/ SOME MUSIC TALENTS ARE UNDENIABLE /

/ CHRISTIAN JALON /

is one of those talents

Her instrument of choice? Her voice. With one of the sweetest voices I’ve had the pleasure of hearing in person, Christian captures her audience. She brings all less important conversations to a halt, enchantingly welcoming you into her world of passion, levity, warmth, longing, and faith. You don’t walk away from a Christian JaLon performance thinking you just witnessed something merely average. 

With the release of her new “Vinyled Love” LP we’re exposed to more of her very soulful experience. “Vinyled Love” is JaLon’s second project, following “Self” another, shorter project that served as an introduction. After spending some time with this dreamy project I figured it only right to have a conversation with JaLon and get a better understanding of just who she is. Below is what occurred.

AO

Where are you from Christian?

CJ

I am from the south side of Chicago, Illinois. 76th and Hermitage to be exact.

My mother lived there since she was 3 years old.

AO

  You’ve said your mom had a lot of kids. How many siblings do you have? Are you the oldest, the baby, or what?

CJ

  I have four siblings. I am the second child, so i’m the eldest daughter.

AO

How did coming up with so much family effect you and how you saw the world?

CJ

It really put this deeper, bigger love in me. You definitely create a certain bond with your and younger siblings. It put this protection within me like always feel like I have to protect somebody whether we’re family or not. I always feel like I have to give a certain kind of love in order for them to thrive or feel motivated. And also you know it does, well for me, it made me an introvert. I know thats very weird but sometimes I want my space. I don’t always want to be around people. I don’t always want to hear different voices because its very noisy in my house. *laughs*

AO

Hmm. So you mentioned having a certain kind of love.. I’ve been listening to your LP and dissecting it best I can, so I have my ideas, but in your own words- What is “Vinyled Love”?

CJ

I’m a huge fan of vinyl records and old school music. I’m a huge fan of what it feels like. Nat King Cole, Sarah Vaughan, Billie Holiday, Louis Jordan, and just a whole bunch of other people. I wanted my project to sound like love, especially the love I hear on those artists’ records. A modern artist that really inspired the music on this project is Leon Bridges. He’s a very very sweet artist. His music reminds me of all the time I spent listening to jazz records with my grandfather who was a huge jazz fan. Leon really inspires me to give our generation something that we may not really have quite yet.

AO

Your influences are clear. I can hear the spirits of all of those artists in your work.  You love all of these artists from the 40s and 50s, but I know you’re pretty young. How old are you?

CJ

I’m 19, but tomorrow I’ll be 20. *smiling*

AO

Happy Birthday! So you’re not even 20 years old yet, but the depth of your voice might lead one to think you’re a bit older than you are. That’s exciting. I noticed that the first words we hear from you on the project are “Your love feel like lullabies in the morning.”  What do you mean?

CJ

Thank you. Well that song, and the entire project is about an actual person. He made me feel really into myself and calm, and that’s what lullabies are meant to do. Just something to calm your spirit.

AO

Got it. How did you go about selecting production for the LP?

CJ

So I have these really great friends who were both working on a song together, one of them I actually had never met before working together. One of them is from Oakland, California. His name is Wax Roof. After that song, he was just sending me things like “I just want to hear your voice on this” We began building a bond like that then eventually I messaged him like “You know what? I think I just want you to produce my whole project for me.” I asked him to send me anything he made that felt like love & he delivered. He did an amazing job.

AO

Another thing I noticed is that throughout the tape you make a lot of biblical references. What can you say about that?

CJ

Well in the bible it tells us “God is Love” and I strongly believe that. I think that for me to be a creator and to not speak on my beliefs I would be doing a disservice not only to myself but to the people who are listening. I think that if I’m going to talk about love then I ought to talk about the source which my love comes from . I’m not one of those hard-core bible thumpers or one of those holier-than-thou folks. I’ll never rebuke or crucify anyone. I’m literally here to just spread the word of love. So what better way to give love than the way we know it. If someone else didn’t know the kind of love that I know, but they have a different kind of love, then I’m here for it as long as it resonates with my spirit.

AO

In relation to that, I recently did an article on Moses Sumney, are you familiar with him?

CJ

Oh, I love him!

AO

Nice. Well he posted an essay on his tumblr, and toward the end he asked “If God is love, but you don’t feel love, are you a godless being?”  What would you say to him?

CJ

I’ve actually been talking about this all week with some of my closest girlfriends. I would tell him No, you’re not godless. The enemy is just trying to persuade you that there is no love or space. Oftentimes, when we’re at our weakest that is when Satan wants to come in and really attack us. I think its important for us everyday to just guard our heart, our mind, and our spirit, so that we’re able to feel that love even when we think that love is not present.

AO

A lot of people say their music does this for them, does that for them. Some say it’s therapeutic for them. What does your creation process do for you?

CJ

My creative process isn’t really organized so I don’t feel like it really does much for me until it’s the finished product. In the process of creating this project I was releasing so much energy. During its creation my boyfriend and I broke up. So when I released this project I felt like I was releasing some energy that needed to be released. The hurt, the pain, the confusion, the stress. And that’s not to say  that I’m still not experiencing hurt cause my feelings definitely do still hurt. *laughs*. But I feel much lighter, and much better and richer in spirit and in heart. I feel like I’m ready to give love again, because it did make it hard to do so. So I’m not totally sure what the process does for me but I do know that the finished product helps release energy for me and it can definitely be a healing experience.

AO

I saw you released a short documentary on the journey of creating “Vinyled Love.” What made you want to create and put that out?

CJ

I think its extremely essential to document the things that are important to you. Even if its for personal keepsake just to have something to look back at when we’re growing and to remember where we came from. Also, I’m a huge fan of Beyonce’s work ethic and Solange’s creativity. I watch Beyonce’s documentary “Life is But A Dream” and Solange’s 10 minute documentary on A Seat At The Table aaaall the time.  I watch Bob Marley documentaries and Nina Simone and Maya Angelou.. All of these people- what they do and what they allow to be shown to the public is very inspiring. They allowed themselves to be so vulnerable. They really showed themselves to the world. I’m a very vulnerable individual anyhow so I think that to be vulnerable and authentic and organic within my craft and to show that to the public allows them a better ability to trust me. I don’t want to be fraudulent and I don’t want to be believed to be fraudulent with anything that I do. I believe building that kind of trust with the people who are supporting you is important.

AO

That’s nice. You just learned me something real quick. So what are you excited about? What are you looking forward to?

CJ

Well, tomorrow I have a show. My very first headlining show. I put it specifically together for this project. Then, In January I’ll be working on my third project with one of my favorite producers and one of my very best friends, PlainRo. He’s one of the greatest producers I know and I definitely feel like we’re going to grow one another.

AO

Beautiful. Last thing, for anyone reading this interview right now, what do you want to say to them?

CJ

Um first and foremost thank you for finding my craft and I worthy enough to be talked about and read upon. Thank you for giving me your time and your energy. I am extremely grateful for you as a person and as a spirit. I pray that peace, love, and light reign over your life forever.

/ CHECK OUT ‘VINYLED LOVE’ ON SOUNDCLOUD /

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