JENNY PLANT
British singer/songwriter Jenny Plant has released her latest single “Sideline”. Co-written with Mark Elliott, the empowering ballad is about embracing life after experiencing moments where we weren’t being fully appreciated. “Sideline” offers a glimpse of her upcoming EP Matter's of the Heart, to be released in May.
Plant is also making waves as a composer with writing credits for films and video games. She was the voice of “BB’s Theme”, the title track from the highly celebrated video game “Death Standing”, which has been streamed over 5 millions times and for which she won best soloist at the VGMO awards. Her song “Shadow To Dust” was recently synced in the Swedish hit TV series “Älska Mig”.
“Sideline” is now available worldwide :)
Photo credit: Bjorn Franklin
Introduce yourself - what's your story?
Hi! I am Jenny Plant a British singer/songwriter and composer. I grew up surrounded by music with some of my earliest memories being my mum playing the guitar to me to sleep and my Dad blaring out his ACDC and Meatloaf music collection.
I was classically trained on the piano, harp and violin originally then found my love for songwriting as a teenager, it was always such an amazing outlet for me to express my emotions. I didn’t have the confidence at that stage to do it full time so I took a different path for a few years and went to University and studied Sociology! Quite quickly after that I realised that music was the only path for me so I went to ICMP music school where I studied vocals and from there started this journey full time!
How would you define Jenny Plant, the artist?
I make timeless pop music with an ethereal feel. A modern Carole King crossed with London Grammar.
"Sideline" is your new single - what's the inspiration behind this song?
It’s about being in a situation whether it’s a relationship, in life, or career where you feel you are being pushed aside and not being fully appreciated and enough is enough. It’s time to take the empowering step to embrace life and no longer stand on the sideline. For me personally, I can relate to a relationship I had where I was never valued and always felt like I was on the sideline and I just had enough one day and realised I was better than that, thank god I did as now I have met the love of my life!
Could you describe the songwriting/production process for this song? Who helped you create it?
This song was written in the peak of lockdown over zoom with the awesome writer and producer Mark Elliott. We wrote a few songs together which feature on my upcoming EP. We had a small window of a few days before the 2nd lockdown where we were able to record the vocals at his studio which was great. I can’t wait for the days when going to the studio is normal again!!
What did you feel when writing this song?
It evoked a-lot of emotion for me writing this one, remembering how undervalued I had felt in the past and I wanted the chorus to feel powerful and bring about that feeling of ‘no longer will I take this’.
What's your favourite thing about this song?
The imagery it creates with the lyrics. Mark is an excellent lyricist and we bounced off each other well. I hope that it will resonate with people who are in a situation where they feel sidelined and empower them to make a change.
What made you want to release "Sideline" as a single?
I haven’t released music for quite some time and out of the 4 tracks on the EP I felt that this one was a good opening of what was to come. I will be releasing one more track next month as a single and then the full EP will be out mid May.
What can you tell us about your upcoming EP Matter's of the Heart?
It is a four track EP with each track exploring a different theme surrounding matters of the heart. From feeling sidelined to helping a friend through a break up or hard time, to getting over a hurtful situation yourself and there is a full on soppy love song in there! It’s not restricted to romantic love though it can be related to lots of different life situations that you have an emotional connection to.
What biggest lesson have you learnt since the beginning of your career?
All that matters is that you believe in what you do and are happy doing it.
As an artist, what is the hardest part? And what is the best part?
I would be lying if I didn’t say negative feedback or being ignored didn’t hurt. It does, and it never gets easier to he honest. We are baring our souls on a daily basis and putting ourselves in the firing line for judgment and criticism which not a lot of people have to experience regularly.
The best part is doing what I love everyday, making music. The feeling when someone likes your track but most importantly feels something from it.
What are your thoughts on today's music industry? If you could change one thing, what would it be?
The music industry today is better than it was when I started out from the point of view that women are not as objectified (I remember being told by MANY people, if they fancy you they will sign you’ or ‘if you are over 25, you have no chance’). There still is a long way to go with women being given equal opportunities, even looking at festival line-ups this year the majority of the headliners are men. So yeah, that is what I would change! Also, the streaming model needs to change so people get paid more fairly.
What advice would you give to young artists?
You are just at the beginning, you have so much time so make sure you hone your craft and only put out what is essentially you.
What biggest life lessons have you learnt so far?
Don’t try to be like anyone else. What’s that quote - no-one can do a better job of being you than you. I think it’s easy to try and shape-shift to fit into the sound of the moment but if it doesn’t feel authentic then it’s clearly not right for you.
In your opinion, what would make the world a better place?
If we put the same effort that we did into creating a Covid vaccine to the climate crisis I think that would make the world a better place.
What message do you want to deliver to the world?
Never give up on your dreams, if you feel the urge to do something trust your gut.
Connect with Jenny: