Manchester-based jasmine.4.t on her boygenius-produced debut album ‘You Are The Morning’
Her journey of coming out at a trans woman. Queer friendship and the hope that communities can give each other. The importance of reaching out for help. Cultivating an environment of solidarity in the recording studio. Performing in the US for the first time, touring with Lucy Dacus, and more.
jasmine.4.t: This is very exciting. This is my first New Zealand interview.
Fuzzer: That’s so great! Just want to say I absolutely love the new album, but before we get into that, I'd love to know who your main musical and creative influences were growing up?
jasmine.4.t: Yeah! I was really into Jimi Hendrix. My dad played Jimi Hendrix every morning when I was a kid. So I had like the best of Jimi Hendrix on CD. But then eventually got the entire catalogue, as well as some of those random posthumous releases. When I was learning guitar, I got out a DVD to teach yourself all the songs from Jimi Hendrix's first album ‘Are You Experienced’ and I learnt all the songs. It was like some guy who had known Jimi Hendrix, teaching you all of Jimi Hendrix's songs on guitar (laughs) so that was really cool.
And then I think Elliot Smith was a big one when I was a teenager. I remember my dad's friend introducing him to “From a Basement on the Hill”. And I think it had like just come out so it must have been about a year after Elliot's death. And I was obsessed with it, and then my dad got “Either/Or” and self-titled from the library and then recorded them onto CDRs for me.
Fuzzer: Amazing!
jasmine.4.t: And then I got really into Iron & Wine as well. I remember I listened to “The Creek Drank the Cradle”, the first Iron & Wine record. I had that on CDR as well (laughs). Listened to that every night when I went to sleep as a teenager. I think more recently, Adrianne Lenker & Big Thief have been big ones.
Fuzzer: So good! Some amazing artists. And congrats on your absolutely stunning, magical, very powerful debut album, “You Are The Morning”.
jasmine.4.t: Thank you!
Fuzzer: And of course, you have a song on the album titled with the same name. Can you tell us a bit about the main theme behind the song “You Are The Morning” and I guess what that concept means to you as a whole?
jasmine.4.t: Yeah! So when I wrote the song, I just had come out as a trans woman and after like living in denial in the closet for 30 years or whatever. It had gone really badly, my marriage ended, I tried moving back in with my parents, and that went really badly as well. I ended up homeless for a bit and I just like came to Manchester and was sleeping on people's sofas, and I was staying on Han’s floor. Han is now my best friend.
I wrote this song “You Are The Morning” about the hope that she was giving me in that time. And it's about our queer friendship. And I think, since writing this song, I think that feeling has kind of grown to be more about just queer friendship and solidarity in general, and queer hope. And not necessarily just queer hope, just like the hope that communities can give each other, reaching across borders and across the boundaries of communities.
I think that's kind of like what the album kind of ended up being about. That was never a conscious thing. I was just writing these songs during this very difficult time, about all of the things I was experiencing and feeling, and a lot of those feelings were horrible (laughs), but a lot of them were beautiful as well, you know. Feeling like really seen and accepted for the first time was so healing for me and that's kind of what a lot of the record is about as well.
Skip forwards a bit (laughs) in this like magical future time that I'm in now, having recorded this album with Phoebe Bridgers and Julien Baker and Lucy Dacus in LA, we kind of realize that “You Are The Morning” kind of encapsulates so much of the environment of solidarity that we really cultivated through the recording process, but also that the album and the songs represent. So yeah, that's why we chose that to be the title.
Fuzzer: Yeah that’s so beautiful, and thank you so much for sharing that part of your journey and story with us. As you mentioned, it's a boygenius produced record, which is absolutely amazing! Were there any pieces of advice that Julian or Phoebe or Lucy gave you during this time that you were creating it?
jasmine.4.t: Yeah! I mean, I was going through a really tough time. I was going through a breakup actually, when we recorded this, and also I was processing the divorce, like the ending of my marriage. We'd been separated for a while but it was finally coming through and that was a lot at the point that we were recording this. So I felt really cared for by the boys, especially Lucy who I toured with pre-transition, and we're quite close. Lucy was one of the first people I came out to.
At points, I would just go off by myself and go up to the roof of the studio where there was this really beautiful view of the train tracks. And often you'd get a really nice sunset up there or the night sky, and I’d just write songs up there. And one time when I was just really, really emotional, and I went and locked myself in the shower at the other studio so no one would find me and just have a little cry. And Phoebe was texting me, just saying the importance of reaching out for help and also the importance of boundaries and how difficult they can be. I think that's very important for musicians at this kind of transitional stage when so much is being asked of you and you want to do what's best for the community that's brought you up. So that was super helpful for me.
I think, just ultimately though, that atmosphere of care and the shared energy was just the biggest inspiration. Just seeing them all work together, and it's completely egoless, and they just really listen to each other, you know, it's so beautiful to see.
Fuzzer: Yeah that must have been such a magical process, seeing it all come to life, and so nice to now share that music with the world.
jasmine.4.t: Yeah, exactly. It's amazing.
Fuzzer: So one thing we do with each of our interviews is we customize a cocktail recipe in relation to the project that we're talking about. So if your album was a cocktail or mocktail, what do you think it would be? What kind of flavors do you think it would have?
jasmine.4.t: Oooh. Firstly, I'm sober, so it would be virgin cocktail. I think it would definitely be a bit fruity (laughs). It would have to have maybe some blueberries and some raspberries.
Fuzzer: I love that! We'll definitely come up with something with those flavors, but that sounds delicious!
jasmine.4.t: Amazing! (laughs)
Fuzzer: And you mentioned you're listening to Adrianne Lenker & Big Thief. Are there any other new artists that you recommend we listen to and check out?
jasmine.4.t: Yeah, actually someone who has been really influential to my songwriting is Joe Sherrin who is the singer-songwriter who goes by SLONK, but also is in the band MOULD. We were in the Bristol scene together, but he's just this incredibly prolific songwriter, and really writes from the heart. I really recommend “Songs About Tanks”. I think that's probably my favorite one of his records.
Fuzzer: Nice! We’ll definitely check that out. And what’s next for you in 2025? I saw that you're going on tour which is very exciting!
jasmine.4.t: Yeah, massive live year for me. I'm going to America, playing in America for the first time and Canada. I'm opening for Lucy Dacus - this is my second time opening for Lucy on tour, so that'll be cool. And then touring the UK and Ireland after that. I'm also playing SXSW in March so that'll be great. Less certain plans after that, but lots more to be announced. And also just doing lots of lots of writing. I'm still writing so much. I mean, since transition, I've just written on a daily basis and really enjoying it. So yeah, just like cracking on, and also hopefully just spending lots more time with my chosen family here in Manchester.
Fuzzer: Yeah, that's so important. Well that's pretty much all my questions for you. Is there anything else you want to include before we wrap up?
jasmine.4.t: Oh a little nugget of information that you might want to include is that I used to actually live in New Zealand when I was a kid.
Fuzzer: Oh wow!
jasmine.4.t: My parents lived in Whakatane, in the Bay of Plenty.
Fuzzer: That’s a beautiful spot! Do you remember much of that?
jasmine.4.t: No, no. That was where I had my first birthday, so I don't remember it (laughs).
Fuzzer: What a special connection. And have you been back since?
jasmine.4.t: Yeah, I went back when I was like 18 I think. I went to visit some friends in Auckland and went back to Whakatane, and it's very beautiful there.
Fuzzer: Well we’d love to have you come back and to come play here live.
jasmine.4.t: Yeah, I would love to. I would really love to. I love New Zealand. It's so beautiful.
