Late last year, when Western Australian singer-songwriter Jengyz released his latest single Inside My Head, we were immediately captivated by his melancholic and arresting sounds.
Jengyz creates the kind of songs that consume you wholly. With his deep resonant vocals, he weaves inescapable sonic landscapes. So fresh off the single’s release, we caught up with the artist himself for a chat.
Fresh off the release of his latest single Inside My Head, we caught up with Western Australian singer-songwriter Jengyz to chat about exploring new sounds, experimentation, and what the future holds.
HAPPY: Hey, how’s it going? What are you up to at the moment?
JENGYZ: Pretty great thanks. Things are looking up… grinding away as per usual. Writing new songs and building a new studio so yeah, can’t complain.
HAPPY: We’re loving Inside My Head… could you tell us a bit about the track?
JENGYZ: Thanks so much. Inside My Head is actually quite an old song of mine. It was written in context of a tough time I had a while back. Although, it can be interpreted as a love song; a spiritual encounter – even about death. It’s simplistic, but it has depth at the same time.
HAPPY: How are you feeling about the track now that it’s been released into the world?
JENGYZ: It feels good that it’s officially been released. I did release a live version of the song on YouTube which got a good response – it’s actually on Chordify which is pretty cool. Getting a decent amount of plays on Spotify which is great too. It always feels a bit surreal releasing my own songs into the world because I usually write songs for myself. But I’ve learnt to treat them as a gift to others.
HAPPY: Since 2017, you’ve released three EPs… why do you maintain such a frequent creative output?
JENGYZ: I love to create in every which way I can… especially with music – it’s how I express. I write quite frequently and have a bag of repertoire now. It’s satisfying to me in a way, to release these songs rather than just sitting on them and waiting for something to happen.
HAPPY: Across your discography, you’ve travelled in a diverse range of sonic directions. How important is it to you to continue exploring new sounds?
JENGYZ: I think it’s quite important… to experiment and explore new sounds – a music career should be progressive in a lot of ways. Also, I’m trying to hone my sound into something that’s unique – sort of a trial and error if that makes sense. That’s not to say I’ll stick to a sound once I’ve found it; it all just depends where I’m sitting mentally and how each song, each project should sound sonically.
HAPPY: When you arrived in 2017 with your debut EP The Healers Call, you emerged with a really fully-formed sound. How long had you been writing music before then?
JENGYZ: Not long at all. I mean I’ve always been surrounded by music from quite a young age, but writing music was only a year or two before that. I always envisioned a certain sound that I wanted to start off my career with though once I picked up singing; a lot of practice and writing in a short amount of time lead me to that point so yeah.
HAPPY: Are there any particular artists that have influenced your music?
JENGYZ: I started off with fingerstyle arrangements on the acoustic guitar, which lead me to discover Nick Drake and John Martyn. They really influenced me in terms of becoming more of a singer-songwriter instead of just a guitar player. Also, Lakyn. Watching a lot of his acoustic covers on YouTube really pushed me to work on my vocals and add another element to my music which wasn’t there before.
HAPPY: What’s next for Jengyz? Any other exciting plans in the works?
JENGYZ: I want to stay true to the singer-songwriter journey; progressively change my sound until I’m happy with it – then release a debut album. Probably another EP and perhaps even an album this year. Also, experimenting with different sounds with my own band Jengyz & The Healers. It’s a project we started last year and we should hopefully have some music out this year so yeah – exciting stuff.
HAPPY: Cheers for the chat!
JENGYZ: Thank you very much. Appreciate it!
Inside My Head is available now. Listen above.
