It’s hard not to be inspired when chatting to Jack Gray.
The 28-year-old singer-songwriter has a quiet confidence and ease about him that belies his age. We sat down to chat about his new album and subsequent tour, Swimming in Jeans
A visceral image, the notion of swimming in wet denim, Gray landed on this album title late in the writing of his new body of work, but found it quite fitting.
“[It’s a] metaphor for these last few years of mine and some of the stories that I’m telling, of that feeling of being weighed down and trying to stay above water and having this thing that’s pulling you under. It also just sounded poetic to me,” he says.
Jack Gray
- When: 10 September
- Where: Northcote Social Club
- Tickets here
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Gray finds a bulk of his inspiration from watching indie movies, labeling it one of his favourite pastimes, and the new release – in line with his previous work – is gorgeously cinematic, dripping in synths that feel nostalgic on first listen.
To credit for the production? None other than Gray himself, who self-produced and played almost every instrument on the record.
“When I sat down to write this album, I made a conscious decision to see if I could make an album that I’m really proud of and do it by myself.
“I wrote a lot of the songs with friends, but when it came to the production, I really wanted to see if I could climb that mountain.”
Taking inspiration from some of his favourite producers, Gray set himself this challenge.
“Some of my favorite producers are people like Dijon and Mk.Gee. They make their own stuff and they’re great producers and instrumentalists. So they were big inspirations for me. [But] it wasn’t like ‘this person did it so I need to do it’.
“I kind of just wanted to prove to myself that I could do it.”
Even with the rare instrument he didn’t play on the album – the pedal steel guitar – Gray added his own touch, chopping the sample up and scattering it through the entire body of work, creating a sonic thread.
“I struggle to be proud of a lot of my work, and this is the first time that I feel that, which is really special to me.” And there’s a lot to be proud of with Swimming in Jeans.
Gray is back on home shores for his headline tour, which kicks off in Auckland on September 4th. It’s another mountain he’s climbing by himself, and his excitement for the challenge is palpable.
“I’m trying to figure out all these different ways I can make it feel unique and interesting. I’m also going to try and figure out how to do my own lighting show – I want to bring up lamps and have them triggered from my laptop. So lots to learn, lots to do.
“And there’s something we haven’t announced, happening before the tour. But I’ll leave that up to the imagination.”
The early singles from Swimming in Jeans have been resonating with fans, particularly Drive Her Home and Dumb Shit.
The former is an honest song about mental health that fans at his live shows have been singing back, one Gray has grown to love even more since release. The latter is a playful, syncopated pop track that’s near impossible to play live.
“I don’t know why I do it. It’s like you’re in the studio and you come up with this cool part and you’re like, great, we’re going to put that in. And then you put that away and start writing to it, and you come up with this complex [vocal] melody.
“You record them individually, and you don’t think about it until the songs come out; and then I’m like, okay, now I’m going to learn how to play it and sing at the same time, and I suck at both those things.”
But Gray admits he loves any challenge that leads to him becoming a better musician and performer, “Now I have the muscle memory. It’s actually one of my favorite things, it’s the most satisfying to play and sing. So, it works out in the end.”
At 28, Gray is still young enough to get away with doing the ‘dumb shit’… but old enough to know better.
On remaining career-focused through his 20s and looking forward to his next decade, Gray muses, “I’ve done all the dumb shit. To be honest with you, when I was in school, I was definitely not very career focused.
“I actually never thought it would be a possibility to make a living out of my music. So I was kind of just messing around with music and also messing around in life, and I was just being a young, dumb kid, partying and exploring life.
“[But] I’ve never been more content with myself or happy than I am now. So life at this age is amazing. At the end of the day, age is irrelevant and you just got to make great honest art, and that’ll speak for itself.
“I think I spend more time looking forward. I have a lot of big dreams and a lot of things that I’m excited for. There are a lot of things I want to achieve and…to write.”
Swimming In Jeans will be released on 11 September.
Catch Jack Gray’s Swimming in Jeans tour in Melbourne on 10 September, at the Northcote Social Club.
