INTERVIEW WITH
JENNY ALIEN
Jenny Alien: Hey, I’m Jenny Alien. I make music and can’t have coffee past 12. Let’s be best friends
Jenny Alien: I grew up playing the piano- my parents had one in their house that I was obsessed with. I would sit down for literally hours and make up all these songs… and I had barely any formal training, so most of it was by ear and messing around.
Then when I was high school/college age, I started playing in punk bands- but everything was still incredibly informal. I didn’t actually know how to play instruments or sing, but just wanted to be in a band.
Most of my band were similar to me, in that they weren’t exactly musicians but just wanted to be in a band. We played out frequently, and actually, a lot of other musicians in the scene- who were technically very talented- would get really angry about us. Probably because we sucked but were indignant and obnoxious about it, haha
Now with the Jenny Alien project, It’s the exact same mentality- like when I started releasing music, I had no idea what I was doing. I guess now I probably do, because I spend so much time making music… but it still never fully feels like it. I think an essential part of both my sound and mentality remains this sort of punk and amateur irreverence to disregard needing to know how to do things ”properly”. It’s probably how the best creative decisions get made.
Jenny Alien: Nothing is real
Jenny Alien: Real life experiences. Most of my music is incredibly personal, and if you knew me you could figure out exactly who I was talking about. When I go to perform, I might as well be standing up there in my underwear, reading out my diary. It’s actually been weird navigating that, and trying to maintain a level of privacy with people who know enough about me to figure out who I’m talking about.
Jenny Alien: It’s funny you say that– I realized recently that a lot of my upcoming songs are much more sad and angsty.
Writing sad music used to be challenging- probably because it’s hard to be vulnerable. But I think I’m finally tapping into that side of me that feels good to express with my recent and upcoming music- like with my song Therapy which is about depression. Not that I’m focused on writing sad music particularly but it’s important to write about being sad just as much as any other human emotion. I’m trying to convey a whole human (or alien) experience. Can’t do that if it’s just happy all the time because that’s not how it goes.
Jenny Alien: I grew up loving Kesha. Her sounds iconic and made me understand how Pop can be badass.
Now I really listen to everything: Phoebe Bridgers, Fletcher, Underscores, Renforshort, Cavetown…
People usually assume I only listen to hyperpop, which isn’t true at all. If you’re talented and original, then genre is secondary.
Jenny Alien: Any of the listed artists above would be iconic. Collaborating is a super important part of being an artist and producer, so generally really open to this with all different musicians
Jenny Alien: I wrote this song with musicians Dylan Trenouth and Milo Gooder from the band Bluto, after making another song of mine Dark Summer , which was a break up ballad on my last album. Heart Attack is definitely a change of pace: it’s a happy, upbeat pop song that, even though, is about a toxic romance– is not meant to be a serious listen. We wanted to write something lighthearted that you can lose yourself to and ultimately I just want people to have a good time.
Jenny Alien: I recently moved to New York from London, and just started playing live in the states. We’ll play all different types of venues, everywhere from basements to larger venues— really whoever wants us, my band just loves playing. These shows are essential to the Jenny Alien Experience- you can expect lots of moshing, dancing, yelling, making out- from both me and the audience. A lot goes on at these shows, but it’s what makes making music worth it.
I also have tons of unreleased material (some emo!) which will be released very soon.
Jenny Alien: Making music… Probably not hyperpop, if I’m evolving. Still trying to figure out what a fulfilling career in music looks like… Banking on someone getting a Jenny Alien tattoo soon.
Jenny Alien: That’s a good question! The best and maybe most challenging part about my music is that it fuses a few different genres, like hyperpop, pop and punk. At times, I’ve struggled with not feeling like my work cleanly fits into any of these categories– sometimes I go to hyperpop shows and leave thinking ‘well that’s definitely not me’, meanwhile, everyone tells me I’m a hyperpop artist. It can be confusing.
Other times though, being multi-genre is really positive for connecting to a wider audience and not just hyperpop fans. Often I’ll receive messages, or people will come up to me after shows, telling me they’re surprised that they were into my music because they don’t usually listen to hyperpop. I guess determining genre feels less important to me than just making music I’m proud of and people can connect with.
Jenny Alien: I think you’ve just about covered it, but happy to answer any follow ups! 🙂
