ON OUR RADAR: MY LIFE STORY
My Life Story’s Jake Shillingford dives into his latest single, ‘I’m A God’ in today’s On Our Radar!
INTRODUCE YOURSELF!
Jake Shillingford and a cast of thousands.
WHAT’S YOUR ORIGIN STORY?
My Life Story started off as a teenage band in Southend On Sea, Essex, UK in 1985. By 1991, we had become a large outfit with a string quartet and brass section. In the mid to late 90s we notched up a few hits. People very nicely cite us for bringing the sound of epic strings into alternative music in the 90s / Britpop etc.
WHEN DID YOU FALL IN LOVE WITH MUSIC?
My father built our record player in the late 1960s. I think there was a magazine you could buy which taught you how to construct it and where to buy the parts. My mother constantly listened to records, she had every Beatles album apart from The White Album and I have no idea why. When I left home, that was the first record I bought. It was like she saved me that one to discover for myself.
DOES THE MUSIC YOU MAKE DIFFER TO THE MUSIC YOU ENJOY AS A FAN? IF SO, HOW?
No. I’m a mirror for everything I think is beautiful, dark and complicated in this world. I see that as my job as a songwriter.
FOR READERS WHO HAVEN’T HEARD OF YOU BEFORE, HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE YOUR MUSIC?
Thoughtful but urgent.
WHAT MADE YOU WANT TO STEP INTO THE WORLD OF RELEASING MUSIC?
I found it hard to express myself in day-to-day conversation, songwriting gave me a vessel where I could put my feelings and let others know about them.
You’ve been releasing music since the early 90s - how do you feel you’ve grown since your debut album, The Gold Mile?
I’d say I'm more economical musically. In the 1990s, when I was in my 30s, I put too many chords and concepts into my songs. Probably showing off to the girls. Now I like to tell a direct, honest story that has a single message.
YOUR LATEST SINGLE, ‘I’M A GOD’ IS A COMMENTARY ON THE WAY THE MEDIA GLORIFY AND HOLD PEOPLE UP TO A “DIVINE STATUS”. TELL US MORE!
I like ‘list songs’ and the word collage they make. Placing a contemporary influencer next to a historic deity gave interesting results.
WHAT INSPIRED THE MUSIC VIDEO FOR ‘I’M A GOD'‘?
So many Gods come from Hinduism so we wanted to create a psychedelic kaleidoscope that would have felt at home in the late 60s.
Your fifth studio album is due to be released in February 2024. What can we expect from it?
When guitarist and producer Nick Evans and I started writing songs for the album early in the Spring, I described the process as the opposite of writing a concept album. I didn't want to give ourselves time to overthink a grand plan.
In some ways, we are recapturing the gung-ho spirit of when the band started in 1985, just putting ideas down and learning from our experiments. I hope the result is an eclectic mix of stand-out songs that sing for themselves. All of that said, the mere act of batching ten songs onto a piece of plastic forces the mind to look for lyrical patterns and strands of musical themes to tie it all together.
The album is entitled Loving You is Killing Me which is a lyric taken from the album’s opening track ‘Running Out of Heartbeats’. Despite its pessimistic inference, I like to think that it’s more generally about investment in relationships. Is there a price to pay for unconditional love? he album discusses themes of empathy, profaneness, vaingloriousness, coercive behaviour and err...naturism.
Its written, recorded and arranged quickly and on instinct. Ben Hillier has mixed the album with the sense of urgency and presence befitting of a new band emerging for the first time. It sounds fresh, vital and a bit pissed off. ...and I'm very proud of it.
Often people say that the moment in which you experience music for the first time can make or break how you feel about it. Do you recommend a way for your fans to experience the album for their first listen?
On headphones running through a quiet city at dusk or dawn.
Having been in the music industry for a while, do you have any tips for emerging artists?
Do everything on instinct. Don’t follow trends. If it sounds great then it is great.
what can we expect from you in the future?
My Life Story announced a UK tour and a new album for 2024. The tour includes two shows at the prestigious London venue the 100 Club on Oxford Street, the first, which sold out in a day is on Saturday 17th February 2024 and marks their first London show in over 2 years. More info and tickets here.
Supported by Musosoup #SustainableCurator