Jarryd James is low-key on fame
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Anti-star … Jarryd James wants to sing and not play the fame game. Picture: Jonathan Ng
Source: News Corp Australia
JARRYD James refuses to play the hype game.
Even after Ed Sheeran nominated his debut single Do You Remember? as one of favourite songs, British tastemakers declared him our next global hit maker and powerful American label Interscope signed him to a significant deal, the quietly-spoken Australian singer songwriter remains resolutely anti-star.
Quiet ambition … rising Aussie singer Jarryd James doesn’t want to be a pop star. Picture: Universal
Source: News Corp Australia
The self-confessed shy guy doesn’t do pop star. He just does singing. That is how we all found him in the first place, just over a year ago when a man introduced as Jarryd Klapper shuffled onto the stage at the APRA Awards to sing Matt Corby’s Song Of The Year nomination Resolution.
You could feel the nerves pulsing off him as the timid performer hid under a baseball cap and shrunk into an over-sized coat.
And then he opened his mouth, this pristine, stunning and effortless falsetto rang out and the collective jaw of the Australian music industry hit the floor.
That was the night when Jarryd James was created and a young man who had spent years writing behind the scenes for pop stars suddenly became an artist.
He met his future producer Joel Little, who helped unlock Lorde’s unique sound, and his now manager Ashley Page, who also represents Little and Kiwi IT band Broods, at the awards.
But that didn’t stop his phone going nuts with the entire Australian music industry desperate to court him.
“That’s where this all sort of started, where it kicked off. Matty Corby is one of my best mates so I was just singing my mate’s awesome song. That’s all I cared about, that’s all it was to me,” James says.
“I was very self conscious about the fact that I shouldn’t really have been doing that cuz usually they get someone who is known to do the song. I was a bit shy that people would say ‘Who the f … is this?’
“You know what those things are like, everyone is there, it’s one giant cluster f … and my phone was going nuts for the next two weeks from all the managers in the country. It was crazy but I made my decision to go with Ashley.
“He is an internationally minded manager and he is a bulldog and I’m not, so he can do all that stuff.”
BFF … Jarryd James and Matt Corby have been writing together for a decade. Picture: Supplied
Source: News Limited
Cool collab … Lorde producer Joel Little wanted to work with James on his debut. Picture: Getty Images
Source: Getty Images
James remained determinedly under the radar as Do You Remember? climbed to No. 1 on the iTunes chart here and then No. 2 on the ARIA charts. It is likely to head in the same upwards direction in America
He and Corby share exactly the same perspective on the ephemera of chart success — they call bulls …
Neither man is made for fame and both recoil from the spotlight even as one shines strong and brightly on them as they sing.
The Brisbane-based James said they have been close friends for more than a decade and calls Corby’s parents his second family, spending significant time hanging out in their neck of the woods in Sydney’s The Shire over the years.
He played bass in his band and the pair write together whenever they can with James confiding a co-write bearing Corby’s credit will be on his debut album when it is released later this year.
“We both have a good sense of the fact that we are both so fortunate to be able to do this. And that there is so much bull …,” he says.
“I wanna help maybe shift a bit of that mentality of the certain things that are expected of artists, of people telling me ‘Come on, mate, suck it up, you gotta do it.’ I don’t buy into the fact that you have to play that game.”
His debut record, prefaced by Do You Remember? and second single Give Me Something, has been carefully crafted with the help of Little, Frank Ocean’s producer Malay and award-winning Melbourne producer Pip Norman.
James said while he isn’t the biggest fan of Los Angeles, working there has been a laid-back experience as his collaborators respected his clear vision for a postmodern, minimalist r&b sound.
“I think they have all figured out that I know exactly what I want and I can keep things going and do whatever comes out, wait for the magic rather than trying to force anything. No pressure. Pressure is not a good thing in that setting,” he says.
While his sound may be so hot right now, it is the lyrical yearning which has struck the most resounding chord for fans.
The happily married songwriter said he does remember those sad old days of desperately wanting love and fills in the gaps of his sense memory now courtesy of his friends’ experiences.
“That was most of my life, that yearning. I never had a girlfriend or was in a relationship before I met my wife Maria so a lot of that stuff comes through things I’ve been through or friends have been through,’ he says.
Big break … Jarryd James signed to Interscope after the success of his debut single Do You Remember. Picture: Jonathan Ng
Source: News Corp Australia
“I spent a lot of time observing other people’s relationships and when I write, it is always in my head that other people will be listening to it, so I write it for them as well.
“I try to imagine that I am not me; I believe the subconscious is a powerful thing and I want to let it come through. Having a drink helps.”
The anticipation for his album and popularity courtesy of those early singles was evident when he sold out three headlining concerts on the east coast earlier this month ahead of his make-or-break performance at Splendour In The Grass in late July.
His first gig at an outdoor festival will also be his first visit to any festival. Unsurprisingly, the shy guy doesn’t do well in big crowds and tends to avoid those experiences.
He loves the idea that he can still remain anonymous even after achieving double platinum sales of his debut single.
“I am pretty sure there will be situations where people will introduce me to my own music. ‘Oh, have you heard this, it’s really good’ or ‘Yeah come and watch Jarryd James, I’m going now’, “ he says, chuckling.
“I love it, it’s kind of ideal that I am not recognised. Being mates with Matty, I have witnessed some of that and it’s not fun, he just gets hassled. People just don’t think.”
And you can forget any concession to the pop concert when he gets on that stage. A well-designed lighting design, and that spotlight, is all he wants.
“I just want to sing my little heart out. That’s all I really can do. I just want to sing so good that even people who don’t like my songs can at least go ‘Well, he put his all into it’.”
Jarryd James performs at Splendour In the Grass (sold out) on July 25.
