Jumping though a Hoop

jescahoop

When most songwriters start off they are lucky if their parents like them but not so Jesca Hoop who won the endorsement of Mr Tom Waits.

The gravelled voiced legend described her music as ‘like going swimming in a lake at night.’

“It’s spectacular, and a real blessing to have that sort of endorsement. It was a long time ago, but it works, and it helps to turn people on to my music. It’s a great honour.

“The endorsement came through getting to know him and sharing my music and getting his feedback so he genuinely thought he could endorse me. I was a small town kid living in the same town, and his endorsement came from watching me grow as a writer and the music I was making.”

But nice words from celebrity fans mean nothing if you can’t cut it, and Jesca Hoop is building a big reputation as one of the best new songwriters.

She is playing gigs in Hebden Bridge and Leeds to promote her third album The House That Jack Built, including ‘DNR’ chronicling Jesca’s turbulent relationship with her father.

“As ever there is a real kind of arc to the sonic range from song to song, but there are heavy elements. It’s a heavy one and quite dark, but some fun too.

“When I was writing a song like ‘DNR’, which is the kind of explicit, I had to contend with the thought whether it was too personal, and I came to the conclusion that it’s actually not personal at all. It’s something millions of people go through and it’s not specific to me, although some details might be specific to me.

“I asked myself if it was self indulgent but is not just about me, it’s about being human.”

Hoop took herself of to Los Angeles to work on her new album with long time collaborators Shawn Evertt, Blake Mills and Tony Berg.

“I’ve made my records with these people in the past, and they’ve kept themselves in the roles where one acts as the engineer, one would be the guitarist and the other would be the producer.

“This time we decided to give everyone more of an equal footing, so it was more kind of a full collaboration, and the process were democratic to the point where I had to make some decisions. The creative tension was a positive force.”

Not content with building her own career Jesca went out on the road with world music guru Peter Gabriel, but meeting one of your inspirations can be fraught with danger if they turn out to be an asshole.

“I was a fan of Peter’s and I’m bigger one now. He’s one of those people who you think very highly of, and he doesn’t let you down if you know what I mean. He’s a real gentleman, a kind person and his voice is as strong as ever.”

In some ways the video for her duet ‘Murder of Birds’, with her high profile British mentor Guy Garvey, is reminiscent of Gabriel’s ‘Don’t Give Up’ with Kate Bush.

“If only, as ‘Don’t Give Up’ was a beautiful video.

“I met Guy through music, becoming friends through music, before I did a couple of tours with Elbow, and as a result my life changed direction.

“Getting to know the Elbow folk led to me moving to England from LA, and he’s had a great impact on me. The connection is still very strong, we’re good buds and Guy has the ear of the British people.”

This time Jesca is touring with a full band is promising her bands something very different at her Yorkshire gigs.

“We’re coming to Hebden Bridge with a band that isn’t interested in just playing the songs as they are recorded, and although it will sound like the album, people in the UK will be seeing something they’ve never seen from me live.

“The last Leeds gig we has some strange electrical problems, but the audiences are awesome. I’m finding my audiences are very sweet people, but we’re going to have a very rad sound.”

*Jesca Hoop plays the Trades Club in Hebden Bridge on Friday 22 June and The Brudenell Social Club on Friday 29 June.