Jess Williamson on ‘Time Ain’t Accidental’ and Her Musical Evolution
time traveler
June 9, 2023
Photography: Jackie Lee Young
Web only
“I’m kind of a truck driver,” thinks Jess Williamson at her impeccably appointed “hobbit house” in Los Angeles. Born and raised in Texas, the singer/songwriter spends his time between the cozy abode of Southern California and the more expansive horizons of his home state’s westernmost tip. Williamson considers the nearly 15-hour drive, according to Google Maps, a routine trip. “When I travel to Marfa, it usually takes a month or two. [Nana] and my musical gear. I get in the car because I’m glad I have everything,” she explains.
Williamson and I are both from Lone Star State and have great memories of spending time in the Big Bend area. Thirty years ago, you could have a beer and a game of pool across the Rio Grande to the Mexican town of Bocujas. “You can still do that. I recently went to the hot springs in Big Bend and across the river people were setting up taco stands and grilling them. People were walking across and eating tacos.” and went back to the fountain,” Williamson says. Besides Marfa, towns in the area include Marathon, Alpine and Tarlingua, whose name was immortalized by his 1973 Jerry His Jeff His Walker production. Viva Tarlingua album. “A lot of people come to Marfa because it has ties to the art world, but they don’t understand when they get there. It’s really about the whole Big Bend area. I love summer because it’s monsoon season and it’s not as hot as you might think,” she added.
Today, Williamson released his fifth solo album. time is no coincidence (in “Mexican Summer”), her first collaboration with Waxahatchie (a.k.a. Katie Crutchfield) as Plaines in 2022. But the origins of some elements of her new album date back to the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic. In an age where most of us prefer collective representations of the rear, Williamson’s collaboration with Hand Habits’ Meg Duffy on 2020’s “Picture of Flowers” is a healthy dose. More than black humor, it perfectly captured the disorientation of the time. “If it’s the end of Los Angeles, I’ll never be a star,” Williamson begins on the track. “For Pictures of Flowers, I started using the drum machine built into the Omnichord and playing acoustic guitar to the drum beat. she said, referring to a beat from JJ Cale’s 1972 debut. Of course), “and Jarvis Taveniere” [Woods]Mixing the single, he imported drum machine sounds that were better than the ones I was using. ”
But before spending more time exploring her own sound, Williamson and Crutchfield put together one of 2022’s brightest debuts on the Plains album. i walked the road with you (in anti).After Waxahatchie Saint Cloud and Williamson’s own magician, the artists were keen on their recent take on country in general. “when magician came out and all the tours were cancelled, but I had just started writing a ton of songs.some songs ended up time is no coincidence And some are still in the Planes records, even though the Planes didn’t exist yet. But there were two songs that were a little different, ‘Summer Sun’ and ‘No Record of Wrongs’, and I took that to the Plains project and they were the only Plains songs that existed that set the tone for the rest of the song. I have a record that it was like a decision,” Williamson says.
Williamson believes her time working with Crutchfield positively demonstrated her own abilities as a songwriter. She “learned that less is richer, simpler is stronger.” If you need a reference point, see her Williamson’s “Abilene” from that record.
“There is strength in not overcomplicating something,” she continues. “I’m thinking about Willie Nelson and Dolly Parton and the music I grew up with. These are my favorite songs and they don’t have to be complicated.” [powerful] and universal. So it was great to have him two lanes to split songs, as it became clear that Plains had a container for obvious country songs. For my next record, I thought I could take these storytelling elements and classic songwriting themes, but add my own little twist to them. ”
The twist in this case is that they brought the drum machine sounds from “Pictures of Flowers” to the full album.most demos time is no coincidencefrom her LA home, Williamson used a drum machine app she found on her iPhone to give her songs new impetus. “When I made the demo, I thought the drum machine tracks were just placeholders and would be replaced. [the producer] Brad [Cook], he literally took my phone, hooked it up to my desktop computer, and took the beat of the drum machine straight into the session. I was skeptical, but Brad convinced me that these were the foundations of these songs and that we should keep them,” explains Williamson.
time is no coincidence Spanning 11 tracks and countless contrasts and emotions. From the frustration of dating in Los Angeles during the pandemic to the impatience of starting a new relationship and all that they bring. Williamson has put together a series of very strong ending songs on his last few albums (including the title track of Plains’ album), and the modern romance concept reminds us of these lyrics: . magician』Ending song “Gulf of Mexico”. In the song, Williamson jokes, “If I ever want another lover, I can find her on her cell phone,” and the song was written at the end of a relationship where he was on “life support.” I admit that it is
“I went through this really big breakup right around the time COVID started. I was trying to date people after that and it was a humiliating experience. I dated a guy from Los Angeles. ,” she says. “It certainly felt like being thrown in by wolves. It felt weird, with everyone just criticizing each other.” It’s a concept Williamson expertly explores. time is no coincidence1st single “Hunter”.
Between the album’s first and last songs, both more recent vintage and with a more upbeat vibe, Williamson explores a time when he was drifting away from a serious relationship. “There were some experiences that weren’t that important, but they certainly led to songs. . [inspire] It’s a song,” Williamson explains. “Stampede,” one of his darker tracks on the album, contains one of his most haunting images in the lyrics “Break the lamp, the light remains.” “That line is about love. I think it’s beautiful,” she explains.
Just as the “stampede” brings a ray of hope in the darkness, time is no coincidence Celebrate your newfound love from the beginning to the end. The opening and title track shows that Williamson is in a relationship that’s as good or better than her current boyfriend, and the hopelessness that “I’d Come to Your Call” depicts. A stark contrast to the description. The latter song sees Williamson metaphorically waiting at the foot of her bed for the invitations of her lover, while “Time Ain’t Accidental” revels in the playful moments of her budding romance. “The last two songs I wrote for her on this record were ‘Time Ain’t Accidental’ and ‘Roads’, which are meant to be festive and joyful. They end their journey to reach that point. So the albums are not in chronological order. Begins with this fun frivolous day and ends with figuratively continuing on the road. A new love and a new direction,” Williamson concluded.
and time is no coincidenceSince its release, Williamson has embarked on a string of tour dates, including two shows at Austin’s legendary Continental Club. “I’ve never done a headliner tour before, magicianSo I just want to go out and play as much as possible,” she says. “Sing a fun cover song or sing a song with the opening band. I want to invite my friends over to sing. I just want it to feel like a fun party and start playing again.”
www.Jess Williamson.com
Read also our 2021 interview with Williamson. magician.
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