometimes it doesn't. Either way it just pushes you to keep going. As far as how pop and rock lyrics differ from trance lyrics, I think that the majority of them don't! Pop and rock songs are based on emotions and past experiences as well. I think the only difference might be that in pop you'll have more lyrics about sex or how hot the artist thinks they are and in trance you'll have more lyrics about butterflies, angels, heavens, oceans, and moutains. Fluffy stuff that paints pictures. My writing style is actually neither. I just like to tell it like it is.

Do you listen to Tech Trance or Hard Trance? Do you think females are interested in Tech and Hard Trance?
I can't speak for other females, but I for one love it sometimes. I listen to everything from mellow Way Out West sets to the harder, techier stuff of Sander van Doorn and Christopher Lawrence. For me, it doesn't get any better than a Paul van Dyk set back from 2003-2005! ENERGY BABY!

There has been a debate that Trance music makes less female listeners. We would like to tell you there is a fistful amount of female listeners of Trance music in India. Some other countries too.
Hmm well I for one have never seen a shortage of females at a club the night a DJ is spinning. Are you saying there aren't a large number of females that listen to trance in India? I think a factor might be that there aren't as many lyrics. The more commercial music like pop, rock, hip hop, always has lyrics. Trance is more about understanding you don't have to have lyrics to tell a message. I know when I first started listening to dance music it had to have lyrics for me to really get into it. Eventually I evolved and my tastes for trance grew. So that could be a factor. I know I always enjoy seeing the females out and about, dancing and having a good time!!!

We heard you announcing Armin's A State of Trance and really, you have a very sweet voice! However, in your songs you manage to sound very sensuous. How do you do that? What tonal skills you use for singing?
Ahahaha you heard that did you?! Well thank you! I have a fun, playful kind of personality so I think that might come across in my voice. When I'm singing, I'm more focused on getting the emotion out for the listener to hear. You know how you hear someone sing. Then you hear someone sing with emotion that you feel what they're feeling? It's a connection. I try to connect through my voice with whoever is listening to it.

Point out some vocal Trance singers you think have a great future in this industry.
I've always loved Jes and Nadia Ali. I got to meet Susana (who sings for Armin's "Shivers" and "If You Should Go" tracks) in July of this year for the "Armin Live In" shows. I remember watching her perform at Armin Only in 2006 and I was like WHOA this chick can SING!!! She has such a strong powerful voice that is really going to capture an audience's attention. She's such a sweetheart too!!!

What have been your favourite vocal Trance songs?
Agnelli & Nelson's "Holding Onto Nothing", Tiësto's remixes of Oakenfold's "Southern Sun" and Delerium's "Innocente", well probably Tiësto's remix of Sarah McLaughlin's "Silence" too. Perasma's "Swing 2 Harmony (Deserves An Effort Polyphony Vocal Mix)", Above & Beyond "No One On Earth (Gabriel & Dresden Remix)", Ridgewalkers feat. El "Find (Andy Moor Remix)"... those are the ones that come off the top of my head.

Have you heard Paul van Dyk's "White Lies"? What are your comments on Jessica Sutta's vocals considering that a pop artist has sung for a Trance tune?
Yes I have, I'm not sure I'd call it "trance" but I think it's good in the perspective that it can broaden the listening audience to give producers the attention they deserve. If you have a popular pop icon singing a trance tune it's going to get the attention from that pop star's audience because they have a following. Listeners will realize what they've been missing out on! I'm not crazy about "White Lies" per say, but I give PvD the credit for trying something new and broadening his horizons as a producer.

How are Armin and Jose in person? You share a great chemistry with them.
They're both really great and really talented.

Do you think Jose Amnesia mentored you or you both poised each other?
I think we helped each other. We both put our best talents in to the music we've created and the end result as been something completely unexpected!

We are greedy to know the story behind your three hits, "Louder", "Wouldn't Change A Thing" and "Fall To Pieces". You can make it quick and brief if you want.
"Louder" is about being afraid to speak up and tell someone how you truly feel about them because you're afraid of love. "Wouldn't Change A Thing" is about all the mistakes I've made in my past. At the time they seemed awful and I regretted making those decisions. But everything happens for a reason and looking back on it now, all those choices have lead me to where I am today. They've made me the woman I am today! And had I not made those choices I would have never wrote the lyrics to "Louder" or especially "Wouldn't Change A Thing" or a song that'll be coming up in the future called "Wasted". So who knows where I'd be! "Fall To Pieces" is actually a song I wrote for my friend who was going through a hard time in a relationship. I asked her one night to email me everything she was feeling and she did. I put myself in her shoes and the lyrics just came to me. I think a lot of people liked that song because they can relate to being in a relationship with someone who keeps them hanging on emotionally when they know they should just let go.

You learned the basics of DJing in less than a month! How confidently do you play before a crowd? How is singing different from DJing from your point of view?
I LOVEEEEEEEE TO PLAYYYYYYY. Sometimes I forget where I am and when I watch the videos I'm like "OMG NOTE TO SELF NEVER DANCE LIKE THAT AGAIN!" Lol... But I can't help it I get soooo into as if I was playing for myself at home. I know the basics but I have so much more to learn. It's not something that can be taught but something you have to teach yourself and you can really only learn and grow that way through experience. Singing and DJ'ing aren't really that different because when you're doing either, the quality of sound is EVERYTHING. If you can't hear yourself singing because the bass is so loud, chances are you're going to be off key. And if you can't hear yourself in your headphones when you're mixing because the bass is so loud or the quality of sound is muddy, chances are you're going to be off beat when you bring the next song in. Singing might be a little more emotional for me because I'm watching a sea of people sing along with me to lyrics that I wrote from my heart. It's a really emotional thing. If I get choked up I hold the mic out and let the crowd sing. :)

Let's take a situation, due to some unavoidable reason Armin has given you two days deadline to write and sing a song for his next album. How will you go about it?
After I realize it's not a joke you mean?! More than likely I'd just sit down with my keyboard and write what comes to mind. I have trouble with finishing songs. I think its thinking about the structure of "Ok this is the first verse and now I need to write a chorus that has a catchy hook line and oh don't forget about something simple yet powerful for the breakdown" that freaks me out. With Jose it was nice to send him the bits and pieces I had and then he'd send me back the music he put to it in which would inspire me to write the other parts of the song. So I guess I'd send Armin the pieces I had and see which one he liked best. So I'd have a better understanding at the direction I needed to go and write the rest. Then pray he liked it.

Have you ever felt the need to have your own website?
I have one. Just haven't done anything with it yet because I don't have time! In the future we'll get it fixed up.

What can we expect from you in near future? Enlighten us on some of your upcoming projects.
I have the songs that I wrote with Armin that will come out sometime next year. At the present time I'm currently working on my own artist album through Armada. That's pretty intense because I have to pray I can find producers to work with that I connect well with. And I don't want to work with a lot of different people. Still continuing work with Jose of course. Just started DJ'ing in the clubs this year and there's a lot of people out there that don't know I DJ. I signed with David Lewis Productions which is the same DJ manager of Armin, Markus Schulz, Rank 1, Blake Jarrell which is quite an honor to be on that roster because they're all huge artists! They've done great things so far for me this year and I've got a lot more travel coming up!

Where all have you given live performances yet? Have you ever been to Asia? Share any of your favourite memory performing around the world.
No I've never been to Asia but will someday!!! I have gotten to sing live in Slovakia, Texas, New York, Los Angeles, Detroit, Mexico, and St. Maarten thus far. The crowds in Slovakia and Mexico are something I'll never forget. They were so intense and so into the music. It was a really beautiful and emotional experience for me. Performing alongside Armin, Rank 1, and Susana in New York and Los Angeles was something that I'm still pinching myself for because it was a dream come true! Visiting St. Maarten and the island of Curacao was something I'll never forget because it's so beautiful there and I'm an island, sunshine, beachy kinda gal. I'm off to Malta to spin this weekend and I've never been there before so I'm excited!!!

We thank you immensely for adding yourself to the list of great artists here on Trance Hub. You have obliged us by far with your words! Thank You and have a Trancing career ahead Jennifer!
No THANK YOU! It means a lot for you to ask me for the interview and it's been my pleasure. Thank you for spreading the trance music through your community!!!

For more info related to Jennifer Rene check out the following links:
www.myspace.com/jenniferreneb

Written by: Apoorv
Compiled by: Mr. Yank