Most of us were introduced to Jes as the singer of Motorcycle's "As the Rush Comes." In the past few years, she has worked with some of electronica's finest – Tiesto, Solarstone, D:Fuse, Deepsky, and Gabriel & Dresden – and with her distinctive voice, incredible songwriting, and emotionally powerful performances she has managed to set herself apart as a true artist. The upcoming release of Disconnect showcases all of Jes' strengths, blending the influences of dance, rock, and electronica in a monumental set of fourteen genre-defying songs.
DJ Ron Slomowicz: Your new album, Disconnect, is by Jes. Not by Motorcycle,
not Tiesto featuring Jes, not Solarstone featuring Jes. Just Jes.
How does it feel to be the artist with the name on the project?
Jes: It feels very good. It's taken a long time and it's a good
feeling. I worked hard for it and I just can't believe I finished it.
RS: Having an artist album as a primarily dance artist in the
2007 is a rarity. Was that your original goal?
Jes: Yes. A long time ago I was working on this album and then I
did a lot of things that took me in many different directions, which I
wouldn't change for anything in the world. It just took so long to
get back to it and then it took me two years to finish it. I kept
touring and that's the way it is. So it took me a long time to finish
it and I just can't believe that it's actually pressed.
RS: How did you meet Josh Gabriel and Dave Dresden, whom you
worked with as Motorcycle?
Jes: I met Dave Dresden first when I as doing a show with Deepsky in
Los Angeles. Dave came up to me and we really hit it off talking
about music. Literally the next weekend I was in San Francisco with
Josh and Dave and that's when we did a bunch of songs. "As the Rush
Comes" was the last one right before I left back to LA.
RS: On the album, the track Around You, is that produced by
Gabriel and Dresden?
Jes: No, that's produced by me and Richard Robson from the UK. He's
part of the group Desert Eagle Discs that did the Amy Winehouse remix
and he's done a lot of great stuff, even on the urban tip.
RS: I remember "Around You" as a Motorcycle record that never
really got released.
Jes: It was a Jes song that Dave and Josh really liked it a lot, so
they did a version of it and that sort of got out there. I wanted it
to be on our Motorcycle album but our record didn't come out. They
went a different direction and did a mixed CD instead. That was about
the time that I sort of said, well, I'm going to make my record and
put it on there. That's why it ended up on my record and not coming
out as a Motorcycle.
RS: One of the many amazing things about you are your live
performances. Did it ever amaze you when you did a show and everyone
would know all the words to Around You?
Jes: Yes. We have some amazing, die hard fans and I'm so surprised.
It's funny, because the record came out in Europe and obviously you
can download it as it's on the internet and people can hear it, but I
was so surprised. I was in Lebanon where I have a very big following
and they knew the words to so many of the songs, even the ones that
aren't singles. Its very impressive and a feeling you can't describe
when you're all singing together - that's one of the best things.
RS: Talking about live performances, you just did a tour with Tiesto...
Jes: I just came back from Europe. We did the first half of the
Elements of Life tour, which was mainly Europe and some in the Middle
East. We did these amazingly big shows, and I opened, which was a lot
of pressure. You know they're coming to see Tiesto yet they know who I
am so they're nice, thank God. You really have to rev up the thousands
of kids for him, so it was quite a challenge and then I would go on
later and sing "Everything" from his Elements of Life CD. It was a
great experience and we went all over playing shows to over 10,000
people; at one show in Holland we played to 28,000 people.
RS: Looking at the tracks on the CD, you did Ghost with Deepsky
and Like a Waterfall with Solarstone, right?
Jes: Yes.
RS: Who did the rest of the tracks with you on the album?
Jes: Well, I actually redid Ghost with Richard Robson again and I
did a lot of the album with him. I began the album with Steve
Sidelnyk and Sean Spuehler from Madonna's band and then they went on
tour, so Richard was working on the album with us and he sort of
helped me finish it. I also worked with another producer/writer, Tim
Jacobson Lime, he works with the Eels and he does a lot of my chillout
remixes. He's really amazing and he's been in my life for a while.
He actually wrote "Around You" with me.
