Jasmin OMEARA
... is a musician from Montreal who started playing guitar at 14 and joined the local indie scene. She studied design at university, but moved to London and played bass in Temposhark and Kill Electric. She was also the bassist of the synth-pop band Zoot Woman from 2008 to 2014.
Her solo EP “Desert Heart” is a dark and modern blend of post punk and electronic music, reflecting on the difficulties of finding and keeping love in the 21st century.
How did you fall in love with music and what inspired you to become an artist?
When I was a small child, my step-dad had a huge vinyl collection which took up the entire back wall in the living room. He was an eclectic collector and played everything: Bowie, Talking Heads, Kraftwerk, Prince, The Beatles, Jazz music, Cat Stevens, even traditional French-Canadian folk music called Rigodon, etc… These were the sounds of my childhood.
When I was six years old, I started playing the violin. Six miserable years of my life! I hated every minute of it! I would spend all the time meant for rehearsing, holding my violin like a guitar and pretending to be a rockstar.
When I was 14, I went to see a female band play live and realised that I too could be in a band. So I stole my uncle’s guitar off of his wall and declared it my own. I taught myself how to play guitar and as soon as I could play two songs half decently, I auditioned for local bands. I spent my teen years experimenting with different bands and styles within the local indie scene in my hometown of Montreal.
When I later moved to London, I continued to seek out bands to play with. But I can’t say that one particular thing inspired me to become an artist. It was just somehow always in me. I was also a tomboy and connected with boys and their interests more than I did with girls. And the boys I knew were playing in bands, so that pushed me to do the same. And I really can’t tell you why I can write songs. I guess all those years spent playing in bands helped me hone my craft.
What are the main influences and inspirations behind your musical style and identity?
The day I heard Enjoy the Silence by Depeche Mode on the radio for the first time, my world changed. I remember exactly where I was when I heard it playing, even though I was very young. It was the gateway to alternative music in my life. Before that, as any pre-teen, I had been consuming commercial pop music. Although one might not recognise the influence, my guitar playing style is really just inspired by Martin Gore’s twangy guitar sound, what I call “desert style”, from the Violator album. Then there’s the PJ Harvey album To Bring You My Love which really inspires me & Nick Cave’s Let Love In. Those two albums informed my obsession with dark lyrics about love. To me, artists like Harvey and Cave are punks…and that’s how I describe myself…I’m a punk…although people might not understand the connection. Other than that, I was obviously influenced by the bands I was in. I always played in indie/alternative bands which gave me the punky edge in my own work, but I also played in pop-synth bands, most noticeably as bass player for Zoot Woman from 2008-2014. The driving beat to my work surely comes from the more dance elements that I learnt from my time with them. And Zoot Woman taught me about the importance of simplicity in songwriting.
What was your creative process for your amazing debut EP “Desert Heart” and what song resonates with you the most?
Writing the songs for “Desert Heart” was a completely new process for me. In the past, I had always co-written songs with my bands in loud rehearsal rooms, where all the guitars are competing with each other on volume 11. With “Desert Heart”, the songs were written at home alone, sitting at a makeshift desk in the corner of a spare room, with minimal equipment and through headphones. There was no exchange or collaboration with any other musicians possible, so I had to trust my own instincts.
However the demos I recorded were my little secret, as I’m very shy about sharing my work. But I finally let my partner hear the demos one day, and they immediately said that I had to record them. Two weeks later, a studio had been booked in London and I found myself starting to record “Desert Heart”. In total, I needed three days to record three songs. A real marathon! Plus I live in Germany now, I’m an unsigned artist and my EP is completely self-financed, so recording in London was a huge undertaking.
Back to the question, I love movies, so when I write songs, I automatically try to create a film scene with my lyrics and music. It’s all very cinematic in my mind. The recurrent theme on the EP is numbness, the emotional coasting we can fall prey to when being vulnerable in relationships. For me, the words “desert heart” have come to symbolise that detachment one can feel within oneself when trapped in an unfulfilling relationship.
Take It Back started with some keyboard chords I was fooling around with which triggered the entire chorus spontaneously. I had set out to write a 3:30 minute perfect pop song and failed! I’m just not someone to keep things short, not when I talk and obviously not when I write a song. Maybe it’s my Italian roots shining through! I love long intros and long outros. Songs for me need to build emotion and feeling and transport you in to another world. You can’t do that in under 3 minutes. At least I can’t! Unless you’re writing a 2:30 minute pure, raw punk song, songs should be allowed to feel like a long sit-down meal as opposed to a quick take-away snack.
Sleepwalker’s opening lyric and banshee-like cry “I sleep through life, I sleep too much, I sleep through love” was a riff I had carried in me for 13 years but never had a chance to record, not even in a voice memo on my phone. I just never forgot the melody after all those years, so I knew it had to be catchy. The rest came effortlessly once I had pictured the movie scene in my head about this song.
The only exception to this process is Wolves. I wrote that song over 13 years ago in my bedroom during a very lonely time in my life. It was a song I never let go of and always believed in. Therefore when I had the chance to include it on this EP, I did, even though it might not fit with my newer material. I find the lyrics particularly poignant. The title of my EP “Desert Heart” comes from one of the lyrics in this song. Wolves resonates the most with me, because like a vision board, everything I sing about in that song came true! I’ve lived through a lot of bad times romantically in the past but I’m lucky enough to have found my soulmate despite all of that! I never gave up on finding true love.
When can we expect to see you perform live on stage?
I’m planning on getting a band together this year and to start playing live again in 2024. For now I play all the instruments myself with the exception of the drums and the harmonica in Wolves. Plus I live in a remote part of Germany, so it’s difficult to find people with an interest in my particular style of music. But I remain hopeful! If anyone reading this interview lives anywhere near the Grafschaft Bentheim and is interested, get in touch!
How do you balance your time and energy as an indie artist?
At the minute, with the launch of the EP last week, I’m very busy with the marketing. I stay up till the small hours of the morning reaching out to different people. It’s like having a baby, you just don’t sleep anymore! And as all independent artists know, it’s really difficult to get your music heard, which can be frustrating and demoralising at times. The key, I hope, is being consistent. A little bit every day will accumulate over time.
Besides the marketing, I’m also busy rehearsing the new songs I’ll be recording mid-July. I try to practice the guitars, bass and vocals every day, in order to build up my stamina for the session. Some of the vocals are really demanding on the next songs, so I can’t walk in on recording day unprepared.
Finally, once the recording is complete, I’m planning a creative phase again in order to write more songs. As you can see, there’s a work plan in place, a structure…otherwise nothing would get done at all.
How do you use social media to connect with your fans and grow your audience?
Because the recording of the EP “Desert Heart” was so spontaneous and unplanned, I’m still at the beginning phase of building my social media presence. I have some catching up to do. Plus I’m learning as I go along. I also plan on making more reels and videos, short filmed interviews and create other visuals that will resonate with people. The prospect of experimenting with different media is very exciting!
But the vibe on my socials will always be about being authentic and accessible. Authenticity is perhaps a cliched word these days, yet I’m exactly the same in real life as I am here in this interview. I hope to inspire people to overcome their fears and go for their dream, especially women, as we have a tendency to sacrifice ourselves for others and to play our talent down.
As for accessibility, even back in my Zoot Woman days I really enjoyed meeting fans and taking the time to speak with them, whether in person or online. I always cared for my fans immensely. It means the world to me that people listen to my songs, so they deserve that I give them the time to be present. Plus their happiness and enthusiasm brings me to life. It’s the only time that as an introvert, I become a social butterfly. The fans, with their generosity, bring me out of my shell.
What are you working on right now and what are your goals for the future?
As I’ve mentioned above, I’ll be recording 4 new songs in July. I’ll be working again with the incredible team I’ve been fortunate enough to put together at Strongroom & Metropolis Studios (London). I also have some exciting collaborations lined-up. I’ll be working on new material, trying to evolve my sound, and of course I plan on playing live.
And my goal for the future? To remain open of heart and never have to walk through that desert ever again!
Photo credit: Gerrit Starczewski
