"I really want people to experience what I experienced in the making of this. " Cassettes, Human Connection, and New York with Jaden Andreone

How long have you been making music for?

I started writing songs when I was a kid, playing piano. I had piano lessons and I hated being told what to play so I started writing music. I couldn’t read music very well. I would look at the paper and try to remember what I was supposed to play. So when I was practicing piano I would always be writing. You could say I started when I was five or six, but I started producing when I was probably in freshman year of high school.

For your friends or for yourself?

For myself. I mean, I started collaborating with my best friend Max Morgen who produced a lot of the songs on the album. We went to high school together and worked on my stuff together. I had a two year phase of being really really neurotic about production and then I went polar opposite and went really neurotic about writing songs. I think more recently I found a really awesome balance where neither of them feel like I’m trying to strive for anything.

What makes the songs on this album different from the ones you’ve written previously? What does this album represent to you?

It’s true, these songs do feel different from anything I’ve written. I haven’t released music for two years. I’ve just been making music and working on this EP in a not so direct way. Just creating, creating, creating, producing for myself and other people as well. Eventually I got to a point where it was very clear to me which songs were very emotionally resonant. 

It’s called “Scabs”. It’s a collection of emotionally resonant, maybe painful moments, and letting them heal and bringing this song to the furthest point it could be. 

I really want people to experience what I experienced in the making of this. 

When you think of this album, what’s the first song you think of?

The first song on the album. “Seven Nights”. Out of all of them it’s the one I spent the least amount of time working on. It’s kind of a creepy song, it’s about many things and many perspectives. It’s kind of about a stalker. It’s kind of about true stories about people I know, people I’m related to. More than anything direct, it’s that theme of feeling you’re never really alone, whether that’s literal or digital. Big on the digital thing. It feels like sometimes even if you’re alone you’re not really alone. Even if you want to be alone, you might know what everyone is up to or thinking about or maybe some kind of blurry image of what’s going on with the people around you. And that’s kind of a dark thing in my opinion. There’s also something beautiful about that I guess. 

Has modern technology and social media impacted your journey or coming-of-age as an artist?

Absolutely. I think growing up in this era we have too much access to culture, different types of music…I think it’s important to have rules, not necessarily anything that’s gonna limit you but it’s good to have…

Guardrails? 

Yeah, I mean some type of path forward, you know? When you’re given every type of tool in the universe it feels like you don’t know anything. That’s why I spent much of my adolescent years feeling secluded, feeling like no one was really understanding me. But at the same time, I wasn’t alone. A big theme is feeling the most alone when you’re not. So yes, absolutely, I think having that access has been a blessing because it’s given me so much input at a young age and it definitely expanded my taste. And then it sent me down this path I’m on now where I’ve limited myself creatively where I don’t like to spend too much time on the computer thinking about what tools to use or stuff like that. I like physical, hands-on production. I call it scrapbook production. I might do a session with someone and we collect a bunch of sounds and we turn on the song we’re working on and let every idea come out. And then I might not touch the song for a month and come back to it with a clear head and understanding this was magic, this wasn’t…from an eight-hour session I might keep this one little thing we did at minute five. But that’s not a decision you would make if you hadn’t taken the time to let it breathe, let it heal. It’s not like I want to have this mentality on music all the time. It’s just that these songs happen to be that. That’s what they are. They are a collection of moments and re-thinking and collaborating with a lot of people and not allowing myself to be secluded in my art but allowing myself to be open and understanding. 

What are you most excited to talk about with this album?

Right now I’m most excited about the first song, Body. I’m excited to get people the physical copy, I put a lot of time into it. I really like cassettes, I used a lot of cassettes on the EP. I would record onto a cassette and upload it onto the computer and produce over it. I just think it sounds really cool. If I could sum up the sound of the EP, it would be the sound of some old cassette you found in your parent’s closet and you have no idea who it is but you’re like “this is kind of cool”. I’m most excited to keep performing, I’ve been playing quite a bit recently. I’m excited to play songs cause I’m mostly only playing songs from this project. It’s cool to just put the guitar down and sing to these tracks that I’ve already made. It’s really fun. I’m mostly just excited for people to hear because I haven’t shown anyone these songs for two years.

What’s your favorite New York venue to perform at?

Me & my friend are in a group called Barn and we played at Webster Hall and it was sold out. For my own music, I played a show at a venue called Racket. The sound was great. I think Berlin is great, I love the corner stage. I like corner stages, I like intimate venues. I like being able to look at people in front of me. I don’t want to feel like I’m performing separately from the crowd, I want to feel like I’m a part of it. Ideally it would be all of us in a big circle performing music together. 

In your time in New York, who are some of the most memorable artists you’ve played with? 

I was on a bill with this band called Anyon Elder. They blew my mind. Silas Five, an amazing songwriter and great friend of mine. Those two stick out to me the most. 

I saw that you attend NYU. What has that experience been like?

It’s been a great opportunity to have access to basically any music gear I could ask for. It’s nice to have limits, but there is access that is undeniably amazing. I’ve met some of my closest friends at NYU or through NYU. 

What do you think of New York compared to Los Angeles, in terms of music?

I think there’s more of a focus on live music in New York which I appreciate. I think because of the internet we’ve surpassed local scenes in a way. It doesn’t have much to do with physical space which is cool but also kind of sad. I think it strengthens everyone’s taste. I think it’s allowed for true, great art to be heard on a grander scale.

What made you decide to come to New York? Was it purely college, or was there something else about the city?

I moved here because of Max. He is a year older than me so he came here a bit earlier and I would visit once a month until I started to feel like there was no point in going home. 

When you write, what are some of the themes you find yourself most drawn to?

Relationships, in a general sense, are the most interesting to me…It’s hard to sometimes answer this question. “What’s this song about, who’s this song about?” They think I’m trying to hide something. This song is about everyone I’ve ever met and it’s also about my table, you know? It’s so hard to quantify emotion especially with these kinds of songs that are on this EP. It’s not just one writing session that went into it. Maybe the first time it was about someone I was in love with, and the second time I was thinking about myself. I’m just trying to let it come through me in the purest way it can. 

In five years, where do you see yourself? 

I see myself traveling the world and playing music. I don’t see myself in one place, I see myself in a lot of places, and hopefully still surrounded by the people I love and hopefully alive and hopefully healthy. That’s all you can really ask for, I feel like.

Where do you think you’ll go next after New York?

I don’t know, what’s the farthest place from New York? 

Maybe Indonesia?

Perth, Australia. I’m gonna be in Perth, Australia. 

Do you ever feel like New York makes you a little crazy?

Don’t get me started. I feel crazy all the time and I love it. It feels like everyone is doing so much and nothing at the same time. I do think we get caught up in the schedule, in the lifestyle, in the groups…and so much just walking around and going nowhere. I look outside and I’m like, where are you going? 

It does feel like we go out to the same bars, the same restaurants, every day is like “what are we gonna buy next? It can drive you crazy but it’s also so much input. It’s probably the best thing an artist can ask for. You’re seeing every kind of person every day. You’re seeing every situation every day. From the most beautiful to the most awful thing. You’re seeing it. 

What do you think is something important for people to understand you as an artist?

I don’t think I’m that complicated. I think you can know someone by listening to their music…  

I think it’s really important to put yourself in situations that make you uncomfortable. There’s situations where an ungrateful person would be like “Shit, it’s so hard being the hardest and I have to do these things.” And then someone else goes in and is like “I am so excited to go into this room and play my heart out to three people.” For me personally, the bigger the crowd the less scared I am. And that’s something I’m working on. I should be able to go into any room and play a song of mine and it should feel the same as having a conversation with someone. I think going and playing in front of three people, that’s the position I have to put myself in to break those boundaries mentally. So when there’s way more people, it’s only love, it’s only the emotions the song brings out rather than thinking about how people might receive it or what you’re gonna do tomorrow or how many people are gonna show up tonight. The amount of people that are gonna show up are the amount of people that are gonna show up and you better have the same performance either way. 

If [myself from ten years ago] saw that I would be in New York, playing shows, playing a sold-out show…I would be on the floor. I try to stay in that childlike mindset of being hyped.

“Body” is out now on Spotify. Check out the accompanying music video.

Follow Jaden on Instagram to stay updated on upcoming releases and shows.