interviews

Jes Brieden

Hi Jes, congratulations on being featured as Coca Cola WE8 artist for 2008 Olympics. How are you looking forward to it?

I am hugely excited! I love traveling, meeting people, interacting and collaborating with people across the globe. I have been watching the Olympics for several days now and the way it all comes down to that one moment for the athletes is so intense, it makes me rethink so much. I train very hard too and I can put myself in the place of the Olympians. It's very exciting. I really get emotional and I am so proud to be a part of this and have the chance to be at an Olympics.

Let me straight off ask you the secret behind that 'celestial' voice of yours.

I listen to myself so much it's hard for me to hear that but thank you very much!

I just love to sing. I look forward to singing everyday and I sing from my heart. I try and find that every time I write or sing a song. I am very critical on myself about finding something within what I'm singing that feels real and true and hits me in a way I hope will also register with other people too.

Last year we saw you in the video of "Heaven" from your beautiful album 'Disconnect', and now, you are releasing the video of "Imagination" from the same album. What would you like to tell us about this?

Well first off I am so excited to finally get this song out! It was released on Tiësto's 'In Search Of Sunrise' series and I was so lucky to have him do a remix of that song to include on one of his albums. We filmed footage for the video in two different places. First at the Arena show in Copenhagen when I was on the 'Elements Of Life' tour with him. It was footage that was also included in his DVD as a live concert clip of the song. When we finally chose the cover for "Imagination" we decided to use that image and recreate it as a video and we just shot it at the same location and it looks so beautiful because of the space where we shot it and the natural light that makes up its mood. We wanted to put those two shoots together because I'm always dreaming of performing.

'Disconnect' threw plenty of scopes before the Trance producers who did some impeccable remixes of the songs like "Imagination", "Like A Waterfall", "Heaven" etc. How essential were these remixes to your career?

Because I found my niche through Electronic Dance Music, it was always important to my career to get really great remixes. It's also so wonderful to be able to recreate your songs many times over. It lets me make my record, lets me be myself and show some other sides to my writing and singing at different tempos and styles. So the remixes then bring it all back into the EDM and DJ scene.

Where did you pen down the lyrics of "As The Rush Comes"? How did such inspiring lyrics come to you?

I was working with my group Motorcycle and we wrote that one very quickly. We had lots of lyrics going and when we started recording that song it all came out in a couple of passes. It was a very quick and inspirational moment. Really it just shows if your open to receiving the energy that it can flow like that. We had alot of lyrics but it wasn't something we really planned. It just came together, and we are so lucky it did.

What would you like to comment on today's Trance music scene? With tech one of the strongest sub-genres emerging.

I think trance is alive and strong. The genre is a major factor for the dance movement, so it will never go away. It will just keep evolving. You can already see the difference between traditional trance and the newer sounds that bring more organic and live elements to the genre. There are so many different genres of dance music and so many groups that are allegiant to what they love. EDM is about experimenting and the tech sub-genre really offers artists a bigger palette to play with.

And what would you tell us about your style of music - Rocktronica?

Well, I previously had rock bands, with live drums and guitars, so it was very natural for me to want to incorporate this background into my Dance music. There is nothing like adding live instruments to dance beats and immediately hear the song come even more alive.

There are many artists mashing Rock sounds into EDM and DJ tracks, with collaborations like Dave Navarro and DJ Scribble, Tommy LEE and DJ Areo, as well as, DJ/Producers like Paul van Dyk and Paul Oakenfold, who utilize the edgier, rock sound in some of their songs. Also, remixes of artists such as Coldplay, The Killers, Linkin Park, and Evanescence, incorporate the elements of Roctroninca. I think it opens Dance and Electronic music to many more ears.

Since you tour a lot for performances, do you have any memorable onstage experience? Also, name some great DJs you've performed with.

Well, I have been so lucky to have toured and performed with so many really great DJs. It is so wonderful in this business because most shows you are on the bill with many different talented artists and DJs. Some DJs I have performed with include Tiësto, Ferry Corsten, Armin van Buren, BT, Paul Oakenfold, Deepdish, Junkie XL, Above & Beyond, I mean the list goes on! Amazing experiences include being in Moscow with Ferry Corsten and seeing Red Square after staying up all night with no sleep. Performing at the Formula One races in Kuala Lumpur, and in the Ancient City of Petra in Jordan with Tiësto, Red Rocks in Colorado is always amazing did that one with Paul Oakenfold and BT too.

Your voice has been featured in the highly acclaimed 'In Search Of Sunrise' series. And some of your songs see their release under Blackhole Recordings. How would you cite this support from the man himself, Tiësto?

I have been so lucky to have the support of Tiësto for sure. He really was the first DJ to say Jes do your thing :) He knows I work very hard and always want to do my best. We first met in the UK on New Years Eve 2004. We talked a lot that night about doing something together and when I finally wanted to make my solo album he was there :)

What can you tell us about your project Taxigirl? What can we expect from this project in future?

I wanted to do something under another name. Many DJ/Producers do things under other names with a different sound too. So for me it's a bit of an alter ego. Taxigirl is the name of my music company and I thought it would be fun to release some songs and not have it be Jes. I have a new one I am working on now as Taxigirl that will be released soon so keep an eye out for that. Its just fun to do that, you get to look at things from a different perspective, and even recreate yourself with a different look :) (Soon to be seen)

Is there a story behind the song "High Glow"? What do the beautiful lyrics mean?

"High Glow" was a very simple vocal guitar song I had been working on before I left for the Tiësto tour. (I will release it in that form too soon) I had brought it with me when I was touring last year and started working on it while traveling. I definitely feel very spiritual as a person and this song has a lot of that in it. I don't want to be so specific in interpreting it because I love how it can mean so many different things to people and sometimes that can be more special than giving it away.

Unfortunately, the great duo of Gabriel & Dresden, who also were 'Motorcycle' with you, recently split. Despite that, are there any possibilities of 'Motorcycle' coming together again for collaboration?

You know, you can never say never. Things change and people change. I know we all very much respect each other's talents and if it is meant to be then it will be.

Which artists do you look up to in the EDM scene?

Underworld, Chemical Brothers, Radiohead. I enjoy Justice and Tiësto! I look up to anyone who keeps the music going and continues to make new sounds and stretches himself or herself to keep creating and producing records and keeps moving.

You are coming up with a chill-out album 'Into The Dawn'. Is it still in the process of making? Are you working on something else, currently?

I actually released 'Into The Dawn' early this year. I had been working on alot of songs for 'Disconnect'. I had some breakdown versions of songs that I had been saving. You can sing and place vocals so much differently in a downtempo mix. So I thought it would be a great follow up to Disconnect to do a full Chill Out collection. I am also busy working on a couple of new collaborations and a whole new JES album that I am calling 'High Glow' for 2009.

Message for your fans.

I continue to write and be inspired and get so much strength from all of you. Thank you so much for listening and supporting me. It's because of you that I keep going. I can't tell you how much I love all of the incredible letters and photos I receive and I look forward to meeting all of you somehow, someway, somewhere, someday. I love you all! I know we will :)
XOXO
Jes

It's certainly an honor to have you on Trance Hub as our featured vocalist. All the best for your singing! Thank You and keep rockin' the world, Jes!

For more info related to Jes check out the following links:
www.planetjes.com
www.myspace.com/planetjes

Written by: Apoorv
Compiled by: Mr. Yank