We are joined by Cairns, Australia based artist and producer, Jade Schuck, in the light of her single release, ‘I Wish I Really Didn’t Care’.
Jade began her solo musical journey after many years of playing guitar or bass for bands around the Cairns region, as well as forming her folk/rock/pop band ‘Hard2Miss’ with fellow musicians, Clara Satzke and Claire Tunbridge.
Inspired by the likes of Ruby Waters, Phoebe Bridgers and Lizzy McAlpine, she released her debut single, ‘Waiting’ in 2019, which was followed by ‘Back To Concrete’ in 2020.
“Every day is a new opportunity to change your life and be who you want to be” Jade Schuck
Jade Schuck’s latest single, ‘Wish I Really Didn’t Care’, takes the listener on an inner journey through an easy-listening/folk/pop landscape, as she speaks of freedom and the ability to accept personal growth.
Within her songwriting, Jade reflects on her own experiences and desires to let go, despite feeling unprepared for what is to come.
You can listen to ‘Wish I Really Didn’t Care’ below:
Would you like to start by telling us a little about your background?
Hi, my name is Jade Schuck and was born and raised in Far North Queensland on a sugarcane farm
around 15km north of the small township of Mossman.
What began your exploration of a music career?
I have always had a love and passion for creativity and self expression through art – whether that be music, visual art or the written word.
Growing up, I remember waking up early in the mornings just to watch Rage – it was my favourite thing to do on the weekends.
I would watch that show for hours – aspiring to be like the artists in the music video clips.
From there I found the music that resonated with me and discovered artists I wanted to learn from.
This sparked an interest in learning the guitar and the progression on to writing my own original material.
Fortunately, my parents made that next step easier as there were always musical instruments hanging from the walls in our house, just begging to be played.
How would you describe the feel of your music?
My music is easy-listening, very indie-folk-acoustic. I love creating songs that feel as though you are floating when listening to them – like you can escape to a place of your choosing for those 3-4 minutes of the song.
The instruments and backing vocal arrangements create a cloud for the listener to float on – the words build the emotional platform.
You have recently released your single, ‘Wish I Really Didn’t Care’.. what was the inspiration behind the creation of this single?
My latest release ‘ Wish I Really Didn’t Care’ was written to express feelings of uncertainty and trying to navigate oneself as a young adult.
We don’t only navigate the world around us; we desirably navigate personal selves on our journey through this realm.
For me, the inspiration for the song resides in having the courage to identify, understand, let go of feelings and continue the journey and I use the ‘wind’ as a metaphor to express these feelings since to me, feelings are fluid and ever evolving.
What does ‘Wish I Really Didn’t Care’ mean to you?
My first lyric; “I’m floating through the air, caught by the wind’s attention”, is to me a very powerful and visual lyric.
It could potentially mean several things to different listeners but for me, I can imagine myself as a flower petal being carried along by the wind without control – I am merely accepting the journey.
In the second verse the lyrics read “can you reach for me?”; here I am tired of trying to fix it all on my own (I’ve tried and been unsuccessful) and now I am asking for help.
In the chorus I go on to say “What am I scared of, things can always change love” because it’s not always hard – things do get easier and with the right people around you; everything will be ok.
Whilst I provide what it means to me, in truth none of that is relevant.
The song potentially provides a basis for personal thought and reflection beyond which it is for the listener to assign the meaning in the context of their own personal circumstances.
The song simply provides the vehicle for the listener.
The important thing for me here is that none of this is static.
As time passes, so too does the meaning of the song.
What did the creative process look like for ‘Wish I Really Didn’t Care’?
The creative process for this song was surprisingly quick compared to previous releases.
After writing the majority of the song, I felt there was something missing in the lyrics so I reached out to
a fellow musician to complete the lyrical phrasing and sequence.
From there I jumped straight into the studio and recorded the sounds and effects that I was looking for.
I think it helped already having a vision for the song and where I wanted to take it musically.
The post production stage however, does take some time as I record and produce all of my own songs.
Sometimes you get to a point where you have to say “enough is enough, I can’t keep changing this little section of the song”.
The critical aspect of the creative process is sometimes you need to get it down as quickly as you can to capture the essence of your creativity at a moment in time – to freeze or hold the thought and accompanying emotions generated from those thoughts. Thoughts can be powerful but they allude you if too much time passes.
Fortunately, the creative ideas on this song flowed seamlessly and I managed to capture that quickly which made it much more enjoyable.
Where do you find your inspiration for your music?
My inspiration for songs is usually prompted by personal experiences or situations I have been involved with that make me feel a certain way sufficiently to drive me to capture those feelings and document that through song.
An event occurs in my life which triggers a desire to capture the story behind that event through song.
An analogy is simple word-of-mouth storytelling.
We all seek to remember how a given moment in time felt and this is captured through the songwriting
process.
It helps people to remember how things felt in the past. I always say to people that I’m not great at sharing my feelings but there is something about music that makes it much easier to express myself.
I found that if you have something to say and you have an urge to say it then the inspiration is there – all you have to do is write it down on paper.
It’s my preferred vehicle for expression – my preferred language.
How has Covid-19 impacted your release?
Undoubtedly, there have been impacts on the live music front but it hasn’t been as severe in the Far North; in fact I’d state that we have been very lucky and with everything up and running again, there hasn’t been any real impact for this release.
What would you like to see happen for you in your music from here?
My intention for this year is to release another two singles followed by more music video content
to help with the visual aspect of my music.
Hopefully later on in the year I can schedule a small tour.
If this is delayed for any reason until next year, listeners can expect to see more music content throughout this year.
What is one message you would like to share with your fans?
Get excited for a year of new music, new styles, and beautiful harmonies.
Where can people find your music?
You can find my music on all streaming platforms – Spotify, Apple Music, iTunes, Deezer, Pandora and Amazon.
Karen Harding is a Melbourne, Australia based singer/songwriter, founder of Sounds On The Couch, and founder and operator of boutique music PR service for emerging and independent artists, Rise Indie.