INTERVIEW: Jess Ball on her latest single 'Spent' and shares BTS images from the video shoot.

Melbourne’s Jess Ball recently released her latest single ‘Spent’, her third solo single after last year’s ‘Upside Down’ and ‘Thank You’.

The song is a slinky, dark electronic pop track with gorgeous multi-layered vocals and a backdrop of multiple hooks and intriguing sonics. Lyrically ‘Spent’ is about “being reminded of someone you still love but are no longer with,” with Ball relaying situations we can all relate to as we struggle to let go: “There’s the shop you used to drag me to / And now I go there all the time in case I see you”.

Ball is emerging as one of Australia’s most promising young talents on the pop scene, and has already built up an impressive portfolio of collaborations with artists such as EDX (their track ‘I Found You (Neptune)’ has racked up over 15 million streams), NERVO and Curbi. We recently caught up with Ball to find out more about ‘Spent’ and her career, and along with the interview below you can see exclusive behind the scene images from the video shoot.

Hi Jess! So great to chat to you. How is everything in your world right now?
Thank you for having me! Everything is great actually, finally things feel a little more normal and I’m very excited about this new release!

A big congratulations on that new release, your divine new single ‘Spent’, we love it. You have said it is about “being reminded of someone you still love but are no longer with”. Can you tell me a little bit more about the inspiration behind the track?
Thank you! The song was inspired by a breakup I went through and I guess the song draws on the mixed emotions you go through in this type of situation. For me, I was constantly doubting the decision, missing that person more than I wanted time apart and essentially wondering why we even broke up. Sometimes I think you need to work on yourself before you can work on a relationship.

Can you talk me through the creative process for ‘Spent’?
Originally, I wrote, ‘Spent’ just with an acoustic guitar in my bedroom and sent it over to 1and2 Productions who loved the idea. We recorded it in the studio not long after. Richy Sebastian (producer) then experimented with some different sounds and came up with an awesome bass line that I absolutely loved. Now hearing the song how it is, I couldn’t imagine it any other way.

*Behind the scenes on the ‘Spent’ video shoot*

Your music covers a number of sounds, from electro-dance music through to more indie pop feels with your last single ‘Thank You’. Was there a particular sound or ‘feeling’ you wanted with ‘Spent’?
I’m always up for trying new things and experimenting with different sounds, thats why its great to have worked with Richy on the track. Sometimes when you sit on a song by yourself for a while you are sort of tunnel-visioned and are used to the way you wrote it. It was great to have Richy take a new spin on the track, and to see it evolve from a chilled out acoustic song to this indie-pop vibe it now has.

You have also released a video for ‘Spent’, can you tell me what that was like to make?
Yes I have! I had the best time filming the video, everyone involved was just so lovely and fun to be around which definitely helped. I guess having a great team made 16 hours of hard work feel like a fun day with your mates. Cisco Corea, the director of the video, definitely knew how to get the best out of a shot but also knew how to have fun while doing so.

Given the song explores the idea of fighting your own internal thoughts, as well as fighting for a relationship, we thought boxing would be a great metaphor. We started off at PCYC Gym in Sydney where I definitely got more of a workout than I had expected that day! We moved on to another studio after that where we shot scenes in a ‘bathroom’ that had been created that day for the video.

It was a massive day and everyone worked really hard but also really enjoyed the process.

What role did music play in your life when you were growing up?
Growing up, my family constantly had music playing in the house. My grandparents were the same, always had and still have the radio playing in the kitchen or Smooth FM on when we’re eating dinner. I was constantly surrounded by music and it made me want to be a part of it. Kind of like when you watch a movie about dancing and you want to become a dancer or a movie about surfing and you want to be a pro. I guess singing was the one thing I could actually do!

I believe you developed an attraction for pop music after your singing coach encouraged you to explore different types of music to what you grew up with. What is it that you love about pop?
I feel like pop is a very inclusive genre of music. People may claim to not like pop music but at the end of the day, everyone gets it stuck in their head. I like how contagious it can be, and even the people who hate it, sing it or hum it to themselves because they can’t deny how catchy it can be. It’s also just fun to sing pop songs, and they always seem to uplift my mood.

You have done a number of incredible collaborations with different producers and artists, including EDX, Inpetto and NERVO amongst others. How do you find the whole creative process differs for you, if at all, when you are working with others as opposed to working on your solo material?
As I said before, working with other people really opens your mind up to possibilities you wouldn’t have otherwise considered. It’s cool to work with new people because you sort of feed off each other’s energy and work together to make something great. I find when I work on my solo material the subject matter is a lot more personal, and while I love creating songs that are close to my heart, I also love experimenting with other people and finding somewhere in between.

For so long the music industry has not been a particularly safe space for women, in the main because it has been run by older, white, straight men since its inception. What are your thoughts on gender equality and sexism in the music industry?
I understand that gender equality and sexism is a massive issue not only in the music industry but in society in general, and I believe and hope we are now headed in a better direction than that of the past. I have been fortunate enough to work alongside amazing women and men in this industry and hope to see this kind of inclusion across the board in the future.

‘Spent’ is out now, what else is on the cards for Jess Ball in 2022?
2022 is going to be filled with music and I am extremely excited! I’ve got more solo material on the way as well as some awesome collaborations with DJs, including Tez Cadey. There will be many more live shows which I am extremely excited for.