|
 Jem
was born in Wales, a misty and oddly shaped UK peninsula also
responsible for bringing the world Tom Jones and Shirley Bassey among
other things. From the age of thirteen she was singing and writing
songs, basic recording equipment was ever-present and she decided that
one day she would be a singer. Keeping her dreams of this future career
mostly to herself however, after finishing school she headed to Sussex
University.
Whilst in Brighton, Jem's great passion for music drew her into the
music industry, but at this point it was the behind-the-scenes side that
attracted her. She hurled her energies into club and festival promotion,
became a DJ agent and finally helped set-up and run the specialist
breaks label 'Marine Parade'. After a time however, it became clear
something was missing. She realized that she'd been circling her own
artistic instincts and it was time to take a leap of faith. But that
great leap forward first required a small step back.
In November of 1999 Jem surprised her colleagues by leaving everything
behind and retreating to the creatively inspired air of Wales and a
lifestyle of sofa surfing. Moving from the limits of her dictaphone, she
assembled a mobile studio and got cracking on her songwriting and music
production craft. This turned out to be a fruitful time. She completed a
strong collection of 4 demos and things began to move quickly from
there.
Jem Links
Jem
moved to London where she continued her nomadic existence and started
collaborating with other writers/producers. Two days into her first
writing session with acclaimed electronic producer Guy Sigsworth (Bjork,
Frou Frou), the song 'Nothing Fails' was born. This collaboration
between Guy, Jem and subsequently Madonna, appears as track 6 on
Madonna's 'American Life' album. Her love of beats and bass also lead
her to Brooklyn where she teamed up with NY hip-hop producer Ge-ology (Mos
Def, Talib Kweli) and in autumn 2002 she met her now co-producer Yoad
Nevo. Together they have succeeded in fusing her many musical influences
to create a fresh and distinctive new sound. Jem's music is a
combination of bright melodies, soul searching lyrics and diverse
rhythms that grab you from the first listen. Her seemingly innocent
lyrics contain those closely observed details that are as much about
optimism as they are about discovery.
The aptly titled song 'Finally Woken' found its way to influential Los
Angeles radio station KCRW 89.9 FM. Music Director Nic Harcourt began
spinning Jem's demo on the nationally acclaimed program "Morning Becomes
Eclectic" and it created a proper stir. “As soon as I heard the demo
from this Welsh songstress I had no choice but to put her on our
playlist,” said Nic Harcourt, “the beautiful ‘Finally Woken’ first made
its way across our airwaves in March 2002 and ‘Flying High’ has become
one of my favorites.” With each play causing an assault on the station's
telephones, her demo tracks quickly made her one of the most
listener-requested artists at the station and landed her in their
coveted top 5 played artists, and all prior to any record label being
attached.
As fate would have it, A&R Bruce Flohr was one of those listeners and he
wooed her to sign onto Dave Matthews' ATO record label, which has
enjoyed successes with David Gray, My Morning Jacket and Ben Kweller.
Jem's EP 'It All Starts Here...' was released by ATO Records in Autumn
2003 and her full-length debut CD ‘Finally Woken’ followed in March
2004. After a long and winding road to becoming a full-fledged and
working artist, Jem has finally woken, indeed. |
