NEW GROWTH
Ex-Weaves Vocalist Jasmyn Finds Spirit and Song In the Wild
IN 2018, JASMYN BURKE DECIDED TO MOVE TO HAMILTON from Toronto, the city she was born and raised in. She needed a change, a respite from the busyness. As co-founder and lead singer of the criticallyacclaimed art rock band Weaves, Burke found herself in the perpetual cycle of releasing an album, then touring — sometimes it's hard as a musician, she says, not to experience burnout. In early 2020, just before the onset of the pandemic, she decided to let the band go. She also just wanted to take a break and figure out if she still even wanted to make music anymore.
“Do I want to make music? Do I want to try something else? And I just found myself writing about feelings that came up,” Burke tells Exclaim! ahead of releasing debut solo record, In the Wild. “It sort of parallels with things that were happening with the pandemic and people's feelings of wanting to start anew or re-evaluating their lives.”
As Burke wrote, she kept overarching themes of nature and healing in the back of her mind. On In the Wild, movement — the sun going down, a gentle breeze rustling the trees, the ebbs and flows of a new chapter in one's life — informs the music's ebullient spirit, whirling between euphoric dance-pop and atmospheric, experimental rock.
“I try and lean on the positive side of things and make space for other people,” she says. “It's been a tough few years and, you know, I doubted myself as a musician. I wanted [ In the Wild] to be an uplifting album for people — or at least [for them to] recognize something in these songs for themselves.”
In this way, the album's title track, which Burke describes as a loner's anthem, speaks to feeling like you don't fit in. “For me, sometimes, especially being in music, I might be the only woman of colour playing a festival or [being] in a certain atmosphere.” Burke continues. “You see how certain people are marginalized, you see how everyone has their own pain that they've been through that maybe makes them feel like they are not part of something.” The song is also a love story that subtly references Burke's partner who, she laughs, is also a loner: “I feel like it represents both myself and hopefully other people that don't always feel heard in this world. I'm most proud of that one, I think. It's special to me.”
Burke is working on choreography that she'll perform during shows when she hits the road this summer. She has a clearer vision of what she wants, both out of life and in music: to try to be more present, be grateful for the fact that she's a full-time musician, and to remember that it's important to celebrate herself. She says, “Making this album, in my apartment, during the pandemic, is something I'm really proud of myself for.”
Performing at: A Royal Mountain Showcase (Toronto, ON, June 11)