How does one describe alternative/punk artists Jenna Leigh-Raine? Well, it's safe to start by mentioning her high degree of eclecticism and eccentrics.
Jenna Leigh-Raine is the type of music artist that doesn't conform to a specific style, as she prefers to be dynamically free with her sound. Her ultimate sound can be categorized as gritty, piercing, and potently expressive in its striking execution. All of these aspects get brightly displayed within her latest album release, "KRAFT", which focuses on sharp and rousing performative inspirations. Expressing her true, unfiltered self, Jenna Leigh-Raine unleashes "KRAFT" onto listeners.
The album itself has a string of eclectically haunting melodies, all of which work to drive either complete madness or fiery effect within listeners. Jenna Leigh-Raine's vocals within the album are often dissipated, taking on a dynamic approach to keep up with the ever-so-present dark and atmospheric ambiance. The strategic fusion of synths works to create a vast array of enigmas. It's very safe to say that once listening to certain tracks on "KRAFT", you'll realize you've never quite heard anything like it before. That's something that Jenna Leigh-Raine managed to keep consistent on this album---crafting tracks that hold such pure uniqueness to them.
The first few songs begin with perplexing rhythms, which are mainly established by an electrical component. The intense base within "Warstripes" will especially have you feeling some type of way, mainly due to its acutely bitter and powerful rage. Jenna Leigh-Raine only keeps it consistent with that approach for the following tracks, and once arriving at "I Feel We're Over" you'll come to terms with the wide-ranging embrace Jenna Leigh-Raine focuses her efforts on. The vocal style maintains its vibrato, and Jenna Leigh-Raine easily manipulates her voice to feel otherworldly. That electronic fusion is still present, making that common atmospheric energy remain so potently. There's rarely a moment where the inertia of "Topic" leaves you, as Jenna Leigh-Raine does a stellar job at keeping that erratic aspect of her album alive. Halfway through the album, you'll most definitely come to realize a common theme that presents itself, and Jenna Leigh-Raine's intentions become all too clear. If you listen deeply and with purpose, you'll hear the cries of Jenna Leigh-Raine and all of the metaphors resulting from it.
More than halfway through the album, once coming to "Kraft", we feel a slight shift in the productional styling, as we're exposed to more ethereal melodies embedded within the characterizable sound of Jenna Leigh-Raine. The troubled feeling of the tracks immediately leaves, and it feels as if a monumental shift is occurring. Once arriving at the last couple of tracks on "KRAFT", we sense another pivotal alteration in sound, where more alternative elements come into play and Jenna Leigh-Raine puts more of her focus into uplifting the essence of the purposes of the songs. It's quite apparent that "KRAFT" is divergent from regular albums, as the genre approach that Jenna Leigh-Raine pursues is disparate from any other genre you've heard artists conform to. But, that's all that Jenna Leigh-Raine is all about, creating and manifesting music that sparks attention, regardless of what that attention is on.
"KRAFT" ultimately left us restless in many ways, and it's safe to say that we are intrigued by what Jenna Leigh-Raine will manage to conjure up next because we already know that it'll be far from simplistic.
Hello Jenna and thank you for joining us at BuzzMusic. How would you describe the essence of your own sound within "KRAFT?" Was there a specific effect you were hoping to impart to your listeners with every track?
The essence I was aiming for on my new album KRAFT was a dark reality, reflecting life at the moment on earth; relating to the dark and light energy while always looking for the light, a dark mix of both Sci-fi - almost blade runner type insulation - and gothic fights with faith and religion. Mainly KRAFT is a set into a future world for those who won't escape earth while space and cities grow through the next generations; androids and bots making humans live for their labor paid in sex or life. It's a dark, electronic, rock mix of an analog and digital modern take on real constructed songs or pieces.
Were there any moments within the creative stages of "KRAFT" that you felt challenged as an artist? How did you overcome such challenges?
In this album I was determined to write, record, and complete within twelve months as the previous album took three years to make. KRAFT started with the recording of the track Connection which, along with Eden Black, are the most epic pieces I've recorded. I think I wanted the album to sound as if from outer space and huge. I produced with the idea that they can be good enough for a blockbuster movie. I had fears that my voice wouldn't hold up in the recording process as I was suffering severe voice and speech loss that I'd been having surgery for since 2015. So I recorded the entire music for the album first, then, is a kind of color by numbers approach, sang the vocals track-by-track in April and mixed in June and July, followed by the final mastering in September. I recorded and wrote the album between trips to London, France, and Los Angeles.
What kind of purpose did you feel "KRAFT" had about your life, and also the lives of your listeners?
Being born with the gift to see and hear spirit, i.e. dead people, I was aware of how these times were also ones where humans sought for a belief in something spiritual. Dark and light energy live very close to one another. You just decide where you are. I've both seen good and dark spirits. I've been dealing with ghosts all my life. The album title KRAFT is to describe energy at work.
Would you say that you're typically inspired by the style presented within "KRAFT", or can listeners expect a wide range of styles to follow this album release for future music?
I've recorded albums since 1994 - they seem to float between areas of space, isolation, spirit, machines, sex, light, dark. My music changes between electronic, synth-rock, to punk rock, to an ambient film soundtrack, to sentimental ASMR. I'm actually three tracks into a new album that is more electronic and less guitar so far. Yet, it's mostly written on guitar first, then transcribed to keyboard notes. I would say the new world's futurism with intense sound design as if we're living in difficult atmospheres. I'm never going to write a typical love song in the way you would describe although if given the opportunity, I'd grab the chance and make it darker.
Where do you plan on going next with your music and ultimate sound?
I noticed recently, and almost not too comfortably, I use sound - or a way of arranging sound into music as a soundboard on which to create a more exciting mysterious offering. I hope though I can get noticed through the pool of men in this field as-is crazy how much as a female you have to fight and keep explaining. There's a lot of hard grafting, so much so I write, record, and engineer all my music. I even take all the album images!
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