BIO:
Mixing personal lyrics with layers of ethereal sound, Jezzy & The Belles allows listeners to connect with their emotions while simultaneously escaping into a lush
soundscape. Jezzy, Brooklyn based singer/songwriter, grew up surrounded by an
intense love of music stimulated by her father’s encyclopedic knowledge of classical music and her Cuban mother’s warm and sensual Latin sounds playing in the house. This early and eclectic exposure to music served as an incubator for Jezzy’s interest and exploration of numerous genres from glam rock to shoegaze to Brit Pop to folk.
As a result, Jezzy intertwines a myriad of musical traditions to make her own unique sound.
Jezzy started out as an orchestral violinist, which she admits to liking largely in part to the fact that she didn't have to talk and was able to connect solely through music. "Somehow we were all able to be on the same level without language. It was mystifying and comforting for a kid who spent a lot of time alone,” says Jezzy. Her desire for a connection was fueled by a sense of isolation that was felt at an early age, which eventually led her to create music as an outlet for self-expression. “I spent a lot of time by myself as a kid, so from there I learned to appreciate music as a companion. I fed off of its honesty, unabashed expression of permanent, irreparable loss. I found comfort in the music I was listening to and in some ways I want to do that for other people. I began to try to come up with catchy melodies on my own, ones that would pull people in," she says.
Citing her desire to perform and be part of a band early on, Jezzy’s musical chops were
honed by playing various styles of guitar, as well as violin in several New York bands
(Soft, The Wifebeaters, and Panadar). After her final band disbanded, Jezzy chose to instead focus on recording her own material despite enjoying the energy of performing live and connecting with the audience. Jezzy teamed up with producer Ilia Bis, to record the album, Compasses & Maps, a record filled with vulnerable verse paired with infectious melodies and beats. The title is a thematic play on where the songstress found herself emotionally. “The negative emotions are what keep us regressing. So I wrote the record to document my process through it, sort of accepting of past events and moving forward and simultaneously trying to find some ground. It's a pretty optimistic record,” Jezzy says.
On a more literal level, the album was inspired by the numerous journeys Jezzy had taken in the US and around the world. “The experiences I had traveling on my own were a big part of what the record is about. Memories of all kinds of experiences being abroad, trying to figure out how to get to where I'm going, the loneliness of navigating on your own, and the joy of stumbling upon unexpected gems,” she recalls. Compasses and Maps captures those moments of isolation, love, mystery, and inspiration.
Jezzy & the Belles will be out on a national tour in Summer 2012.
CONTACT:
LAUREN APPLEBAUM
LINKS:
BANDCAMP
TOUR/PRESS: