The ethereal UK singer-songwriter Jazmin Bean recently chatted with Indie is Not a Genre about their new album Traumatic Livelihood. Bean writes with intention, pulling in their audience and holding them close with lyrics that remind them they’re not alone. Influenced by everything from 90s pop-ska to epic film scores, Traumatic Livelihood will have you adding tracks to your daily montage.
Kendra Cooper: Your music videos and songs contain a lot of really beautiful imagery and symbolism, do you have a line in one of the songs on your new album, or a specific piece of imagery that is most important to you?
Jazmin Bean: We used a lot of flowers and florals on this album. I feel like because the topics are quite dark I wanted to make sure that the visuals were contrasting and lighter to remind me of spring or summer, which are seasons that make me happy when they come. I live in the UK and the winters are quite long so I’m always very excited when spring and summer are approaching. I wanted the visuals to remind me of that. I always find it easier to be happy when the sun is out.
KC: I agree. Along with the symbolism, your work highlights a lot of emotional juxtapositions that we face as humans daily. Why is this so important in your work?
JB: I guess when I was younger, I wanted to find music that I really related to and felt like maybe I wasn’t alone in my story. It is nice to have younger people come up to me and relay that I’ve achieved that. I guess it is just the purpose of wanting people to feel less alone in their situation that maybe they think is very unique to them. I’ve written about situations that I thought were unique to me and people come up to me and tell me they relate.
KC: Great! What are some of your biggest musical influences and how have they shaped you as an artist?
JB: I love Danny Elfman, he is a big favourite of mine. His soundtracks are a big reason why I began making music. I was really inspired by them from a young age. I also love a lot of orchestra-based things, and I’ve listened to a lot of Mitski, I really love her. I get stuck on this question because my playlist is filled with so much, but I really love No Doubt and Gwen Stefani. It varies, and I would say that film scores were a first love for me.
Jazmin Bean is on tour now!
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