It was earlier this month, with the release of his debut single Love Bite, that we were first introduced to the energetic punk sounds of Sydney-based artist Jovi Skyler. Since then, we haven’t stopped listening.
So, fresh off the track’s release, we caught up with the artist himself to chat all about it, leaving songs open to interpretation, and what the future holds.
Fresh off the release of his debut single Love Bite, we caught up with Sydney-based singer-songwriter Jovi Skyler for a chat.
HAPPY: Hey Jovi! How’s it going? What are you up to at the moment?
JOVI: Hey Bill! I’m fine, I just wrote a new song the other day called Gia — hopefully, I will go into the studio soon. I’d definitely like to record it!
HAPPY: We’re loving Love Bite! How does it feel having the track out there in the world?
JOVI: Cool, It feels okay, not sure if it’s really out in the world, but yeah, it’s a shame to keep any song for yourself forever.
HAPPY: Could you tell us a bit about the song?
JOVI: I hate giving meanings to songs. Nowadays, the meaning is given before people even listen… I remember as a teen that I used to make up my own meanings to songs for bands I’d like first, but then you’d get curious and want to read the lyrics, sometimes you’d be disappointed or you’d be more intrigued. Like what the heck does that mean!? I love abstract lyrics, as it opens the door for interpretation and can give a song double meaning. Anyway, Love Bite is a symbolic statement, for me, it’s the first time you are keen on someone, and you are just so naive about it! It’s reflective of my own memories as a teenager, a time when my heart was beating so fast for a particular girl, that it kinda made me sick — in a good way!
HAPPY: For a debut release, you seem to have a pretty strong direction with your sound. How long had you been writing songs before you released this tune?
JOVI: I spent ungodly hours writing songs in my bedroom. I remember writing my first song when I restarted playing the guitar, that’s when I was around fourteen. I have heaps of songs piled up in journals and micro SD cards, it’s like every year I worked on an album with no intention of ever releasing it, then new year’s eve would come along and I’d get ready to discard it and start anew. Well at least those were the early years of songwriting — they weren’t recorded in a studio, some of them incomplete, but it probably helped to develop my sound and direction I want with my music now.
HAPPY: The music video is great too! Could you walk us through how this came together? Who was involved?
JOVI: It’s kinda interesting, but the song for the clip was decided on the day, it was actually between three other songs. I had rough ideas for what I wanted to do for each possible song in the clip, but it just made more sense to go with Love Bite, being in the setting we were in, and the story we could tell with it. Zena, David and I had a coffee and some cherry pie, then bounced around some ideas for what to do in the clip. It was shot in less than 4 hours, my very talented friend David directed, filmed and edited it for me.
HAPPY: Were there any particular bands you were listening to when you wrote/recorded this song?
JOVI: I’m not sure, I tend to focus on practising and listening to my own songs before, during and after going into the studio — as sometimes things need to be slightly modified and studio time is expensive. I can’t recall what I was listening to around the time when I wrote Love Bite—my memory is terrible! I probably was listening to one of my favourite bands, like Nirvana, Sonic Youth, Hole, Pixies, The Breeders, Iggy Pop, Ramones, Placebo, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, The White Stripes, Metallica. It’s a mystery!
HAPPY: What’s next for Jovi Skyler? Any other exciting plans in the works?
JOVI: Next, I want to release an EP, make more clips and play some gigs.
HAPPY: Cheers for the chat!
JOVI: Cheers! Thanks for having me!
Love Bite is available now. Watch the new video above.
