Love is in the air with Jakke’s latest EP, and we're soaking it all up...
Jakke released his debut EP, How Do You Love, with the intention of his listeners asking themselves that very question. He wants us, and wider society, to wonder ‘Is our love authentic? Is our love healthy? Is our love conscious?’. For the artist himself, the 5-track EP became a collection of how he feels and experiences love, set to trippy beats and swaying guitar melodies that create a world of their own. Jakke says that “the songs are a representation of significant growth on my part as a man, lover and a spiritual being. I hope they allow others to feel sexy, vivacious and to escape into their own world of limitless potential.”
Jake Goble has been working on his alt-rock moniker, Jakke, for the past two years, but admits that though the EP could have been released in lockdown, he decided to wait until people were no longer in isolation so they could truly experience the poignancy of the EP which is so heavily focused on connection. For Jakke, that connection could be ‘self-love, intimacy, lust, dependency, or love for the natural world’, but ultimately is different for each listener.
The summer debut of How Do You Love marks Goble’s transition from his previous indie-pop rock project, Enjune, to vibey, sexy alt-rockery – “think Glass Animals meets Phantogram”, he says. The previous 2018 project built his reputation within the industry, and Goble makes sure to emphasise that Enjune “will always be a vehicle I release certain records under, but Jakke is the driver of it all. When I work on projects of my own or with others, that’ll always be the name you see.” We caught up with Jakke to hear all about the EP, his music evolution and what’s coming next after a hit debut…
Congrats on your EP How Do You Love! Talk us through what inspired you to create it…
Coming off all of my first EP under my initial artist project, Enjune, I realized that the entire process of making that body of work was a lot about me processing grief and dark emotions. Ultimately, I decided that I wanted to create new music that was more relevant to the ways in which I like to experience music. I wanted to embody the feeling of being surrounded by life and energy, to write music that I could feel like I could perform to an audience at a festival and at the same time be one of those audience members feeling that exact same emotion. I didn’t know that I wanted to write another EP at first. I just wanted to write more music and to write it with other individuals and see what would happen. After I was introduced to my friend Colyer and became aware of his ability to produce certain styles of music with Island Police (trippy synths, distorted vocals and multiple building layers of percussion) that I was thoroughly a fan of, I knew that he would be the perfect person for me to collaborate with to create a new body of work. I wanted to write material that felt like it was a mix of rock ‘n’ roll and alternative hip hop beats. Screaming guitars and 808s; something that you could chill out to or you could also dance to. I’ve always been amazed at the versatility of certain hybrid styles of alt-pop music and how it can feel like it’s appropriate for multiple settings or situations.
What message do you hope people take away from it?
I didn’t have a concept for the EP ahead of writing it. It wasn’t until I had written all of the songs that I realized that there was a common thread for the most part. For me, it felt like all of the songs kept coming back to these different definitions of love in their own abstract way, whether that be love for yourself and your abilities, toxic love, lust, love for substances or altered states of consciousness (some might even call that addiction), deep divine love what I would call pure love, and also love for humanity and love for the natural world. I think people can interpret these songs in their own ways, based on their own unique experiences and how they relate to these meanings of love. I don’t want to necessarily tell them exactly what each song is about, but more or less, offer them some hints of what they’ve brought up for me and let them create their own meaning and stories through their own interpretations. I think that is the beauty of music. It’s not that you need to be told how to feel, but that you can feel however you want to feel. And yes, I think it’s really cool when a large demographic of people as a whole feel a common way about a song, but it’s also really beautiful to me when someone has their own completely unique reaction and maybe it helps them to process something super specific with which I really have no relatable experience.
How do you feel like your music has evolved so far?
I feel like the biggest way my music has evolved is my confidence and that’s not just, you know, my technical abilities, but just my overall confidence to be creative and try new things and express myself and not really care what people think, but to just be the paint on the canvas and roll around. Not worrying about being exactly perfect, but instead creating something and being okay with it and then moving on to make something else. Some of the songs on the EP I wrote three years ago and so just the amount that I have grown as an artist after they’ve come out since I wrote the first smart song has been pretty tremendous. But overall, I would also say that my music has become more consumable and the moods by which it is expressed are more in line with how people wanna feel whether that be excited or sexy, weird or just chilled out.
What do you envision the future of music to look like?
I honestly don’t think more about the future of music more than I have to haha. This is also funny because I work as a UI/UX designer at an NFT company and while there’s always a lot of speculating and forecasting on which ways the music industry can change and how the culture of music can evolve, I think that the future of music is going to just continue to be more hybridization of different styles, cultures and technology and as we, as as different consumers and creators, are able to connect with people from different parts of the world and different backgrounds in different tastes, there will just be new blends of styles and experiences based on things that have already been done. I think dance music will continue to grow to be even bigger and it will absorb other genres. I think that will go in cycles of having certain classic styles or contemporary styles that are more popular in different cultural waves. And I also think and hope that there will be new ways in which we can have interactive experiences, whether it’s physical or virtual. I think technology still has a bit of a way to go, but we will get there and if people really want to be strapped into some virtual headset bodysuit and be in a mosh pit in a Rage Against The Machine metaverse concert, then they’ll do that, or if they want to lay in a wave pool and watch BTS perform as hologram dragons above, it will happen. At the end of the day, I think what most artists and most fans want is to have more meaningful interactions whatever that may be. How can fans show their dedication for an artist and in return be rewarded? How can an artist find new ways to add value to their most loyal fans in fun and interesting ways that they haven’t yet? Whoever finds those keys will shape the future.
What is one change you’d love to make to the industry?
I think that one change that I would make to the music industry is I would want to find better ways for independent artists to earn more for their art and for how it’s streamed and consumed. Work with big streaming platforms, labels and other tech/press entities to try to take down certain pay walls or barriers to artists getting exposure that I know are currently preventing them from getting music out in front of new fans. I’d want artists to have the resources to take better care of themselves and not have to struggle and burn out trying to make ends meet as they give everything to create. Art and music is such a gift. In my opinion it’s what keeps the world motivated. I understand not every artist can make it, many do not. But if we lose too many artists to the toils and suffering of the system, then culture is doomed as a whole.
"I think it’s really cool when a large demographic of people as a whole feel a common way about a song, but it’s also really beautiful to me when someone has their own completely unique reaction and maybe it helps them to process something super specific with which I really have no relatable experience."
If you could collaborate with any musician in the future, who would it be and why?
Fred again… His energy and inventive sound is so captivating and inspiring. He seems like such a genuine person and it’s very clear that it translates into his music. There’s a certain raw emotion that I feel he’s been able to tap into that a lot of other contemporary artists haven’t been able to create. Whenever one of his songs comes on I just completely get distracted and can’t help but get into it and feel all of the energy and emotion that went into making the song. I just wanna dance. I think it would be so cool to take my own style and flair and find a rad way to blend it into one of his beautiful soundscapes.
Where would be your dream venue to play?
It would be a dream of mine to, without a doubt, play somewhere like Red Rocks or The Gorge. Somewhere that is outside and has a natural amphitheater surrounded by the natural elements and beautiful scenery. I’ve never been to The Gorge, but I have been to a couple shows at Red Rocks and they were just so fun and memorable!
Who are you betting on for future stardom?
I have two friends Nick and Nick who have this awesome project called Jackets, that just recently launched. They’ve written a plethora of incredibly epic and vibey dance tracks and I’ve been super fortunate enough to have written some of them with them. I don’t think a lot of people know what’s coming and I can’t wait to see their journey and to be a part of it, so stay tuned – you heard it here first. 🙂
Where do you hope to be in the next year?
The next year is all about growth and investing more in myself through how I take care of myself, whether that’s fitness, diet, sleep, practicing emotional empathy, expressing vulnerability and just seeking out others to collaborate with as we elevate one another. I call it my personal R/D phase. Lately, I’ve been so incredibly galvanized working with artists like Eli & Fur, TÂCHES, Jackets and Lemon Blue. The writing sessions that I’ve had have given me so much affirmation and have made me realize what I am capable of, as well as the directions in which I want to take my music and the music I help write for others.
Over the next 7 months, I’ll be releasing a fleet of remixes of the tracks off the latest EP for which I’m really excited. It’s been super fun collaborating and coordinating with 10 different producers from around the world to make it happen. A year from now, I’d love to have a solid idea and a good chunk of new, original songs written that will make up a full length album. I’d also love to have a bunch of features and writing credits with other notable artists. I honestly feel the most inspired and healthiest that I have ever been in my entire life and I know preserving that will unlock all the potential required to reach these goals. Shout out to my partner, Krizia, for always believing in me and never letting remain stagnant in my expressions of art.
The next 5 years?
Over the next 5 years, I hope to travel the world, writing music, performing music as I experience the unknown and push myself to try new things creatively and challenge myself to be more technical with my abilities. Having my music career support these exploits, and not having to worry about working so much on other exploits in order to be able to afford being a blossoming artist, living and enjoying the type of life that I want. I don’t care about fancy cars or luxury. I don’t need to be rich and famous. I just wanna be comfortable and be able to explore and share my journey with my partner and make the most of the precious time that I have left in this beautiful thing we call life. I am inspired to be able to share my gifts with people of all walks of life and to understand as much as I can about the world and be a student of love, creation and divinity, so that I may be a beacon for others to do the same. Perhaps you’ll get to see me perform at Red Rocks with an orchestra or in the metaverse with Fred again? Anything and everything is possible 🙂
