After sending shock waves through the UK music scene with her debut single ‘cool kid’, we had a chat with rapidly the emerging Cathy Jain
Sometimes you will hear an artist in their formative years of their sound and their style and feel like you’re really in on the ground floor of something that has the potential to be particularly special and exciting. Hearing ‘cool kid’ for the first time, the debut release of new YALA! Records signing Cathy Jain, feels like one of those moments.
The track showcases a maturity and an understanding of her sound that belies her 17 years. Her blissful brand of thoughtful alternative pop contains a unique kind of x factor that singles her out as a real artist to look out for. We caught up with Cathy to find out some more about how someone so young has cultivated her sound and the experiences and artists that have influenced it.
Who TF is Cathy Jain?
By day I’m a Year 12 student at sixth form so most daylight hours are spent revising for history tests but by night (and weekends when I don’t have exams) I’m a singer and songwriter creating songs from my bedroom. I was born in Salford but grew up mostly in China so even though I now live in a small town in Cheshire I’m more at home in the big city. In terms of stuff that I like, it’s a mix of things from East and West. I de-stress by watching shows like Rick & Morty or by sipping on bubble tea or watching performances of my favourite kpop group.
How long have you been making music?
I started writing songs when I was 9 years old, inspired by my number one idol Taylor Swift. The demos were recorded on garageband and were initially pretty rubbish but over time I’m so happy to have found my style and artistic identity. I feel like my songwriting has changed and developed so much already and I’m so ready to get my music out there into the big wide world!
Why do you make music?
It’s almost like an instinct, or maybe an addiction. I’m not really in control of it. I definitely want as many people as possible hearing my music but I feel like it’s a kind of therapy for me too. It helps me communicate the things I’m thinking and feeling and when other people relate to that, it feels great.
What are your biggest influences?
Often I’m inspired by my own personal experiences or the experiences of my friends and family, but I also love a bit of fantasy. I’ve written songs inspired by pirates and fairies and snow white and just want to explore all concepts! Lana Del Rey and Frank Ocean are two of my favourite artists and I get inspired both lyrically and musically by them too. I’ve recently also been getting into Men I Trust who I am now completely obsessed with. I’d love to try making that kind of soft funky indie music. Going further back as a young child I listened to a lot of acoustic music like Nick Drake, John Martyn and Donovan and I think that has influenced the laid back style that I often try to produce too.
What would you say has been your best moment so far?
When I got into the final five of the BBC Introducing Live Lounge talent search and the judges discussed my song on Radio 1. I had to pinch myself when I heard Celeste, Yungblud and Ellie (from Wolf Alice) talking about me.
How would you describe your sound to somebody unfamiliar with it?
I like to create soulful, hazy alt-pop tunes sometimes with laid-back R&B vibes, occasionally psychedelic twists and almost always layered and textured harmonies. Each idea for a song tends to have a life of its own so don’t be surprised if a theremin, marimba or zither makes a quick appearance out of nowhere. Since I am half Chinese, I love incorporating that side of my culture in my music too, with the pluckings of the Guzheng and the pentatonic glides of the Erhu.
What’s your dream “I’ve made it” moment?
Definitely performing in front of a stadium crowd and hearing all of them scream the lyrics to my songs. That would be a dream come true and I’d be in tears for sure.
We love your debut single ‘cool kid’, what is the story behind it?
Thank you so much!!! When I wrote cool kid, I was really interested in the comparison between how people see themselves and how they see others. I wanted to show how we create an image of ourselves to meet what we think others might expect, and really ask the question about whether by doing that are we being fake or is it just a different kind of authenticity? In a way, the image is the reality even though you might think you’re faking it. No matter how well you know (or think you know) someone else, the chances are that you’ve only really scratched the surface. You’re in your own head 24/7 and when you compare that to the time that you spend with even the people closest to you, it doesn’t come anywhere near. So how do you present all of those thoughts, feelings, hopes, dreams, ideas that you have in such a short space of time? And how can you expect to really know someone when you’ve only got the image that they present to you to go on?
What else do you have planned going forward?
Lots of things have started coming together at the same time which is really great. Signing with Yala! Records has been amazing. The guys there are just so cool and so lovely and there’ll be some more music coming out with them in the near future. I’ll be playing my first London gig at Gold Dust at the end of July and there might be an announcement about a particularly cool festival coming soon 😉
And finally, who is your biggest fan right now?
Although he’s a little jealous of the attention I’m getting it’s still my 9-year-old little brother Dan. He knows the words to all my songs and loves singing along when I’m rehearsing. He’s always trying to get in on the action on my social media too!
