Djessy Swan's Debut: Violin-Led Poetry

“The violin is one of the biggest conveyors of emotions to me, and I loved giving the soul a voice through the violin.” – Djessy Swan

The track "Lions and Wolves," a preview of her upcoming EP, What Souls Are Made Of, showcases Djessy Swan’s vocals and her violin as two dual integral leaders taking turns while guiding the listener through the blend of jazz, classical and tango.

Miriam Boulos: “Lions and Wolves” is the first single off your upcoming EP What Souls are Made Of. Any particular reason you chose this song to represent the first touch of the world of your upcoming EP?

Djessy Swan: I feel like the song came to me and invited itself onto this EP. I had a different concept in mind at the start, but this was the first song I wrote and recorded during that time, and it revealed to me a very honest yet warm theme that I felt would be the most true to myself as a person and an artist. Then I based the theme of the EP on it, which is about a heart that’s opening and the soul feeling free to walk and fly into this world. That sounds poetic, but basically, it’s just about embracing and being yourself, something that I’ve struggled with and I know many people in this world might too. I wish for everyone to feel free and be warm towards both themselves and others. This song has invited me into this music world that became the EP, and it was natural to put it as the first song. The EP also revolves around different points in the cycle of opening yourself up, and this song embodies the first steps in this process: decision making and seeing your own sun inside.

MB: With a palpable touch of classical music but also jazz especially through the dominance of the violin, do you take on the violin as a dominant instrument throughout the EP as well?

DS: As I am a violinist from origin, and also a songwriter/composer for many years, I felt that on this record that’s about being true to yourself, I also had to be true musically and embrace every part of my musicianship. I’ve dived a lot into Argentinean tango music, as well as growing up with classical and a touch of jazz. These influences appear inevitably in my violin playing and composing, and in every song I just had to play violin, though in some moments more in the background and some in the foreground. I think in “Lions and Wolves” it is the most prominent of all, as its fierce energy fits so well there. The violin is one of the biggest conveyors of emotions to me, and I loved sort of giving the soul a voice through the violin. I love singing as well though, and I have a big love for lyrics and poetry, so I aimed to balance it all very well with each other throughout the EP.

MB: This track has a deep melancholy and existentiality attached to its sounds; would you agree with this?

DS: I feel like before change happens, you will feel a melancholy about the status quo, and a deep realization of where you’re at and where you’re heading. The song keeps moving through different moods and goes through some evolution, while still holding its identity at the center. I think that’s an equivalent of how we might experience our existence, at least I do.

MB: It’s also cinematic and the sounds carry mythical quality, with the sweeping strings, pounding percussion, and your powerful vocals. Can you discuss the production approach you took to create such an epic, larger-than-life sound on "Lions and Wolves"?

DS: The feeling behind the song came first, and then the question came how that sound could come alive through music. I immediately felt that a band with orchestral elements could embody the feeling. Then there was this sort of funny moment where I sat together with producer and engineer Jesus Martinez, and as recording comes with a practical side as well, I literally told him “I will start naming instruments, and you have to say ‘stop’ right when you feel it’s not practical anymore” After naming all the instruments I felt belonged to the “Lions and Wolves” as well as ‘instrument family’, he didn’t say “stop” at all, and so we began an intense recording process. I’m thankful for that. It was a real labour of love that we approached together with my co-producers Jesus Martinez and Arina Korenyu, and a big team of engineers and musicians that worked on the song.

MB: The lyrics seem to touch on themes of inner strength, resilience, and finding one's power. What was the inspiration behind? Is there a personal story or message you hoped to convey through this song?

DS: It is a theme in my life that is recurrent and that I tend to keep in my inner world that doesn’t come out of there. I guess it comes from experiences from childhood onwards, in which I didn’t always feel welcome as I was in society, and adapted a lot in order to fit in and be accepted. This song is about taking steps to accept yourself, and live exactly how you are. That encompasses what you say, do, the path you take, what you express. If the departure point is your honest heart, you will feel the power inside to go on this journey of self-embodiment, and you will land well. That’s what I believe now. It was a song that I felt came to be as a friend for that part of me that needed to hear those lyrics, and it is a strong wish of mine it may help anyone that goes through the same.

At the same time, the song can be interpreted in many ways and I love that. In these times I think it’s more important than ever to base our choices upon love, instead of fear. That means to stand up for your values and for what you love. That might be nature, human rights, a wish for peace, or anything your heart calls for.

MB: Was this the first time you do vocals and is the instrumentation also produced by yourself? As a multi-talented violinist, vocalist, composer, lyricist, and producer, how do you balance and integrate all these different roles in your creative process? I feel like we can totally hear it through this track, can you walk us through?

DS: I had been doing vocals for a bit of a longer time, but it was the first time recording and putting myself out there as a vocalist. I loved it though, the voice is such a part of who you are and a reflection of how you feel, it was nice to go into that. Balancing my different roles felt easy in the sense that I had a clear vision of where to go musically with the meaning of the song, and all these musical sides of me were just serving that vision. But also, it can feel like a lot on your shoulders, so I’m glad my co-producers were quite helpful in making certain decisions or sticking to them when I saw too many options. It’s a luxury to have two extra pairs of great ears in the room.

MB: The build up towards the end of the track took me by surprise as it happens and bursts off right before closing down like a sunset. Can you walk me through the creative process behind that climactic moment? What inspired that grand crescendo and abrupt ending, both musically and conceptually? How did you approach building the tension and emotion to reach that powerful finale?

DS: I resonate a lot with the image of a heart containing the soul inside, and the heart opening up in order to let the soul shine into the world freely. This doesn’t happen without some struggle, and for me the beginning of the violin solo shows that struggle of longing. Then after journeying some more, the big build up feels to me as the clear decision to open up, while being grounded by support. I have synesthesia so I see colours with music, and I had this beautiful image in mind to see that build up as a sort of upward slow-motion tornado of colours. The wolflike vibe and the violin are also intertwining, which is symbolic too.

I think very visually, sometimes in a slightly surreal way. It feels as if I’m sort of film scoring my lyrics and the imagery in my mind, to take the listener on this journey.

The final moments of the song feel like an open ending to a book, you know there’s a lot about to happen, but it is about the process towards that.

Well, the songs on the EP are all intertwined, from different perspectives. So you might feel different parts of the process there too. I won’t tell you too much though, not yet .

MB: Where did the title "Lions and Wolves" come from?

DS: The very first version of the lyrics was quite different. It was more poetically crafted, containing words drawing towards the energy of livelihood, inner aliveness, and power. This is still a vibe that threads through the song. However, I felt a longing for more personal lyrics. As I read back the initial lyrics, I closed my eyes, and looked at what was staying around in my imagination. I saw the image of a night sky, and a big lion on the left side, a big wolf on the right, and them just looking into my eyes. It gave me chills, as I felt this vision telling me so much all at once. Those eyes called, with warmth, for pure honesty. Afterwards, I wrote down what I felt, and let the imagery evolve. These lyrics that came out right away, are still my favourite lyrics: “Lions and wolves look right into my eyes, they see the stars that are there inside. They tell me “darling, just navigate on yourself, through the night”. The title seemed very natural to choose afterwards.

MB: Your debut EP What Souls Are Made Of was recorded during your time at Berklee College of Music. Do you have a sense that studying in Valencia, Spain with all these people from all around the globe influence your artistic development and the creation of this EP?

DS: First of all, it was wonderful to create the EP with such a passionate team of musicians, engineers, co-producers. Everyone brought so much talent to the table, and their own unique perspective, from their personality and where they had grown up musically. There are people from so many different countries playing on this record, it’s insane. Anyway, when I for example heard Ananya Sharma and Akshay Baheti sing together one night at a jam session, I really wanted to include them in my song, they’re the vocalists that I have a ‘conversation’ with towards the end of the song. I endearingly called them my wolves.

In the end, even if I had a vision clear beforehand, the people I worked with all delivered a real spark to it, which was their own unique musical voice.