Following the release of their ethereal debut album, rising alt-pop star Jazmin Bean has just released Traumatic Livelihood – Extended Edition on September 6. The extended edition now features recordings from the Strawberry House Sessions — which are acoustic versions of fan favorites off Traumatic Livelihood — as well as two new singles: a cover of “A House Is Not a Home” and “It’s not my fault (it’s yours)”, a Jazmin Bean original.
On Bean’s initial debut, listeners can find a unique, dark and whimsical musicality. Captivating listeners through raw and vulnerable expressions of trauma and relationships, Bean has bravely and unapologetically cemented themselves as a rising star in the world of alternative music.
Additionally, Bean is currently on their Traumatic Livelihood World Tour, where they will play across North America, Europe and the UK, sharing their otherworldly live show with fans across the globe. Praised for their powerful vocals, cutting-edge lyricism and an artistry that goes beyond the box of industry-standard pop music, Jazmin Bean is a refreshing dose of fashion, cinema and unbridled energy in modern music.
In light of the release of Traumatic Livelihood – Extended Version and their current world tour, Bean recently sat down with Melodic Magazine to discuss their favorite tracks from the album, how they stay grounded while touring and where they draw inspiration from.
Thank you for taking the time today! You’re currently on your Traumatic Livelihood World Tour, congratulations! I feel like that’s such a huge thing for your career.
Thank you so much. Yeah, and so much fun.
What’s the energy been like so far on this tour?
It’s really nice. I mean, we’ve only done a few days. We’re just on a travel day today, but everyone’s been really supportive at these shows and the fans really love me and the project. So they’re all really excited to be there. I really feed off the energy, so it’s been really great. Tour obviously has it’s ups and downs, butI really try to just remind myself at all times that this is the dream. You have good and bad days anywhere you go. I just always keep trying to remind myself when I feel like there’s a toll on my mind or body that these are the good days. I just try to stay present and not complain about silly things like how long the drive is or this or that, because ultimately this is the dream.
You say there’s some good days and bad days of touring. What do you do on tour for self-care or to ground yourself when you’re having a not so good day on the road?
All of the days this tour have been pretty good. I’ve been bringing art on tour, I bought some pens and note pads and some paints. And I’ve got a friend on tour. I definitely need to have a friend or someone close to me. And just trying to stay present when it feels a bit stressful.
I imagine it would be nice to have somebody you know or a really good friend. Obviously you might be close with your crew or your team, but to have your best friend there would just make it a bit better.
I am really close with my crew and I love my band. That’s been my band since I was like 17 or 18 and I love them. But yeah, I don’t like being in a hotel room alone, so I like to have a friend. I feel like being alone is going to make you sad. I’ve always thought it was too much time to think.
I know the tour just recently started in the last couple of weeks, but are there any tour dates or cities that you’re most excited about or most looking forward to performing in?
I’m really, really excited to play LA. The Fonda is one of my favorite venues. I saw an act there I think last year, maybe earlier I’m not sure, but I remember thinking ‘Oh God, I want to play here so bad.’ And then lo and behold, when I checked the venues when we got this tour book, it was the The Fonda. And I was just so excited about that. I don’t know why, I just really love the vibes.
You’re touring for your debut full length album that came out earlier this year. And then on September 6 you put out the extended edition of the album. I know Traumatic Livelihood has been out for a while, but how has the reception been for the album? How has life been since the album has been out?
It’s actually been really good. People really relate to the songs, which is something that I didn’t expect. I wrote those songs initially coming from a place of maybe not feeling like a relatable person or feeling like I couldn’t find stories. So it’s really nice to see that people really do relate. It’s surreal.
Did you originally envision putting out an extended edition of the album? How did that come together?
So I wanted to do a deluxe album, make new songs for that and add a few old ones. I wanted a proper almost second-half. But things just didn’t work out. It’s very different releasing music on a major label compared to independently. So things didn’t work out with that, so — the next best thing with the extended — I wanted to do something to celebrate the album. But I always love doing acoustic sessions so much and so I definitely wanted to do so. I feel like it’s another side of my music and my ability that, because of the genre I’m in, I often don’t get to explore. We love to do acoustic versions, so I was going to do that anyways, and then we thought it would be cool to add it on the extended [version]. And then the single “It’s not my fault (it’s yours)” we just kind of made on a whim.
The Strawberry House Sessions were so beautiful — from those additional songs off the extended version, did you have a favorite one that stood out to you?
I really like the way that “Best Junkie You Adore” goes.
You had said earlier that sometimes with your genre, you aren’t able to experiment as much. Why is that? What are some things you want to try differently with future releases?
Well, I’d really love to try and do more acoustic projects and I’d really love to try and do a pop project. It’s hard though when you have a staple audience; you feel like you’re always afraid of losing your audience. So I think about that or trying to figure out that, but I’d love to try loads of different things. It’s just always scary to embark on something completely different, which I guess is what I did with Traumatic Livelihood. And it turned out fine.
I’m glad you brought that up too, because there’s a difference in sound between Traumatic Livelihood and your debut EP Worldwide Torture, which was heavier and not so pop-leaning as Traumatic Livelihood. Over the years, how else has your sound changed?
Writing changes all the time. I released Worldwide Torture very, very early in my life. I previously had no writing experience. I was kind of just going with the flow and whatever was in my head. So I guess Traumatic Livelihood was my first attempt at real songwriting. And I’ve just been in the studio. I’m just going to keep on experimenting, I think, until something really clicks that I want to do next. I’d like to just do an album with all genres to be honest. But I know that often they aren’t that well understood and are often seen as maybe that you don’t know your own vision or you’re confused, but I personally love an album that has more than one genre and every song doesn’t sound the same.
Going off of that, before Traumatic Livelihood came into fruition, you were originally working on a much darker record, but then you began to write about and overcome some of the things you had experienced in your life and that darker record was put aside. Do you think maybe that darker album might resurface one day, or do you think that’s in the vaults for now?
The album itself is definitely in the vault. I mean, it just wasn’t very good. But I’d definitely love to open back the doors one day. I really want to try everything, to be honest.
In terms of musical or songwriting inspirations, you take a lot of inspiration from films — especially Tim Burton films. How do movies inspire your artistry?
Well, the definite impact is a lot of emotion. I feel quite inspired by anything that makes me feel an emotion. I’ve always loved movie soundtracks and I’d love to get back into film one day. That was kind of my first love and what I wanted to do career-wise and artistically, but I guess music kind of just pushed its way to the front (laughs). But I think that I’ll forever feel inspired by films. It’s a whole experience. It’s like when an album comes out.
Other than movies, where else do you draw visual inspiration?
I find this question so hard whenever I’m asked it. I find it so hard to make an answer. I feel like it’s just something that’s grown and grown and I feel inspired by so many different things. I feel like there isn’t a statement person or getting off place that I take a lot of my inspiration from. I think it’s all of the people who have come before. I think it’s just a coagulation of everything I like and have experienced. People ask me that question but I’m like, I don’t even know myself (laughs). I feel like it’s just a thing that keeps growing.
Going back to the record and the things that you address on it, it’s a very vulnerable project and you speak a lot about different things you’ve experienced or trauma that you’ve had from events in your life. I imagine that’s such a daunting thing to write about or to share with the entire world. What motivated you to write about these very vulnerable and personal topics?
I guess it’s just a release for me, and I thought, ‘Okay. I’ll just say whatever I like and if I don’t feel like sharing with people, then I don’t have to release it.’ So it kind of was just therapy for me. And then I was like, ‘Well, I actually like the songs too.’
The album has been out since February, but after sitting with the album for a while is there a certain song that maybe stands out to you the most?
I love “Traumatic Livelihood” and I really love “Black Dress.” I think “Black Dress” is very underrated.
You seemed to have created almost this fantasy world or your own universe within your music. Going off of that, what do you hope to offer people when it comes to the world of Jazmin Bean? What do you hope to provide for listeners?
I hope they just feel safe and inspired. I hope that changes something about their day positively. I mean, when I listen to music, I love when I’m in touch it **** mood and then I listen to a song or consume a piece of art and I all of a sudden feel very inspired and motivated. So I hope it’s what it can do for people because that’s the reason why I’m constantly consuming music.
Stream Jazmin Bean’s Traumatic Livelihood – Extended Edition on Spotify and Apple Music.
Buy tickets to see Jazmin Bean on their Traumatic Livelihood World Tour here.
Keep up with Jazmin Bean: Instagram // Twitter // Spotify // YouTube // Website
