After his covers album His greatest hits and a collaboration with Mike Clay, Jay Scøtt is back with All the streets are silent. This album “navigates the nostalgia of a time he wouldn’t necessarily like to relive,” the statement says. Is that true? We asked him.
Is it okay? Because despite the success of recent years, the lyrics of some of the songs of All the streets are silent do not necessarily reflect the joy of living.
I’m doing great! Writing songs has always been my defense mechanism to externalize certain feelings. Also, when you read a Patrick Senécal, it’s not all true. For me, writing music is like writing a book or a movie. The line between what is true and what is not is hard to define. I understand that people can ask themselves this question when listening to my music, but I’m fine. Mom, I’m fine!
Almost exactly three years ago, you told my colleague Charles-Éric Blais-Poulin that you were “pinching yourself” because you couldn’t believe your songs were being played on the radio. Is that still the case or have you gotten used to it?
Pour vrai, je me pince encore ! Après une petite pause de scène, je suis récemment revenu avec cinq spectacles et du monde connaissait mes nouvelles tounes. J’en ai sorti une seulement deux semaines avant le premier spectacle et la foule récitait les paroles !
Après des collaborations fort bien reçues avec FouKi et Mike Clay, ce nouvel album est entièrement solo. Est-ce qu’il n’y avait que toi qui pouvais exprimer ton état d’esprit ?
C’est plus facile pour moi de rentrer dans l’univers de quelqu’un d’autre que de demander à quelqu’un de rentrer dans le mien. Je ne sais pas si c’est de la gêne, mais je n’ai même pas pensé inviter un artiste. J’ai composé et produit toutes les chansons. J’ai joué tous les instruments. Dans le futur, je vais peut-être faire appel à d’autre monde…
Des artistes, des thèmes ou des courants ont inspiré cet album ?
J’ai écouté beaucoup [le regretté] Mac Miller during the four months that I recorded and I realized that his writing was not so far from mine, in terms of emotions and the way he talked about his life. He had a certain transparency that made me connect a lot with his lyrics. I think it’s the same transparency that makes people connect with me. Plus, he was also producing himself.
Do you smoke as much cannabis as you sing?
I haven’t smoked for two years!
Excerpt from Sorryby Jay Scott
But in the song Sorryyou mention that you made your loved ones believe that you no longer take drugs, but in fact, you still do. The lie is on the album, then?
On this album, I talk a lot about my past, but mixed with what’s happening in the present. I blur the lines a little. […] I worked at the SQDC for three years. Cannabis has long been a part of my life. During the creation process, when I was faced with a blank page, I told myself that if I smoked, I would have 108 ideas, but they probably wouldn’t be good. When I composed under the influence of cannabis, I found the result sick, but the next morning, it was the worst thing I had ever heard in my life. Whereas now, if I find the song good in the evening, it will still be good the next morning.
You played a few festivals this summer. You’re going to play three shows in Montreal and Quebec City in October. What’s the difference between the two?
In a live show, people pay a ticket to see you, which gives an atmosphere that can’t be compared. In a festival, there are sometimes so many people that the atmosphere can be just as incredible. If I had to choose, I’d definitely vote for my launch [rires]. […] This summer, something memorable happened at the Sainte-Perpétue Pig Festival: my guitar amp died, so I went down into the crowd and played an acoustic song. It created a wonderful moment where I sang along with the audience around me.
How do you see the future?
I feel like I’m closing a chapter that hasn’t even opened yet, because the album hasn’t come out and the shows haven’t been done. On stage, I’m going to have more instruments, more different moments, because I was a lot guitar-voice during the last tour. I’m really looking forward to the shows across Quebec.
The album All the streets are silent will be released on September 20th. Jay Scøtt will be performing on October 4 and 5 at Club Soda in Montreal, then on October 25 at Théâtre Petit Champlain in Quebec City.
Folk rap
All the streets are silent
Jay Scott
117 Records