*Check out part one of my interview with Jess here first!*
Ciara's Country (CC): In our last interview, we spoke about your last record ‘The Demos’ and all of the fantastic hits on that one, but I get the feeling that we might be in line for some new music.
Jess Moskaluke (JM): Yeah, we're hoping for new music in July. I've already got a few songs that I'm getting ready to record, we're just in the selection process right now. I've been writing for a few months and think we've got the songs, we just have to try and narrow it down.
CC: How do you select which ones make it through?
JM: I just write and write and write until I feel like someone's either sent me the right song, or I've written that already. Then I put out my favourites and my producer and I figure out what we'd like to do and we send it over to management. Finally, we make a group decision on however many songs we need and which ones those are.
CC: How do the songs that you're working on at the moment differ from the ones that you released last year?
JM: Quite drastically actually! This is something stylistically that I've wanted to do for the last few years but given the state of the world, I wasn't really able to. As you know, ‘The Demos’ was something that was already half finished, we just went in and polished it, but these are songs that we were able to totally start from scratch and do exactly what we wanted to do. They're still very much me, but in a way that you've never heard before.
CC: A lot to look forward to then! Was it quite a different process to making ‘The Demos’?
JM: Honestly, it didn’t change a tonne. It was a really similar process to what we've done in the past, I just didn't get to write in Nashville, which is where I write all my songs. It's where all my favourite writers live, and it's nice that I can make one trip and everybody's there. The only thing that changed was that I wasn't able to make as many of those trips due to the pandemic, so I had to wait a year and a half before I could go. However, it just so happened that on this last trip, we got a couple of songs that I'm really excited about, and we said, ‘okay, I think we're ready to get some of these in the studio!’
CC: I know you can't tell us too much about the specific content of those songs, but can you give us an idea of the broad themes?
JM: They're a little bit more organic than my songs have been. There is still definitely some pop country flavour to it because that's what I love, it's what I love to listen to, but they're a little bit country-er than then you've heard me go.
CC: Well, I don't think anyone is going to complain about that! Last time we chatted, you gave me some fantastic recommendations for up-and-coming artists that we should listen to – Sacha, Melanie Dyer, Sinead Burgess – I gave them a listen, and wow, I love Sacha’s Standards and Melanie’s 20s!
JM: I'm so happy to hear you like them! They're all so talented, so I will sing their praises whenever I can. Mel actually has a brand new song out right now called Cheap Moscato and it's really good, you should check it out!
CC: Already added to my playlist! Do you have any new recommendations for us?
JM: You know, I'm really hoping to find some this weekend. I’d actually really love to know your listeners favourite British artists, so if they have any, be sure to send them to me on Instagram!
CC: Fingers crossed we’ll get loads of ideas for you! Last time in our interview, I ended the interview by asking you a question that you said you would think about and get back to me – what is one question that you've never been asked in an interview about, but would love to be?
JM: You know, it's kind of funny because all of the questions that I can think of are ones that have been asked, but I think you did a pretty good job of asking me things that I haven't necessarily been asked while still covering all the bases!
CC: Is that anything outside of music that people might want to know about you?
JM: Two things maybe! I have a subscription box called ‘Handpicked by Jess’ - we started it in the beginning of the pandemic, and it's something along the lines of Fab Fit Fun. We do two of them a year, but you’ve got to keep your eye out! Every once in a while, we'll do a themed one, so we just did an all jewellery box. It's cool, because you can buy these boxes for about CAD$175 but there's like CAD$400 worth of stuff in them. It's all my favourite things from some of my favourite companies that I want to promote. We're gearing up right now to release our Spring Summer Edition and all of the info is on my website!
CC: I was actually reading about that! I can only imagine that the same love and care that goes into selecting the songs that go on the album goes into those boxes.
JM: You have no idea because I had no idea how much work it was going to be and it really has been a labour of love. It's a lot of these small businesses that didn’t necessarily have a lot of business during the pandemic. For us to physically get those items from those brands into the hands of my fans, it's been really cool to see them go and make purchases and support these companies. A lot of love, a lot of care and a lot of time!
CC: What was it that inspired you to do something like that?
JM: I’ve had the idea kicking around in my head for a few years. We had a few new interns at the label, I wasn't touring because of the pandemic, so we finally had the time and the manpower and everything really just lined up. People loved it - we actually broke the website! The first edition sold out in the first four minutes or something, and so we've been encouraged to keep going. I didn't know that this would be more than a one time thing, but we're on our fifth edition now!
CC: Very impressive! Do your themed boxes ever include any kind of music theme?
JM: Yes! The first box actually had a vinyl album that was a limited edition - it was kind of like a Greatest Hits, and we've had merch in the past. We're trying to think of a way that we can put an Easter egg in this next box about what the next music might contain…
CC: What a teaser! This gives us further reason to chat in another six months when we find out about all your new music. You mentioned there were two things listeners might not know about you – what’s the other one?
JM: I'm a huge dog fan! My husband and I rescue our dogs - their names are Nala and Blue, and I miss them both very much. The worst part about travelling is that they can't come with me.
CC: Can they come when you tour around Canada?
JM: They probably could, but it's pretty hard to put two dogs on a tiny little bus when they have 20 acres to run around at home. And my husband would miss them too!
CC: How do you feel being on the bus?
JM: I do pretty good. I'm with some of my favourite people in the whole world and it really does become home. It's like the opposite of claustrophobia, I’m like ‘ I can't wait to get into my cosy little bunk!’ I actually quite enjoy it and definitely missed it over the last two years.
CC: I think we can all agree that live music in general is something that we've totally missed, so I'm so glad that you’re back playing some for us! Thank you so much for this interview, Jess, and I look forward to finding out everything about all this new music you teased us with today.
JM: Thank you so much! It was lovely chatting with you.
It was such a joy to catch up with Jess again, and I'm very much looking forward to seeing her back this side of the pond soon! If you'd like to stay up to date on all of my future reviews and interviews, make sure to drop me a follow on Twitter @CiarasCountry. Thank you so much for reading!
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