Having shared stages with the likes of Angel Olsen and Nick Cave, Australian artist Jess Ribeiro is now set to release her new album, Summer Of Love, next month. Written during a time of instability and reflecting on themes of isolation and loss, the emotion rich splendour of her vocals shine throughout, offering a glimmer of hope during uncertain times. As her poignant lyricism ripples alongside a glistening yet gritty musicality, the album showcases Ribero’s ability to create stirring heartfelt anthems with a captivating grace.
We think one of the best ways to get to know an artist is by asking what music inspires them. So, to celebrate the upcoming release of the new album, I caught up with Jess to find out about the music that inspires her the most. Read about her five favourite albums and watch the video for recent single ‘Everything Is Now‘ below!
George Rrurrambu and Birdwave – Baru
I first heard this record in the Northern Territory when I lived in Darwin, and spent lot of time touring remote and outback locations. My bass player at the time started this group with his brother as well as with the legend George Rrurrambu, a famous Indigenous musician who performed in the Warmupi Band in the ’70s/’80s. George was known for his rock music, singing in Yolngu Mate (his mother tongue), as well as English, but in this outfit it’s more reggae with his trance like singing in Yolngu Mate. I love when artists are open to experimenting with different genres and, as a songwriter, I really like writing songs in all styles. Sometimes it doesn’t work, but this combination works for sure. I hold this album in my heart as one of the greatest Australian albums of all time. It’s very hard to get a physical copy of it, but look it up on YouTube.
PJ Harvey – Dry
When I was 13 I bought a black and white tv for $5.00 from a second hand store. I set it up in my bedroom and invited a friend over for a sleep over so we could watch RAGE, the weekend music program that started at midnight. Led Zeppelin came on which was cool, but then the music clip for the song ‘Dress’ by PJ Harvey came on and changed my world. The song blew my mind. It made me feel crazy. The strings at the end were a revelation as I was a very lazy learner (of the violin), and the song gave me hope that maybe I didn’t have to read the music and play nicely. There is a sexy guitar line in the instrumental section and still to this day I want to listen to that song on repeat. I lived in a small town where it was hard to access music, but I somehow managed to borrow Dry from an older girl at school and I taped it onto cassette. A friend’s older sister showed me how to play some chords on the guitar and eventually I taught myself how to play the song ‘Joe’. Soon after, I gave up violin and moved to writing songs and playing guitar.
Kate Bush – Hounds Of Love
I listened to a lot of my dad’s records growing up and was particularly drawn to his Kate Bush collection. An art teacher discovered I was a fan and gave me lots of videos, CDs and books on Kate Bush and Wilhelm Reich to study and read. Kate Bush wrote a song about Reich called ‘Cloudbusting’. The cloudbusting machine was created by Reich, who believed he could release orgasmic energy into the air which would dissolve pollution and stop war. He was jailed by the American government and his son wrote a book about it called ‘A Book of Dreams’. That’s what the song Cloudbusting is about. Each track on this record is a story condensed into a song; Kate Bush is a very good storyteller,songwriter, dancer and actor. I’d love to get better at bringing these elements into my writing.
Patti Smith – Horses
I was sitting in a circle with some girlfriends getting stoned one day after school, and someone put on the album Horses. I started tripping out to the lyrics; it made me feel rebellious and made me want to be a poet. The album was produced by John Cale, whose music I now deeply love, he is also part of the Lou Reed, Velvet Underground lineage. This album influenced me to be who I am and work with what I have, which is a short attention span and not much interest in premeditating production. I love vibing music with a group and being open to spontaneity in the studio. Patti improvised the lyrics to the song ‘Birdland’ in the studio – they come from ‘A Book of Dreams’ by Peter Reich (she too wrote a song about Reich who made the cloud busting machine!). When I went to university I studied classical music and singing. In my final exam, the teachers told me I was a performance poet more than a technical musician – I took this as a compliment, as I never had any desire to become an opera singer or a classical musician.
Nirvana – MTV Unplugged In New York
I saw this on tv at about 2am in the morning and it became my favourite Nirvana record. Every song is fucking fabulous, including the cover songs by Bowie, Leadbelly, The Meat Puppets and more. I love it when rock artists present stripped back versions of their songs. The harmonies in this live recording are beautiful and there is a cello in there too! This album made me realise a good song is a good song, and I aspire to make a good song that can be performed with a whole band or solo.
Massive thanks to Jess Ribeiro for sharing her Five Favourites! Watch the video for her beautiful single ‘Everything Is Now’ here:
Summer Of Love, the new album from Jess Ribeiro, is set for release on 12th April via Labelman, pre-order here. And she’s coming over to the UK in May – info here.
Photo Credit: Nick Mckk
