Meet Jess Young, London's rising star using childhood memories to create soulful melodies

Words by Sunayah Arshad

If you’ve ever had the pleasure of speaking to Jess Young, it’s likely that you’ve encountered her warm, gentle persona and her hyper-creative nature. Born and bred in London, of East Asian heritage, Jess is a multi-disciplinary artist. With her experience as a talented nail technician, previously working at the now-closed iconic salon WAH Nails, Jess started her own inspiring platform. Called Boys in Polish, it challenges perceptions of masculinity while encouraging inclusivity - redefining beauty standards one painted nail at a time. As if that isn’t enough, she’s also a DJ, singer-songwriter AND producer.

Describing her DJ sound as “a fusion of chilled house, funk, and electronic hip hop”, Jess carefully selects and blends her tracks, creating the most seamless mixes. Listen back to some of her curations here.

Now, after taking the time to learn, develop and perfect both her vocals and production skills, Jess has released her very first single, ‘Fathers’. Entirely self-produced, the song touches on her personal experience with her father and their estranged relationship due to language barriers and generational differences. Discovering how this particular relationship has influenced other personal encounters, such as romantic situations, Jess uses these vulnerable moments to create her meaningful and relatable lyrics. Paired with her beautifully smooth, soulful vocals, her new sound is a recipe for success. In addition, it features the sweetest, heart-warming samples from her young niece Holly.

As the first element leading to her self-released EP, we discover more from London’s rising star…

Can you describe the moment you realised you wanted to write and create music?

I’ve always loved to sing since I was young. My earliest memory was me singing Vietnamese karaoke with my mum when I was a little girl, not that I know any of it anymore. My mum's friends would always say I had a lovely voice and that subconsciously stayed with me as I grew up. I really tapped into my musicality when I did music at secondary school. Doing music GCSE was a turning point for me and definitely my favourite subject at school. I did school concerts and all that jazz, but as college came around, I lost touch with my creative pursuits because I was so focused on doing well academically. As I started my art foundation, I was able to meet people who brought out that spark in me again, and that made me realise how much I miss and love making music. A few years after, as I stepped into my freelance career path, that’s when I realised that no matter what I do, my passion for music will never leave me, so I decided to study a music production course and take it seriously. I have no regrets!

Artwork for ‘Fathers’ by Livia Carpineto

Tell us a little about the process behind the creation of ‘Fathers’

This was actually created as I was doing my music production diploma. I felt such a buzz and energy creating it because at the same time I was learning all this new knowledge and stuff to play and experiment with. I was in my own music laboratory!

This is one of the few songs that I didn’t write with my guitar. I opened my project and started with a melodic sample. I was singing The Internet’s ‘Penthouse Cloud’ on top of the melody. The concept for this song sparked when I sang Syd’s hook:

“Father, oh Lord in heaven, is this how you saw it?

When you made your creation, is this what you wanted?

Is this what you wanted?”

I then began thinking about my father, and the moody, laid-back chords triggered thoughts about our estranged relationship from my childhood. So, I chopped up the sample of Syd singing that hook as the introduction to my story. As the song progressed I decided to write my own intro verse instead of using Syd’s vocals, but the majority of the song was inspired by those first two samples.

The theme of childhood and nostalgia was important for me and I wanted to convey this in my song. My six year old niece is singing in the song also and I’ve processed her vocals to make it sound more haunting and eerie, and reflect the mystery of my relationship with my father. I also used children’s toys as a partial drum kit to narrate the theme even more.

How has your upbringing as an East Asian woman in London shaped or influenced your creative identity?

Growing up I never had any East Asian woman musicians to look up to, apart from Amerie, so I never thought I was 'allowed' to pursue music. Then I thought that being a nail artist meant I couldn't do music alongside it, because musicians are just musicians, right? Now I see it through a totally different lens - I am unique and that’s what makes me special! Why would I want to be like everyone else? Now I’m proud to embrace all these things about me. I love that I’m an East Asian female music producer who also does other things. The sky's the limit and I am only in this world to do what I love and be myself.

I feel like the industry is quick to market East Asian women into 'pop' or 'tech' but R&B...not so much. I wonder why that is, but I’m here to prove that wrong because R&B and soul is all I have in my bones. I was brought up on it by my siblings. I don't have a sweet, timid voice and I don't dress in oriental clothing/ fetishise my culture to prove to the world that I’m Asian. There’s a whole spectrum of East Asian diaspora that goes beyond this stereotypical chinoiserie you see everywhere. For example, I’m just a North Londoner who loves to make music and paint nails. Yes, my lifestyle may be different to that of someone based in East Asia, but that doesn't make me any less East Asian.

The lyrics for 'Fathers' are deeply personal but also relatable for anyone that’s experienced feelings of distance in close relationships. Why was this topic important to touch on? Was it difficult to speak about?

The only way I can explain this was my soul just purging out of me. There are times where I sit and song-write and it takes me ages to think of the right things to say, but this really did just pour out of me. That's what happens when the melody hits right! It wasn't difficult for me. I actually felt joy being able to finally articulate this blockage of mine. The journey of writing and producing this song has actually set me free, and that's why I say music is my therapy. It really is. I hope my words can set many other people free from the same thing, because I know this is a common issue that isn't really spoken about. It was important for me to talk about this because it's not something I can directly say to my father due to language barriers, so this is my way of communicating really...and perhaps I’m communicating to other fathers around the world, what their daughters struggle to say. That is what I hope to do.

How do you channel your emotions and moments of vulnerability through your art?

Journalling is my life! I have been journalling since I was a kid, and the things that I journal naturally transform into lyrics, then songs. I would also say I have become increasingly introverted over the years, and enjoy having conversations with myself through my music. I guess it is a melodic extension of my journal. Everything stems from that really, and also reading books. If I come across a little quote or passage that resonates with me, I will journal it and it will carry me through whatever cycle I am in at the time.

Now that your first ever single is out, what’s next for Jess Young?

Oh I have more for you. This is just the beginning. I’m working with my lovely friend Liv, who has done the artwork, to tell you the rest of my story through more of my music. Honestly, I’m in a great place where I have so many song ideas written from my rawest life experiences. I just need to get it all produced now and do it justice!

Image 1

Photography: Jameela Elfaki

Stylist: Tanya Varma

Makeup: Yolanda Dohr

Hair: Julia Ganina

Jess wears @lazyoaf @flilogarb

Image 3:

Photography: Hidhir Badaruddin

Stylist: Tanya Varma

Makeup: Stevie Squire

Jess wears @lazyoaf @monki , hoops by @imagegang

Discover more from Jess here

‘Fathers’ is available to stream on Spotify and Apple Music! Listen here: