Jade Valerie Nation meets Jade
JVN: Could you tell us about songs that haven't been released like Shadows Of My Past (if that is an unheard song & not another name of an already-released song), Ice Cold, & Feel Alive? What are the songs like & why haven't they been released? And why did you decide not to include them in your releases?
Jade: Wow, there are so many unreleased songs, and some of them are truly my favorites. To answer your questions about the songs you mentioned:
Shadows of the past- This was a song I wrote when I was 14. It is a very sweet mid tempo love song. Actually this song was on one of my first demos and was one of the songs that brought me to Alan Rich and then Geo´s attention.
Ice Cold and Feel Alive are very cool songs that Geo and I initially wrote for a japanese film. Sadly the songs didn´t in the end make it onto the soundtrack, but they are still very good songs.
There are so many reasons that songs don´t make it on albums. Generally it has to do with the record labels influence and also the quality of the song. Many times when you are about to finalize an album you just no longer think a song is good enough for the album, or that the style of the song
doesn´t fit with the overall mood of the album. My favorite unreleased tracks are the ballads Geo and I have written that have never been heard. Even though it kills me, you can only put a limited number of ballads on an album so many of them only make it to my Ipod
JVN: Are there any popular Japanese artists you'd like to collaborate with and why?
Jade: There are many Japanese artists I would love to work with! I would always take the chance to do so!
JVN: What are your favorite songs from Eternity album and why?
Jade: My favorite songs from the Eternity album are Worth it all, Change the World, and So deep is the night. I love Worth it all because of the lyrics, and of course all the fun high notes I get to belt out. I love Change the World, and So deep is the night because of the beat, and the production.
JVN: How much did your music career help you grow as a person? When have you felt "it" changed you for the first time?
Jade: My whole entire adult life, and part of my childhood has revolved around my music career, so it has always been the driving force of change and growth for me. A significant time in my life that I feel I changed the most because of my career was around the ages of 23 and 24. That was a time in my life when I didn´t like the person my career was turning me into. And so I had to make some changes, and really rely, and reinspire my love of music. I would say there has always been my "career" and my "music". My career has made me strong, and worldly. And my music has been the best way that I could express who I was, and where I´ve been at any point in my life.
JVN: What do you think the biggest differences between the Japanese music industry and the US/UK ones are?
Jade: O lord! That is a totally different long conversation. I will have to get back to it later!
JVN: Music is one of the mediums open to interpretation as the listener perceives it. Does it surprise that listeners can take completely different meanings from your songs than you intended? Do you think that is down to their own personal experiences? As an artist how does it make you feel?
Jade: When I first started releasing music I was surprised on how differently people would interpret my music and lyrics. I used to get frustrated because I wanted people to feel the same way I felt about my songs. But then I realized that interpretation is based on personal experiences. And I think it is good that people are able to find and give their own truth and story to a song they hear. The fact that people are able to relate to any song I write is still amazing to me.
JVN: When writing music for your albums is there a particular song that helps shape the direction you want the album to go or do you know what direction you want to go before you start writing songs?
Jade: Generally Geo and I will pick a song or a theme to give us some direction, and a redline for writing the album. However, during the course of writing that redline can get re-directed a lot.
JVN: What do you think makes you and Geo work so well together and what do you look for in producers that you work with?
Jade: Geo and I have been working together for such a long time, and I think one thing that helps our relationship is that our strengths and weaknesses compliment each other. We are both good in areas the other lacks in. He also has been a great teacher and mentor for me. When I work with other producers I tend to go for projects or styles that I don´t get to write with Geo, so that I can have some variety.
JVN: Where do you get the inspiration to write your ballads? Is it all personal experience? How does it make you feel when you hear them played back?
Jade: Almost all of my ballads are based on personal experience. I listen to many of them still because I loved to be moved by the memories that they inspire. Some of my favorite ballads that I listen to privately are Everytime, After the lights, Crown of thorns, Empty Pages and More than love. One of my favorite songs that I ever wrote was Goodbye, I love to listen to that one. There is also an unreleased ballad of mine called "I know you". I really hope to get the chance to release that song one day, because I think it´s amazing. The ballad that best expresses who I am as a person though is definitely "Like a bird".
JVN: Do you have a role model, if so who are they?
Jade: I look to many people for inspiration and example. I admire people who live bravely and without regret, which is much easier said than done. As far as music is concerned two of my favorite artists are Beth Hart and Nikka Costa. But as far as musicians I look up to for career guidance, I look up to people who have had similiar lives as I have. Unlike most of the big popstars, I don´t have a powerful dad or someone who has been able to help me along this road. I have had to do everything on my own, which has definitely been empowering but also limiting. Sometimes I wish I did have someone watching my back so I could just focus on being an artist, and not having to play defense all the time.
JVN: Do you intend on making music under the Jade Valerie name in the near future?
Jade: I wish I could always make music under the name Jade Valerie. However, destiny seems to want different things for me. I have chosen not to use my name lately because I needed to utilize the various opportunities presented to me in order to keep releasing my music at all. The most important thing for me is to keep writing music, and to keep growing as an artist. So whatever name or situation that makes that possible is what I will do. But you can expect another Jade Valerie album at some point.
JVN: Which songs do you consider your best works so far?
Jade: Hmmm, I will have to answer this one later!
JVN: Is there any possibilities in having your Eternity albums on the iTunes store internationally? (I guess Heiko could answer this better, but people wanted to know..)
Jade: This situation is unfortunately due to some bad management decisions that were made for me earlier on. I won´t name names, but this guy is obvious ly not in the picture anymore. But basically he blocked me from ITunes international in the hope of releasing me on another download platform. We have been working on clearing the situation up, and hopefully it will happen soon!
