Songwriter, writer, poet and vocalist Jess Kav is one of the artists performing live in Catherine Young Dance's new production Ciseach | An Embodied Manifesto, touring to venues nationally this April and May.
Raised by an Irish-Nigerian mother and soul enthusiast, Jess grew up in Dublin on a musical diet of Motown, jazz and Irish indie music. Her energy and lighting-sharp live performances have caught the eye of the best in the industry; over the year's she's collaborated with The Waterboys, Hozier, Eleanor McEvoy, Villagers, Jape and Kodaline - most recently, she joined rock legend Billy Idol on a stadium tour.
We asked Jess for her choice cultutal picks...
FILM
I watched Tim Key and Tom Basden's The Ballad Of Wallis Island and cried like a baby. Wallis Island reminded me of my brief time on Sherkin Island. A place, I sense you can either find or lose yourself in.
Growing up in 2000’s Ireland in the heyday (pardon the pun) of folk and acoustic pop, the story of a Moldy Peaches-style duo who find themselves in a non-consensual reunion, stranded on a remote island was resonating. The themes around grief, redemption and letting go felt very close to home. Tim Key’s face-acting made my heart break (full-on sobbed) and the protagonists reminded me of so many creative pseudo-romances I witnessed in the 'ol Whelan’s backstage rooms circa 2005-2013 and my own awkward attempts at repairing old creative relationships.
MUSIC
I've been back in Dublin for only two weeks and have been tentative about getting back in good graces with my record collection. I ended up playing Herbie Hancock’s synth album Sunlight this week, which is exactly what was needed. When you get home from the tropics and you’re expecting spring and instead you’re getting moments of glaring sun followed by rain, hail and wind... you need a bit of Herbie. Sunlight opens with I Thought It Was You which immediately fills my soul with light. It reminds me of balcony parties in June and The OG Bernard Shaw.
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I have been back in Ireland after recording an album in Chiang Mai, Thailand which I am very excited to release. I gave myself a listening break while I settled, so have been getting re-aquainted with my songs such as New Relationship Energy, Prickly Heat, Maybe I Like The Misery and What You Deserve (Landlords).
My music, like my tastes, range from soul to jazz to industrial to R&B to synth-pop. All light and dark-marbled with a touch of humour, rapture and rage. I am excited to have the live recordings from my show at North Gate Jazz Coop going up on my Patreon soon followed by the official releases. I still can’t believe I somehow got a band of musicians together in Thailand who learned all my music, performed it impeccably and then recorded it on my album. It feels somewhat like a fever dream in the best way. I can’t believe I’ve done this.
BOOK
On the way to Brisbane back in January I got stuck into Fundamentally by Nussaibah Youni. Attempting to explain it to my fiancé I said it was "Kind of like Fleabag, but with Isis wives" which is an awful way to describe it. The story is of a young woman who has a strained relationship with her religious mother. After ingratiating herself into modernity, finding her sexual autonomy and experiencing a tough break up, she is offered a placement with the UN in Iraq attempting to de radicalise and rehome Isis wives. The story is of messy, flawed and well-meaning people who find themselves in systems that routinely fail the most vulnerable and how they navigate to make real change. It has humour and heart and is oddly sexy and always very human.
THEATRE
In January while in Brisbane I got to spend time and work with legends of the Australian theatre world Lisa Fa’alafi and Leah Shelton of Polytoxic. Auspiciously, their fundraiser was on the date of my 40th (and was 90s R&B themed!) I performed my new music and I was able to witness some excerpts from their new Edinburgh show. I laughed, I cried and was involved in a collective female rage scream facilitated by Lisa mid-act. I felt cleansed. Check out Polytoxic this year at the Edinburgh Fringe - you will leave empowered with a slightly scratchy throat, but it’ll be worth it.
TV
I’ll be honest I am back on my BS watching re-runs of Malcolm In The Middle. I think it is the best sitcom. I will fight you on this. My steaming hot take is that Hal is one of the most well written ADHD characters of all time. He has the most absurd and endearing hyperfocus subjects, the emotional dysregulation, his disinterest in his job, the executive dysfunction and the object impermanence. Not to mention the neurodivergent children who range from geniuses to chaos demons. So my current hyperfocus is watching reruns while I build my case. In this essay I will discuss….
May I also suggest Dreaming Whilst Black for anyone who needs hope and joy. It's the story of Kwabena, who is stuck in an awful job, managing microaggressions but hoping to see his dreams fulfilled by breaking out of the rat race. Beautifully shot and such gorgeous characters.
GIG
The gig I am most looking forward to is performing Ciseach with a band of beautiful contemporary dancers and musicians across Ireland this April and May. It’s an honour of a lifetime to work with Catherine Young and musical director Martin Schaerer for this work. To be a regular call for Catherine’s work is a humbling thing as I believe she is one of my favourite artists. Ciseach is about finding our way and reconnecting to ourselves and what indigenous and embodied wisdom can tell us in order to stay on our path.
The stage design for this work blows me away. The golden floor seems both liquid or solid, depending on the moment. It reflects onto the bodies of the dancers and for a moment you feel transported to some dream-world. The dancers put their heart and soul into every performance and my job is to make sure the magic builds and swirls in the room while the dancers are in rapture. At least that’s what I tell myself. I’m sure I am meant to do other things. I sing no lyrics, which allows me to access something really deep within me and if you catch me at the right time, I’m really just a vessel. You need to come see this magic work!
I have just returned from Chiang Mai in Northern Thailand, where some of the musicians play three gigs a night. I hopped on mopeds and went from jazz bar to blues bars every night, listening to music. During the day I went to the jazz cafe and sang for free iced lattes. I felt free.
ART
The last exhibition I went to was in Chiang Mai on Valentine’s Day at the Museum Of Broken Relationships. It is exactly what you think it is. Being away from my partner, I thought this would be a funny place to take myself on a solo-date. The first couple of rooms is a shrine to broken romances, which was fine. Then you hit the familial broken relationships and the country displacement grief rooms, the broken relationships caused by conflict and the big book of confessions and my heart was breaking to say the least. All in all, human experiences always make me feel connected to something bigger than myself. Maybe next time I’ll bring someone for emotional support.
PODCAST
Always one for Padraig O Tuama’s Poetry Unbound podcast. O Tuama recites a poem, discusses it and recites it again, so you hear it with a deeper understanding of the intent. I love that. They’re about 20 minutes long so it’s lovely for a quick, inspiring shot in the arm.
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TECH
I got a Xiaomi watch in Kuala Lumpur on my way back from Thailand via Turkmenistan due to my flight being cancelled. So I soothed my stressed brain with a wee shop in Xiaomi, which is a tech brand over there. This little fitness watch is brilliant and tracks my sleep which I have gotten a little obsessed with recently. Every morning it gives you a "sleep animal" - this morning I am a bear. Is that good?
THE NEXT BIG THING...
Decolonial mindsets as the mainstream and reconnecting with our indigenous wisdom.
Ciseach | An Embodied Manifesto tours nationally to Longford, Donegal, Limerick, Kerry, Cork, Galway, Dublin and Clare from April 18th - May 9th - find out more here
