An Interview with Jaime French: Inspirations for her new EP, Moving To Nashville, Working with Tom Bukovac and More
An interview with Nashville-based singer, comedian, and YouTuber Jaime French on her EP ‘The Ripple Effect’.
Eimear O Sullivan, Musicngear: I love the 1990s ethereal Celtic Pop/Folk vibe to 'The Hunter' - could you talk about how this song came to be?
The chorus came to me out of thin air one day while I was doing laundry, thinking about the night before and my struggle with insomnia. I wrote the rest of the lyrics and thought, “I think I have something special here…”.
However, I was struggling over where to take the melody for the rest of the song. So I made a rough recording of the chorus on GarageBand and took it (nervously) to the brilliant Tom Bukovac, who composed the rest of the music within about 2 minutes.
By the end of the day, we had an incredible track that continued to get better until it was done.
Musicngear: How did moving from Missouri to Nashville change you creatively?
I feel so much more “in my element” here, being surrounded by artists, musicians, and creative people. I’ve really been able to relax into my creativity and feel at home.
Musicngear: What is your general songwriting process like?
Typically, I write lyrics first, then come up with a melody. Then I plunk out the melody (poorly) on a keyboard and find the chords that work. I then make a super rough recording and give that to the producer along with any notes I have as far as what type of “vibe” or “feel” I’m envisioning.
Musicngear: Trusting someone with your songs and turning them into a full EP is a vulnerable process - how did you go about deciding to work with the legendary Tom Bukovac for this?
My husband was a fan of his and watches his YouTube channel. One day, I was talking about my song “Carry Me”, which I originally started recording in St. Louis, and was not loving how the sound was coming out.
My husband said ‘I’ll tell you who you need to go see, go see this guy right here,” and he pulled up Tom’s YouTube channel. I searched the internet high and low for his contact info, but couldn’t find it, so I resorted to leaving a comment on one of his videos, which he responded to. The rest is history!
Musicngear: What was the overall production process like for your EP 'The Ripple Effect'?
I would create rough demos at my house and then bring them to Tom, who turned all of them into masterpieces. I was very hands-on throughout the whole process, arranging much of the harmonies and background vocals. I knew how I wanted it to sound, just wasn’t exactly sure how to get there.
Thankfully, Tom is brilliant and nailed it all, along with the amazing musicians who played on the record.
Musicngear: Who would some of your influences have been for this EP?
I was heavily inspired by Adele both sonically and lyrically. I love that her music is timeless and relatable to so many, and the vocals are always the star of the show.
Musicngear: Some of the themes you visit (specifically with the song and music video for 'The Ripple Effect') are very raw and vulnerable; was channeling these into the songs of 'The Ripple Effect' a catharsis?
Definitely. Once I got the words out on paper, it almost felt like letting them go and healing. Also, knowing so many can relate to my struggles was very cathartic for me.
Musicngear: I love the heavenly, crystalline quality of your vocals in this EP - could you tell us about how the vocals were recorded/processed?
Thank you so much! I don’t know the technical terms, but I do know my mixing engineer, Mills Logan, gets all the credit for how the vocal turned out. He is incredible.
Musicngear: And finally, what music are you loving at the moment?
I absolutely cannot stop listening to Stevie Nicks’ song “Talk to Me” from 1985. It’s inspiring my next single.
Connect with Jaime French
Website / Instagram / X / YouTube / Spotify
About Eimear O Sullivan
Eimear Ann O Sullivan is a multi-genre music producer, audio engineer and vocalist. After receiving a Masters in Music Technology from the CIT Cork School of Music, she went on to operate as a producer under the name Blakkheart. Her releases have received critical acclaim from Ireland's biggest music publications, such as District Magazine and Nialler9, alongside receiving heavy commercial radio airplay. She currently works in Cork recording studio Flashpoint CC. Previous clients of hers include the likes of Comedy Central’s Dragony Aunt star Candy Warhol, rapper Darce and Outsider YP. (Photo credit @Fabian Boros)
Contact Eimear O Sullivan at eimear.o.sullivan@musicngear.com
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