Jaymes Young is definitely not afraid to be emotional. With his personal home recording studio, Young has been able to mix his own concoction of R&B-infused sonic heartbreak. Back in September, the 21-year-old, Seattle-born, LA-based musician released his debut EP,Dark Star, which was recorded entirely in his bedroom. Jaymes was cool enough to make this video in said bedroom (above) and talk to us about his gear essentials, his recording tools, and pouring his heart into his songs. (P.S. All the nuts and bolts recording chat is in the video, so you should watch it.)Noisey: How did you end up making music?
Jaymes Young:I picked up music when I was about 12 or 13. I’ve always been a little bit more directed in the art and creative aspect of everything. I wasn’t too interested in the more standard subjects in school like math and stuff like that. Music was just a no-brainer. It fit like a puzzle piece the first day I picked up a guitar. The first chord and notes I played probably sounded like shit. It was an answer to what I’d been asking, “What’s going to be my passion or outlet for all of the inspiration I was bottling up?” I think the most important things to me about music are the message and the lyrics. That’s what I spend most of my time on: that each song is communicating a message that people can relate to. I just gotta be honest about how I feel so that it’s a genuine message.What kind of messages are you trying to convey with the songs you released on Dark Star?
Dark Star is very heavy and relationship-oriented. There’s a lot of heartbreak in there. There are some kinds of areas that are asking for acceptance. Part of the message is for people to relate to that, feel the same way, not really feel shy about who they are in the resentments they have and how it’s okay to have negative things happen in their past and to be able to rise above that.Can you tell me a little bit about your setup in your bedroom studio?
It’s kind of small. There’s not much going on here. I’ve got a computer, and I’ve got a couple of pieces of hardware. It’s fairly limited. I don’t really have much software at all. I sleep in the same room that I record in. It’s a marriage of the two things.Do you have to get really creative when it comes to sounds?
I would say a lack of resources kind of forced me to get a little bit creative. A lot of sounds I used for that record were pretty much made with the programs that I had. It became a situation where I was trying to make the songs more interesting, and I was digging for the honest, emotional inspiration instead of making the song interesting. It was about the song’s quality.That’s a cool way to look at it. What are five pieces of equipment you can’t live without?
A guitar is number one. An Apple Computer is number two. Those are the two big ones. Also, an interface, a microphone, and speakers.Very simple! I like it. What’s the piece of equipment you’ve nerded out on the most?Definitely the computer, but maybe I can be more specific. I use Logic to record. When I first started songwriting I was pretty young, and it was a little before when I started recording, which was fairly limited. It was an ever-expanding horizon when I first started using it. I’ve been spending a lot of time experimenting with sounds and engineering sounds on my computer that you can’t create with just a guitar. I spent a little bit of time crafting sounds that give me a distinct tone.What are some of the advantages of working and recording in your bedroom?
The big one is that I can wake up at 4:30am and start recording. You can’t just drive to a studio, call up the engineer and be like, “Wake up, I’ve gotta record this idea and I don’t know if it’s going to work or not.” Middle of the night mood is the best for writing and recording. I write and record a lot at the same time. Even last night, I was up until about 5:30am doing some recording and writing. It’s a big advantage and I take advantage of that all the time.
Do you have guest-stars come in and record with you?
I didn’t use anybody on the mixtape, which is funny because I’ve seen a few comments that said they’ve heard female vocals on a couple of the songs. It’s rather entertaining, but I did all of the vocals at home actually. I got down with my feminine side, I suppose.Ha! What’s up next for you?
Right now I’m writing an album, which I hope to release next year. I’m really excited about it. I think it’s going to be the first moment in the last ten years that I realized it’s very possible to do what I’ve always dreamed to do. I’m going to keep being thankful for the opportunities that come my way. It’s really awesome that you can have people listening in the first place. It always feels like you don’t deserve it when you start getting some attention. It’s a blessing, so I’m going to keep dwelling on that and hope that I don’t have to move back to rainy fucking Seattle because it’s the worst weather of my life. That’s about it really.Jaymes Young Tour Dates
11/22 – Los Angeles, CA - The Echo
11/24 – Santa Ana, CA - Constellation Room
11/25 – San Diego, CA - Casbah
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Jaymes Young:I picked up music when I was about 12 or 13. I’ve always been a little bit more directed in the art and creative aspect of everything. I wasn’t too interested in the more standard subjects in school like math and stuff like that. Music was just a no-brainer. It fit like a puzzle piece the first day I picked up a guitar. The first chord and notes I played probably sounded like shit. It was an answer to what I’d been asking, “What’s going to be my passion or outlet for all of the inspiration I was bottling up?” I think the most important things to me about music are the message and the lyrics. That’s what I spend most of my time on: that each song is communicating a message that people can relate to. I just gotta be honest about how I feel so that it’s a genuine message.What kind of messages are you trying to convey with the songs you released on Dark Star?
Dark Star is very heavy and relationship-oriented. There’s a lot of heartbreak in there. There are some kinds of areas that are asking for acceptance. Part of the message is for people to relate to that, feel the same way, not really feel shy about who they are in the resentments they have and how it’s okay to have negative things happen in their past and to be able to rise above that.Can you tell me a little bit about your setup in your bedroom studio?
It’s kind of small. There’s not much going on here. I’ve got a computer, and I’ve got a couple of pieces of hardware. It’s fairly limited. I don’t really have much software at all. I sleep in the same room that I record in. It’s a marriage of the two things.
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I would say a lack of resources kind of forced me to get a little bit creative. A lot of sounds I used for that record were pretty much made with the programs that I had. It became a situation where I was trying to make the songs more interesting, and I was digging for the honest, emotional inspiration instead of making the song interesting. It was about the song’s quality.That’s a cool way to look at it. What are five pieces of equipment you can’t live without?
A guitar is number one. An Apple Computer is number two. Those are the two big ones. Also, an interface, a microphone, and speakers.Very simple! I like it. What’s the piece of equipment you’ve nerded out on the most?Definitely the computer, but maybe I can be more specific. I use Logic to record. When I first started songwriting I was pretty young, and it was a little before when I started recording, which was fairly limited. It was an ever-expanding horizon when I first started using it. I’ve been spending a lot of time experimenting with sounds and engineering sounds on my computer that you can’t create with just a guitar. I spent a little bit of time crafting sounds that give me a distinct tone.What are some of the advantages of working and recording in your bedroom?
The big one is that I can wake up at 4:30am and start recording. You can’t just drive to a studio, call up the engineer and be like, “Wake up, I’ve gotta record this idea and I don’t know if it’s going to work or not.” Middle of the night mood is the best for writing and recording. I write and record a lot at the same time. Even last night, I was up until about 5:30am doing some recording and writing. It’s a big advantage and I take advantage of that all the time.
I didn’t use anybody on the mixtape, which is funny because I’ve seen a few comments that said they’ve heard female vocals on a couple of the songs. It’s rather entertaining, but I did all of the vocals at home actually. I got down with my feminine side, I suppose.Ha! What’s up next for you?
Right now I’m writing an album, which I hope to release next year. I’m really excited about it. I think it’s going to be the first moment in the last ten years that I realized it’s very possible to do what I’ve always dreamed to do. I’m going to keep being thankful for the opportunities that come my way. It’s really awesome that you can have people listening in the first place. It always feels like you don’t deserve it when you start getting some attention. It’s a blessing, so I’m going to keep dwelling on that and hope that I don’t have to move back to rainy fucking Seattle because it’s the worst weather of my life. That’s about it really.Jaymes Young Tour Dates
11/22 – Los Angeles, CA - The Echo
11/24 – Santa Ana, CA - Constellation Room
11/25 – San Diego, CA - Casbah