I’m playing Pull My Hair Back for the first time right now. I feel high and emotional, longing for someone special. I’ve been single for a long time, and it’s getting old. I want some romance.
If I were in a relationship, Jessy Lanza would be my ideal mindset. It’s very loving and cute to me. At the same time its got tight, polished, up-to-date beats that grab bits and pieces from the dance spectrum.
Also, as someone who spends a lot of time in the nightlife doing my music, this is exactly what I wanna’ hear the following day.
I already adored “5785021″ and “Kathy Lee”, and now after hearing “Fuck Diamond” I’m head over heels for Jessy.
This album is a collaboration between Lanza and Jeremy Greenspan, member of Junior Boys. They both live in Hamilton, Ontario. The album was composed primarily with hardware; rare synthesizers and drum machines. The two of them love this approach to making music, and the execution is pure and easy. For the kids like me who grew up hearing Destiny’s Child, Aaliyah and Ashanti..the love for R&B is strong on this album, fresh and repackaged for 2013.
The title track “Pull My Hair Back” seems to say..if you want to be with me, you gotta’ take me at my best and worst. A powerful song, with a lot of vulnerability.
Jessy Lanza makes it clear that she is more of a songwriter and producer, and less of a singer. It’s easy for many to assume to Jeremy produced all the music and Jessy just sang on it. Not the case. She says in this Polari Magazine interview, “Jeremy is an already well-established producer and musician with Junior Boys and this album is under my name, with me singing, so I understand the confusion. However, I also think there’s a bigger picture in that it shows how the public can be sexist about what they consider women can do in music. It isn’t a huge surprise to me though, people see me and think “Oh you’re a musician, you must be a singer”. I’m always pretty quick to correct them. I originally wanted to put this album out under a band name but Jeremy thought it was a bad idea. He hates touring and he has enough trouble mustering up the will to tour with Junior Boys and couldn’t commit to a tour for this project. He said that if we put this under a band name, people would question where he was on stage. We basically think of it as we’re in a band, that just has my name on it.”
Her XLR8R mix is also highly rewarding, and to me confirms Jessy Lanza as the clubbers daytime music. Its a ballsy and slick combination of styles, and the mixing is smooth.
Hyperdub Records is on their A+ game with this release, alongside Walton, DJ Rashad and Ikonika.
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- Jimi Jaxon
