Exclusive Interview with JASI BELLA

Jasi Bella is a Swedish singer-songwriter with a propensity for creating appealing melodies and fascinating narratives. Being a passionate storyteller, she draws inspiration for her songs from her own personal trials and tribulations. In addition to evoking emotion through pertinent lyrics, Jasi appears to have an innate ability to offer music in a variety of styles while maintaining a consistent brand, which is one of the characteristics that make this artist one to watch.

The latest release by Jasi, ‘Claim Me,’ transforms a tongue-in-cheek metaphor-filled melody into an all-out pop hymn that injects fun into the pursuit game. “Claim Me” depicts the narrative of a short-lived romance that may have been but wasn’t. The song’s upbeat, catchy melody hits all the right notes. As is typical of her work, it is filled with bright melodies, seductive rhythms, and just the perfect amount of danger.
This song demonstrates the artist’s unique ability to capture the essence of a moment. After its conception in Los Angeles, the singer-songwriter relocated to London to finalize the track with renowned Producer Wolvo (Kylie Minogue, Labrinth).

Jasi’s performance, which is filled with catchy lyrics and quick earworms, indicates a significant progression. “Claim Me” is an unforgettable addition to the artist’s most recent repertoire and is certain to be a hit with her growing fan base. Check out the song and the exclusive interview below:

1. Can you tell us a bit about where you come from and how it all got started?

JASI BELLA: I’m originally from the north of Sweden. As cheesy as it sounds, I’ve been singing for as long as I can remember but more interestingly, I’ve always been making up my own lyrics. There are videos from when I was five years old where I asked my family and grandmother to sit down and watch me perform, then I’d use a melody they already knew but I’d change the lyrics entirely to my own. I kept asking my family to gather in the living room and watch me perform my own songs, often wise I was entirely freestyling these songs too. The natural progression from that was starting to perform in school in every way that I could and then forcing my grandmother to take me up and down the country for music competitions. She believed in me more than anyone so I have her to thank for a lot of it.

2. Did you have any formal training or are you self-taught?

JASI BELLA: I’m self taught but I definitely think all the competitions I attended were a form of training. They always had a jury which meant I was always left with advice on how to improve and take things to the next level. I’m trying to nurture my voice better now though through vocal coaching, I had to get to a certain age before I realised that my vocal chords need as much love and attention as any muscle in my body.

3. Who were your first and strongest musical influences and why the name?

JASI BELLA: Definitely Britney Spears. My family would always catch me trying to replicate her dance moves in front of the TV. I really believe she was the one who introduced me to the idea of becoming an artist, I was obsessed with devoting my life to it after watching the video for ‘Oops I did it again!’ and ‘Hit Me Baby One More Time’ on repeat a million times. Being Swedish, my mother was a super fan of ABBA so that had a big impact on me as well. Jasi Bella is actually a merge of my first name and one of my middle names. Jasi is from Jasmine (and one of my frequent nick names) and Bella is from Isabella.

4. What do you feel are the key elements in your music that should resonate with listeners, and how would you personally describe your sound?

JASI BELLA: I’ve always been one to read into lyrics and secret messages (even before the dawn of Taylor Swift, whom I LOVE). My lyrics and the story I’m trying to tell will always come first, everything is secondary to that, so when people take their time to read into them and understanding them, it makes my heart so full. Our stories are the most powerful things to connect through. For me, honesty is such an important element of songwriting. Everything I struggle telling people in person usually ends up in a song, they’re messages in bottles. Sound wise I’m leaning towards commercial pop with some added quirkiness. Myself and my producer want the tracks to feel and sound in line with my message. ‘Claim Me’ for example is a really cheeky song and after every blunt request such as ‘but I wish you’d come over, be a little bolder’ you can hear this little voice effect go ‘AAH??!’, portraying almost a little shocked reaction to what I just sang. I love details like that.

5. For most artists, originality is first preceded by a phase of learning and, often, emulating others. What was this like for you? How would you describe your own development as an artist and music maker, and the transition towards your own style, which is known as Pop?

JASI BELLA: Pop was the first style I was introduced to, but my teens were consumed by punk-rock and emo style music – as part of my young rebellion haha! Artist like Avril Lavigne and Paramore introduced more honesty and ‘brutality’ to the way I expressed myself through my songwriting. When Taylor Swift entered the scene I returned to my early days of turning diary entries into songs. By analysing her songs I realised that pride and fear of what others may think doesn’t have a place in songwriting. She truly taught me that you should always write your songs as if no one will ever hear them. I’ve stuck to this ever since. Genre wise, my catalogue so far has been fluid and experimental but I knew I’d return to where I started, to the type of pop that makes a 5 year old dance until she drops in front of the TV.

6. What’s your view on the role and function of music as political, cultural, spiritual, and/or social vehicles – and do you try and affront any of these themes in your work, or are you purely interested in music as an expression of technical artistry, personal narrative, and entertainment?

JASI BELLA: Music is definitely personal for me and often wise a personal narrative will relate to issues on a broader scale that other people can relate to. My song ‘Your Ex’ , for example, was written from a perspective of crushing the ‘crazy-ex-girlfriend’ stereotype. I dated someone who would paint this whole story up of his ex. I bumped into the ex and she kindly tried to warn me about him but I decided to buy into the stereo-type story instead. Later down the line I realised she was right all along and he had been feeding me a fair few lies. I became friends with this girl and she was in fact a lovely person. Tearing apart female stereotypes is something I feel really passionate about and a likely theme to be running throughout my music.

I think social and political messages in music plays a huge role in society because everyone consumes information and a different point of view through different medias but music is one of the medias where things don’t have to be as curated and polished. It’s a conversation between the artist and the listener.

7. Do you feel that your music is giving you back just as much fulfillment as the amount of work you are putting into it or are you expecting something more, or different in the future?

JASI BELLA: Music has always been my creative outlet and therapy and that was enough fulfilment for me for a long time. Growing up I never expected anyone to ever hear my songs and now that I’m able to share them it only makes it all the more special. I think its important to make music for yourself, it’s not sustainable if you’re only doing it for the crowd.

8. Could you describe your creative processes? How do you usually start, and go about shaping ideas into a completed song? Do you usually start with a tune, a beat, or a narrative in your head? And do you collaborate with others in this process?

JASI BELLA: I’ve mainly been a solo act when it comes to writing my lyrics, it’s a personal process for me but I’ve been experimenting more recently when it comes to writing with other creatives. It sounds incredibly cheesy, but songs just ‘come to me’.

Sometimes it’s a short melody, sometimes it’s a couple of sentences, sometimes it’s a concept and sometimes it’s just a good song title. My mind is always in a ‘writing-mode’, so a lot of my ideas hit me in really inconvenient situations where I have to run off and record a memo on my phone.

9. What has been the most difficult thing you’ve had to endure in your life or music career so far?

JASI BELLA: My grandmother was such a big part of my musical journey. She was my biggest supporter and biggest fan so I felt quite lost when she passed away. Her passing combined with my on-and-off-boyfriend at the time not showing up to the funeral ,although he had promised to, made for one of the saddest songs I’ve written to date called ‘Collateral’. I hope I’m brave enough to share that song with everyone this year, it’s been a long time coming.

10. On the contrary, what would you consider a successful, proud or significant point in your life or music career so far?

JASI BELLA: It’s the small things for me. Hearing your song on big radio stations is naturally something I could only have dreamed of as a child, but the moments that floor me are when strangers reach out over DM;s to tell me their 5 year old child has been running around the house dancing and screaming the words to ‘Your Ex’ and ‘Claim Me’. Connecting with people who like my music and something as insane as having my music be part of someone’s child hood is just wild and amazing in the best way to me.