FEATURING : Jessie Standafer
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| image from : Jessie Standafer |
Music has a long history of being intertwined with activism. Jessie Standafer is getting to the root of that with her very own movement of "conscious music", which connects fun pop music with important social justice messages. Inspired by her own journey, Standafer's writing celebrates positivity, love, and acceptance, all through a perfectly poppy musical style. Standafer is not only a summer playlist essential, but she's also here to make you think.
Jessie Standafer began writing music as a way to express her own personal journey, which eventually grew into a way to help others. "My inspiration to write original music and lyrics coincided with my own growing self-love and acceptance when I came out as gay," the singer writes over email, "I started by writing about my own self-love journey, which blossomed into showing that love to others through being an active citizen - and writing about that." Standafer's musical style was inspired by the sounds she grew up with, but also developed as she got older: "I grew up on jazz & classical music with some musical theatre tossed in the mix, and then as I got closer to what was true for me, this electro-pop stuff started coming out!" Above all, the artist feels passionate about social issues and spreads awareness and change through her music. "I believe that we cannot be free individually until we are ALL free collectively," she says.
About activism through music, Standafer cites this quotation from Nina Simone as her "guiding light": "An artist's duty as far as I'm concerned is to reflect the times." Standafer explains, "I really have taken that on as my mantra and standard for creating. Conscious music is especially important right now. Artists have always been sources of inspiration during revolutionary times, and I think many of us are feeling a renewed sense of responsibility to infuse 'entertainment' with social justice messaging." Combining these important messages with Standafer's bright, electric, and memorable brand of pop creates a fool-proof formula. "Pop music is especially effective due to its repetitive, mantra-like structure so it can really get the collective psyche into a more positive, compassionate place," the songwriter asserts.
Jessie Standafer's 2016 single "Get Down" is an outstanding example of the artist's ability to blend sunny sounds with powerful meaning. "This song was really important for me to make," she reveals, "I have been out publicly since 2010, but my parents and some other family members are still very bigoted. They 'love' me, but their religion prevents them from loving ALL of me. But I feel so much freedom, even on a spiritual level, since I came out. I am now free to love myself exactly as I am, and consequently I am able to love other people exactly as they are. This is what Pride is all about!" Celebrating love and acceptance is at the heart of this song, with a focus on highlighting the fun, happy, and proud aspects of the LGBT+ community. "I think one of the most amazing qualities of the LGBTQ+ community is our joy & resilience," Standafer says, "So, I wanted to make a video celebrating fun, light-hearted, wholesome queer femme love! The song says 'the sun is out ... and so am I!' as two women share a sweet summertime Pride pool party kiss. It is meant to show how much love & fun we have in our community, and it is an invitation to those who feel obligated by religion or society to judge us, to let go of that burden and just LOVE with us!"
Standafer's conscious music movement is just getting started. The artist is planning on coming out with a new single very soon, and has some shows coming up. "I'm working on a v v lesbian love song and aiming to release it end of summer," she says, "It's a co write with my collaborator Jo Lee. They are a fabulous non-binary producer who I am also performing a new live electro-pop set with! We are currently booking shows through September, which we will announce on my website and all social media. Would love to see you all!" You can find Jessie Standafer's website by clicking here, or follow her on social media, @jessiestandafer on both Twitter and Instagram.
Listen to "Get Down" on Spotify and Apple Music below.
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