Jacob Cummings shines in all the pieces he does and doesn’t say on his new album ‘Southern & Enlightened, a boldly weak and intimate physique of labor.
‘Southern & Enlightened’ – Jacob Cummings
Jacob Cummings is a singer/songwriter, producer, composer, multi-instrumentalist, and most not too long ago, a filmmaker – and he is perhaps considered one of my favorite discoveries this yr.
Following instrumental initiatives Gradual Paradise in 2020, and Fishing for Heaven in 2021, Cummings now returns with Southern & Enlightened (independently launched November 8th, 2024). A beautiful sweeping soundscape with glowing preparations and timeless sensibilities, Southern & Enlightened was composed and crafted in Cummings’ late grandmother’s residence, in New Smyrna Seaside, Florida, proper earlier than it was set to be demolished. Paving the way in which for the file’s emotional foundations, Cummings recorded this album in tandem with going by means of his grandmother’s belongings.
Maybe symbolically, the file arrives as a ultimate goodbye to his childhood, and the sentiments that include it – now stowed away throughout the intricacies of Cummings’ preparations, without end for him to return to.
Southern & Enlightened presents a mix of indie people and experimental artistry, evoking woody timbres and ethereal sea breezes. The subtlety of its sonic expertise turns into more and more complicated as you start to take it in, evoking sentiments of household, loss and the passage of time.
Cummings succeeds in sustaining a comforting nostalgia whereas shining in its intricate complexities. From standout tracks “Massive Ol’ Deer,” “Incarnations,” and “Shedding a Buddy,” the multi-instrumentalist combines reminiscence in addition to abundance, making the file not solely deeply intimate however infinitely touching.
Alongside the file, Cummings launched a self-directed quick movie, capturing moments in time and the cycles of life. Opening on the beautiful scene of a real-life start, the movie – fairly actually – begins its life cycle. Cummings then takes you thru a number of reminiscences and locations, each representing a special feeling of residence, passing time, and quiet nostalgia.
Atwood Journal sat down with Cummings to debate the conception of the file, timeless artistry, grief for the previous and optimism for the longer term. I haven’t stopped listening to Southern & Enlightened since I crossed paths with it, and discovering this file was like discovering one thing I didn’t know I wanted.
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:: stream/buy Southern & Enlightened right here ::
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A CONVERSATION WITH JACOB CUMMINGS
Atwood Journal: Congratulations on Southern & Enlightened! Inform us how the discharge has been like to date?
Jacob Cummings: Thanks a lot. It’s been like probably the most enjoyable launch I’ve been part of to date. It’s simply the joy and the assist and getting extra messages saying like, you realize, that is actually particular to me… It’s so surreal. I did an album launch get together this previous weekend, and that was sort of a dream come true. I did it at this gallery area simply down the road from me and I made a full 40 minute visible to accompany the file, I performed that for folks and it was similar to a bunch of mates and other people got here out. I felt like a rock star for a day. However yeah, since then I’ve simply been planning out my first present for subsequent month. I play with different folks usually, like I’ve performed random gigs the place I’m on piano or one thing, however that is my first time singing and taking part in my music reside.
I perceive this was the primary challenge you’ve put out the place your vocals are featured, are you able to speak a bit extra about that and what that journey has been like for you?
Jacob Cummings: I strive not to consider it an excessive amount of nonetheless, as a result of it’s only a bizarre factor. I really feel like most individuals don’t actually think about themselves singers – myself included. Like, I’d simply sing to the radio or no matter. Rising up taking part in totally different devices, I believe I actually put myself within the field of being “the musician.” If I ever heard recordings of myself, I’d be like, Oh God, I don’t even wish to dive into that anymore.
However with this, I began buzzing alongside to concepts I had in my head and recording them as voice memos. I ended up with an array of those memos the place I’m buzzing, and quite a lot of them actually caught out to me. After I obtained the prospect to spend an entire month recording music, I went into it fairly not sure. Like, am I going to sing these? Ought to I flip them into melodies for a special instrument? Ought to I’ve another person top-line them? After I lastly began recording, I’d strive it out actually meekly. However listening again, I’d get simply sufficient glimmer of hope to maintain going, haha. I really feel like I reached this sure level within the course of the place I’d gone too far to show again.
All that to say, if something comes from this, it’s that I can relate to singers extra now within the initiatives I work on. Singing is simply such an exposing factor to do – particularly for recording. I completely get the stereotype of singers saying, These are simply reference vocals, we’ll do the actual ones later, after which it turns right into a without end loop of attempting to get it proper. It’s been actually cool, but in addition exhausting to consider when folks say stuff like, Your voice is so fairly, I find it irresistible a lot. I attempt to lean into the concept the music I hearken to isn’t about excellent vocals or technical talent anyway. Alex G, for instance, doesn’t care about what the efficiency of the vocal is like – it’s extra in regards to the broader scope of the tune. So yeah, I believe after I do the reside present, it’ll be a special beast. Obsessing over vocals on a pc is one factor, however doing it in entrance of a bunch of individuals? That’s one thing else totally. We’ll see the way it goes.
You’ve drawn numerous comparisons to Jack Johnson and Bon Iver, do you may have any influences?
Jacob Cummings: Yeah, these are two of the largest ones, oddly sufficient – which I’m completely okay with. I imply, they’re actually good comparisons. Jack Johnson was my first actual musical love exterior of the stuff my dad and mom listened to. His voice remains to be undeniably lovely. After which Bon Iver got here alongside shortly after that and have become one other large affect. A number of my mates are in music, they usually understand how delicate it may be to check somebody’s work to different artists. I’ve even had mates who appeared on the verge of telling me who I remind them of however stopped as a result of they didn’t wish to mess with my notion of my very own music. I’m at all times curious to listen to it, although. However on the identical time, it does have an effect on how you concentrate on your personal challenge, you realize?
Truthfully, I’m attempting to maneuver away from making these sorts of comparisons myself. It’s extra enjoyable that manner. Rising up doing inventive issues, it was really easy to suppose, Wow, that particular person is wonderful. I’m simply going to attempt to do what they do. However over time, it turns into extra about your personal journey – peeling away these influences and letting your personal voice shine. In some methods, it’s cool that Jack Johnson and Bon Iver are the 2 artists I get in comparison with most. They’re not direct inspirations for what I’m doing proper now, and even what I’m listening to a lot for the time being, however they’ve clearly left a mark on me.
I believe inevitably, although, I nonetheless have influences. There are specific artists I flip to after I’m feeling caught – after I’m considering, What am I even doing? This feels so pointless. These are the artists who remind me why this issues and who encourage me to maintain going. I like to consider the impression they’ve had on me and the concept, even when I’m not doing precisely what they did, I is perhaps creating one thing significant for another person.
Let’s speak a bit in regards to the conception of the album, and I do know there’s an ideal story behind this.
Jacob Cummings: Yeah! So, to start out manner again and never miss any items – I’ve been a musician since sixth grade. I began out taking part in saxophone in marching band, jazz band, live performance band, all that. Then I studied saxophone in faculty, and that’s the place I obtained into manufacturing and recording music. I began collaborating with different folks, considered one of whom was my now-partner, Laney Tripp. I labored lots on her manufacturing initiatives. Throughout the pandemic, I launched this actually bizarre acoustic guitar album. It happened as a result of I rediscovered this previous guitar my dad had gotten me in center college. It had a lacking string and was in these unusual tunings, however I simply actually loved taking part in it and instructing myself how one can fingerpick. With COVID and nothing else to do, it was this enjoyable science experiment – determining how one can file and launch music. Shortly after that, my accomplice Laney and I made an album collectively. Quick ahead to about two years in the past: by means of life, sitting in inexperienced rooms, ready by means of soundchecks, or simply being bored at residence, I’d provide you with cool little concepts, file them as voice memos, and accumulate them. Finally, I had tons of of those snippets. It’s at all times been a dream to hunker down and switch them into one thing.
Then my grandma handed away. She lived on this wonderful previous home in South Florida, the identical home my mother grew up in, with terrazzo flooring and a canal out again. After I discovered the home was going to be offered, it hit me exhausting. So, like a complete dummy, I dropped all the pieces I used to be doing, packed eight baggage filled with music gear, and went down there with the plan of staying in her area and making music whereas I nonetheless might. It was a extremely cathartic time. I’m not a lot of an astrology particular person, however it felt like some sort of post-Mercury-in-retrograde power – quite a lot of self-reflection and figuring issues out. I used to be studying The Physique Retains the Rating, beginning remedy for the primary time, journaling, meditating, operating lots, and dealing on all this music. My solely guests had been my two aunts, who got here for a weekend, and a few mates who helped me monitor some devices. Apart from that, it was largely solo, which was uncommon for me since I’m sometimes at all times working with folks.
After a month and a half, I got here again residence with a fairly strong concept of what the album was and the way it could be laid out. But it surely was robust to find time for myself to really sit down and work on it. It felt like this big process that couldn’t simply be chipped away at in a night. Finally, I made a decision to e-book every week at this low cost motel I’d found earlier than. It’s in a bit of seashore city three hours north of L.A. known as Pismo Seaside. The motel, the Sea Gypsy, is true on the seashore and precisely what you’d anticipate – simply probably the most comforting, nostalgic place. It’s obtained vacationers hanging out within the sizzling tub, a “goat man” who takes folks browsing, and this carefree, frolicking power. It was the right place for me to really feel comfy and focus.
What was it prefer to make this file at your grandma’s home?
Jacob Cummings: There actually aren’t phrases for what it meant to each be in her home for that prolonged time period and to start out a challenge contemporary there. I’m sort of patting previous Jacob on the again for simply committing to it, as a result of it was a freaky factor to do. I freelance for work, and I utterly set that apart to deal with this. In fact, as quickly as you propose one thing like this, life retains taking place – you begin questioning, Am I lacking out on all the pieces else? Not lengthy after my time there, the home obtained offered to a giant actual property man, and he demolished it. That added this additional layer of validity to the entire expertise – like mendacity on the tile flooring, sinking into the sentiments and reminiscences the home held. It was the closest factor I needed to a childhood residence. We didn’t actually stick round in a single place rising up, so this home was the fixed. This was the place my brother and I spent summers when my mother was sick, the place we stayed after we wanted someplace secure. The pool within the yard hosted all our birthdays. I’d throw alien-themed events with slime and all that within the yard. It’s the place my dad saved his boat, and we’d exit into the Intracoastal as a household. We spent all our Christmases there.
So, to be in that area, engaged on this challenge, felt unexplainably necessary. It gave me this excellent sense of closure – not only for the home itself, however for that entire chapter of life. It felt like a bittersweet goodbye, particularly seeing the realm now. The neighbors are largely folks from New York or different locations, shopping for summer season houses to throw events. The ethos of the neighborhood that was there when my grandparents first moved in is gone. That shift made the expertise really feel oddly full, just like the tradition of the realm and my connection to it had moved on collectively. I believe the album displays that. There’s this aspect of closure to it, prefer it’s closing the door on my youth or the years I spent rising up. Generally the music feels grandiose in the way it’s attempting to make sense of myself and my environment. It’s a giant, private assertion in that manner.
A number of my favourite music has that high quality – it’s like wanting into somebody’s thoughts or their journal, an opportunity for the artist to course of their emotions in a manner that goes past phrases. It’s about creating the feelings, not simply describing them. That’s what this challenge felt prefer to me – an opportunity to do this, to show all these emotions into one thing tangible. It’s fairly particular to get the chance to do this in any respect.
How do you suppose this album will develop with you? Like do you are feeling totally different about it now from if you made it and do you suppose it’ll invoke various things for you perhaps 5, ten years down the road?
Jacob Cummings: Making the album felt like a complete thoughts battle at occasions. It was this fixed push and pull of considering, That is silly. I ought to simply cease. No person’s going to love this. I’m having a depressing time doing the four-hundredth guitar take. However there have been these little glimmers of hope – simply sufficient to maintain me going and see the entire thing by means of. Now that it’s out, it’s a very totally different expertise listening to it. There’s no strategy to rewind the method, to revisit or tweak something, so it simply exists as it’s. It’s a bit of embarrassing to confess, however I’ve by no means completely associated to artists who say they by no means hearken to their very own music as soon as it’s launched. I’m undecided if I take pleasure in listening to my music, however it brings me again to particular moments and emotions. There’s one thing I respect about that.
The place I’m at now, it’s simpler to pay attention as a result of folks have stated type issues in regards to the music, which helps quiet the self-doubt. Nonetheless, I’m actually curious to see how I’ll really feel about it 5 or ten years from now – and the way others will, too. With the opposite issues I’ve put out, they’ve sort of grown in significance to folks over time, which has been actually fascinating to see. Half the songs on this album are instrumental, which I believe makes them really feel much less like a timestamp or one thing tied to a particular period. A minimum of, that’s what I hope. I’d love for this album to really feel timeless – like in ten years, it received’t really feel like a 2024 album.
No, it truly is such a timeless album! It simply has that high quality to it the place it simply feels good.
Jacob Cummings: That’s superior. That’s cool. Yeah, I really feel like, as a lot flack as trendy streaming providers get, there’s an actual magnificence in how they let initiatives reside on and take form through the years. Personally, I get caught up within the social media mindset typically – the place you’re employed on one thing, share it, after which it solely exists in folks’s feeds for twenty-four hours earlier than getting swallowed by the algorithm. It will probably really feel so fleeting. However with platforms like Spotify, it’s totally different. The music will get to stay round. It lives on in a manner that’s actually thrilling. Bodily codecs, like vinyl, have that very same high quality. They offer your work a sort of permanence, which I believe is likely one of the most rewarding components of the entire course of. And, yeah, music is sort of like a time stamp in that sense. As soon as you place it out, it’s there without end – streaming or not.
Had been there any songs that had been notably difficult so that you can write? And do you may have any favourites?
Jacob Cummings: The primary tune on the album is an instrumental, and I believe I reworked it three or 4 occasions. I’m undecided why it was so tough – it’s such a easy piece. It’s largely simply two chords, this piano factor I prefer to play, and it at all times felt very nice because it was. But it surely was additionally enjoyable to construct round it, to attempt to create a much bigger feeling. So there was this fixed push and pull between staying true to that simplicity and exploring a bigger sound round it.
Then there’s a tune, monitor eight, known as “Massive Ol’ Deer.” That one began as this little factor I might hum on a regular basis, and ultimately a couple of phrases emerged from it. It was robust to push previous what was already in my head, although. Some songs allow you to step into them and new concepts simply come, however this one had extra of a harsh cut-off. My favourite monitor might be “Incarnations.” It was the one time I actually had what you’d name a songwriter second. I used to be taking part in guitar, and phrases simply began popping out of my mouth – utterly unplanned, however they felt proper. It was this uncommon, natural second the place I wasn’t overthinking something; it was simply pure feeling pouring out. I don’t know if one thing like that may ever occur once more, however it was such a cool expertise.
“Incarnations” was positively my favorite. And “Shedding a Buddy.”
Jacob Cummings: Yeah, “Shedding a Buddy”! My good friend Chris Meyer has been a giant affect on me. We had been engaged on one other challenge when he began taking part in a piano half, and immediately, I used to be struck by how lovely it was. I actually beloved it. The challenge he made it for didn’t go anyplace, so he generously gave me the piano half, and I expanded on it. Chris has been a giant collaborator of mine through the years – he’s executed instrumental music and in addition some actually wonderful Indian-inspired music beneath A Automotive That Swims. I’ve labored on quite a lot of his stuff, and he’s labored on mine too. It meant lots to me to have him so deeply concerned on this challenge, particularly as a result of he moved away a couple of months earlier than the album got here out. That’s not the rationale the tune’s titled the way in which it’s, however it’s nonetheless actually particular. We’ve lived a lot life collectively already, and it felt necessary to have him as a part of this challenge. After I was listening to the tune, I instantly thought, “This sounds actually unhappy.”
I used to be speaking to considered one of my mother’s previous mates – somebody I grew up round – and she or he shared her expertise of dropping my mother. I didn’t anticipate that dialog to hit so exhausting, however it deepened my understanding of the tune in a brand new manner. Shedding a good friend is totally different from dropping a accomplice or member of the family. You don’t get the identical sort of sympathy or assist, and it could possibly really feel like a extra remoted grief. In that second, I spotted how a lot that kind of loss mirrors the sentiments within the tune – there’s this romantic, intimate sense, however there’s additionally a layer of despair and hopelessness. The tune took on this new mild for me, one which shed a gorgeous, bittersweet perspective on friendship and the sensation of dropping it.
You talked about this earlier, however we’ve got to speak in regards to the movie you made as effectively. I beloved it! It’s so lovely. It sort of contextualized the album as a sequence of emotions for me.
Jacob Cummings: That’s very candy. Thanks for saying that! That was positively the purpose – to create one thing that blends songs and video in a manner that feels a bit of extra ambiguous. I don’t suppose I completely nailed it with this challenge, however it’s one thing I actually wish to hold engaged on. I wish to make it in order that when folks expertise it, they’re undecided if it’s a movie with an ideal soundtrack or if it’s an album with a visualizer connected. There’s a movie known as Buffalo ’66 that I watched throughout COVID, and it actually resonated with me. The director and actor, who is certainly a little bit of a weirdo, additionally composed the soundtrack, and that was tremendous inspiring. It’s a path I wish to discover extra – the place the music and visuals really feel utterly intertwined. I wish to proceed studying about it and discovering methods to combine the 2.
The plan for this challenge was to complete all of the songs first after which dive into the visuals. I had a marriage to attend in Florida earlier this yr, so I made a decision to remain an additional week or two to shoot as lots of the movies as I might. Every tune has its personal emotional depth, and I needed to convey that with visuals. I had this imprecise through-line that loosely tracks a life journey from begin to end, which is one thing I actually wish to discover extra in my profession. Boyhood wrecked me after I watched it final yr, and Girl Chook is one other coming-of-age movie that hit exhausting. There’s one thing about watching life unfold on display that actually speaks to me, and I wish to hold exploring that arc of progress in my work. The primary three songs had been clear to me by way of what I needed to convey, as was the final tune, so I knew what I used to be working towards. It was a special course of for every tune, although – looking for collaborators who might assist me seize these feelings in probably the most candid manner attainable. I actually aimed excessive with the visible concepts, and although I didn’t at all times get what I initially envisioned, what got here out of it was usually higher than what I might have deliberate, particularly contemplating the finances constraints. Generally, issues find yourself figuring out in a manner that’s much more fulfilling than if I’d had limitless assets.
How did you choose the places to shoot?
Jacob Cummings: So, I used to be primarily in Jacksonville, which is within the northern a part of Florida, and that performed a giant position in how the video shoots got here collectively. An excellent instance of that is the primary tune, which I envisioned as a birthing scene. If I had an infinite finances, I might’ve been in a position to fastidiously plan all the pieces – particular places, lighting, casting – however as a substitute, I needed to method it in my typical DIY manner. I reached out to a good friend who’s a doula and requested her to attach me with somebody she knew who is perhaps giving start across the time I used to be on the town. I didn’t even know what they appeared like, however I used to be on standby every single day, ready for the decision. Then, after I arrived, I discovered this household with a daughter who, to me, turned the emotional coronary heart of the entire expertise. It was one thing I might by no means have deliberate, and it ended up being a way more intimate and shifting scene than I might’ve imagined. Then there’s a tune known as ‘Survivor’, the place I needed to seize this preacher, somebody who might actually pour his coronary heart out to the gang, but in addition have these moments the place he breaks down. I attempted reaching out to some pastors, however it’s not straightforward to get somebody to reply to that sort of request.
Finally, I met this man, Tony, whereas I used to be having breakfast one morning. He was cleansing home windows close by, and we began speaking. He informed me he used to bop and act, and I believed, Okay, this may very well be excellent. I informed him in regards to the challenge, and regardless that it was a bit out of his consolation zone, he agreed to assist. We met at a random church one night, and I had all these concepts for him, however it’s at all times difficult directing somebody who’s by no means executed something like this earlier than. The cool half is, after I present folks the video now, Survivor is commonly the one which resonates most. We simply filmed him speaking, and his ardour and power had been so uncooked and motivational that it got here throughout completely on digital camera. He additionally did a dance for it, and someway all of it simply fell into place. It was humorous as a result of, in distinction to my normal themes – issues tied to my previous or my upbringing – this was simply utterly random. It’s a kind of moments the place issues come collectively naturally, and I assume that’s a part of what makes music so particular. You’ll be able to plan all you need, however typically the most effective issues simply occur.
Wow that’s so fascinating as a result of to me the entire film feels prefer it’s captured these moments you don’t realise are something within the second, however find yourself changing into one thing vital in a while. So it’s cool that the video shoot sort of went that manner as effectively.
Jacob Cummings: That’s level! That’s true.
So it looks like you may have quite a lot of influences past simply sound, how do you translate these issues into music?
Jacob Cummings: I believe a part of what helps is that I don’t essentially think about myself a “songwriter” within the conventional sense. I actually admire artists like Bob Dylan, who’re in a position to craft total worlds with their phrases. Dylan, particularly, has this unbelievable means to create vivid tales and concepts that resonate deeply by means of his lyrics. However for me, that’s not the place my energy lies. The great thing about being human is that all of us have totally different strengths, and for me, it’s at all times been about taking part in devices. It began with that – determining how one can creatively play and categorical myself with devices. After I was in highschool and faculty, it was all about technical means, about pushing myself to play as exactly and technically as I might. However since graduating, I’ve been on this means of unlearning that mindset. I’ve come to comprehend that music, like all types of artwork, is only a manner of expressing myself and my feelings.
I’m actually grateful for the disciplined musical basis I had rising up as a result of it allowed me to let go of the necessity to impress or observe guidelines. Now, I don’t fear a lot about principle or how technically spectacular one thing is. For me, it’s about sharing what feels proper, sharing one thing that’s distinctive to me. A number of my songs are simply two chords, going backwards and forwards, however that works for me. I believe it’s extra in regards to the feeling and the connection than the rest.
Completely, it’s virtually like being musically skilled offers you the device set to have the ability to categorical your self the way you wish to.
Jacob Cummings: Yeah, precisely. It’s actually cool to be round people who find themselves so extremely gifted, particularly if you’re in rooms with of us from locations like USC or UCLA. You recognize, these children can play circles round you, and it’s exhausting to not really feel intimidated typically. I personally love that sort of music too, the technical stuff, the complexity – it’s wonderful. However on the identical time, it could possibly positively get in your head. You see somebody taking part in sixteenth notes for hours or shredding bebop licks, and you can begin considering, “I can’t try this, so perhaps I’m not ok.” However I believe that’s the place the fantastic thing about music is available in – it’s not about being probably the most technically excellent participant. It’s in regards to the feeling, the expression, and what you’re bringing to the desk. What actually issues is the connection to the music, and that doesn’t require you to have the ability to play all the pieces completely. That’s the liberty of it, proper? It’s not about evaluating your self to others – it’s about discovering your personal voice. So, yeah, even when you can’t play these complicated licks or excellent each method, that doesn’t take away from the ability of what you’re creating. It’s all about the way it feels and what you wish to say by means of it.
Are you able to stroll me by means of the picture you selected for the album cowl as effectively?
Jacob Cummings: My good friend Garrett and I had been filming at this beautiful dingy water park known as Journey Touchdown. Basic state of affairs: I’ve a bag filled with digital camera gear, and there’s a highschool child checking us in, who’s simply attempting to flirt with the particular person subsequent to him. We go to the entrance gate, and nobody’s even there. We simply stroll proper by means of – weekday, so there’s no line – and I’ve my cameras going by means of the tubes and stuff. I used to be snapping a bunch of pictures whereas we had been there, and this one actually resonated with me.
It’s sort of an homage to the photographer Martin Parr. I haven’t actually thought of the way it ties into the idea of the album an excessive amount of, however one thing that stands out to me now’s that, within the photograph, there’s this mother within the foreground who’s similar to this whole “mom lion” defending her youngsters. She has that ‘2000s’ vibe to her – like a basic mother look. I don’t suppose it’s a Vera Bradley bathing go well with, however it has that sort of sample to it. it now, I believe it connects to the album title, Southern & Enlightened, in a broad sense. The photograph is of those households having enjoyable, simply being there with their children, and I believe that’s a giant a part of what the album’s about. The simplicity of a life-style like that – how quite a lot of different issues can get in the way in which of that easy pleasure and connection.
What does this file symbolize to you within the trajectory of your profession?
Jacob Cummings: That’s query. I hope it’s type of like this, as a result of like I stated, I produce music and actually take pleasure in doing that. I’ve this studio now, which is the place I’m at proper now – it’s a bit messy with all my vinyls. However yeah, I hope that I can proceed having a profession in producing music with different folks. A number of artists I love have made an album for themselves that serves virtually as a portfolio, and I’d like this album to be that for me in some methods. I hope folks will get a greater understanding of the place I’m coming from and wish to collaborate or meet within the center on their initiatives.
On the identical time, on this new headspace of being a musician – as a result of I’ve at all times simply seen myself as an artist – it felt necessary for me to actually embrace that position. A giant a part of that’s performing reside, which I by no means meant to do after I made this album. I by no means thought I’d sing, however over time, I spotted that if I’m actually going to pursue this world of music, I shouldn’t accept any a part of what it means to be a musician. And an enormous a part of that’s reside efficiency. So, I believe placing out this album has actually pushed me to pursue that side of getting a profession as a musician. However I additionally wish to, in a roundabout way, skew the everyday concept of what that profession appears like and method it in a extra inventive, inventive manner.
How did this challenge make it easier to to develop as a musician?
Jacob Cummings: I believe the overarching theme is simply confidence. Like we’ve been speaking about, it’s actually intimidating to decide to a challenge of any caliber – particularly for me, singing for the primary time. You’re met with tons of of questions, and also you’re continually having to make choices that problem your sense of self. At a sure level, you simply need to let go and cease overthinking it. You’ll be able to’t let your self really feel like, “I’m going to surrender,” or “This doesn’t deserve this a lot consideration.” I take into consideration the primary two issues that come to thoughts: making the album and getting the vinyls pressed. That was an enormous dedication by way of time, power, and cash. When you’ve dedicated to one thing like that, there’s no room to lose your confidence. You simply need to belief that what you’re doing is price it.
Yeah, I completely get why music can really feel fairly self-indulgent at occasions, however it’s completely not.
Jacob Cummings: Precisely, yeah. It’s freaky, and I actually really feel such as you simply need to not overthink it as a lot. And when you do, you need to understand it’s larger than simply you. I’ve been a part of initiatives, or I’ve had mates who’ve made issues, and it’s actually necessary to me. Even when I’m not intently connected to it, it brings extra happiness and objective to my life. I believe that’s reminder for me – that it’s not nearly me. It’s not as self-indulgent as it might appear. I don’t suppose it at all times needs to be perceived that manner.
What do you hope audiences will take away from Southern & Enlightened?
Jacob Cummings: That’s query. An excellent instance could be a message I obtained final night time – somebody stated, “Hey, I’m in Japan, simply cruising round on a motorbike, and I’ve been taking part in your music nonstop. It’s the right soundtrack for the expertise.” It’s moments like that, when music turns into a part of somebody’s life, their private soundtrack, that makes on a regular basis duties really feel extra significant and completely satisfied. That’s what my favourite albums do for me, and I hope my music can do the identical for others.
I hope folks get excited to leap of their automobile to go to the grocery retailer as a result of they get to hearken to a few of these songs. I would like them to really feel related, even within the small, on a regular basis moments. These songs imply lots to me personally, as they contact on among the extra troubling components of life – processing relationships, like with my dad or mates, and grappling with larger, scarier concepts like demise and eternity. However in addition they discover lovely moments, like giving start. Finally, I hope my music might help others course of those self same feelings and discover some closure in a gorgeous manner.
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© courtesy of the artist
Southern & Enlightened
an album by Jacob Cummings
