Rapidly approaching the release of his hotly-anticipated third EP, ‘when i’m feeling better we could dream together’ due out next month, New Zealand-born, London-based queer alt pop alchemist Jack Panther returns today with a heart-rending yet soaring new single, Just a Dog, ahead of his debut Australian performance also locked in for May. Jack dropped by for a quick Q + A
Hi, thanks for taking the time to chat with Hear 2 Zen, what have you been up to today?
Release week this week, so just been doing interviews and practicing for the upcoming tour!
Tell us about yourself, how long have you been performing/creating music for?
I’ve been writing music for around 13 years now hahaha! Jack Panther only started around 6 years ago an i t took me a while to find my voice, but I did start at 14 and I think you go through a lot growing up between 14 – 27.
I’m a Kiwi, queer alt-pop artist recently based in London. A lot of my music comes from a personal place and I somehow manage to balance it out by not taking myself to seriously
Who are your greatest inspirations? Why?
I’m a massive nerd for Lana Del Rey. I listened to her music at time where I was so young (perhaps 14) and it really changed the way I viewed music. I grew up listening to either Pop Pop, or 80’s prog rock, then hearing this inbetween of Lana suddenly blew me away!
How do you create music? Are you lyrics/story driven, or does the music/melody come first? Explain your process.
It’s always a mix, there is no set way for me to write. Recently I’ve been writing on guitar and find that melodies come to me first, but as I’m humming the words or theme seem to come at the same time so it often goes hand in hand.
Recently I’ve been writing by myself then taking it to the studio or a producer to develop the production with.
What has been your greatest challenge so far in performing/creating music?
I think moving to London and in a way ‘restarting’ was a big challenge for me! It took people a second to know who JP is.
Tell us about your new release, Just a Dog, how did it come about?
This was such a random fruition of the song. It began as a concept of seeing someone you have a crush on be interested in someone else.
After the first session, we scrapped the writing entirely and reworked it around the song. I think having the space between session 1 and session 2 helped me figure out exactly what I needed to say.
What advice do you have to artists who are just starting out?
Be patient, but also show up to gigs, workshops etc. Put the work in to say hi and never be afraid to ask for help!
Tell us your favourite Zen practice.
I love going to the gym. With more releases having been in the pipeline recently, I’ve been pushing myself to gym more and more so than fit physically but also mentally!
Otherwise, I love listening to podcasts or reading.
