‘Muse And Musician’ New Single From Aotearoa Artist Just Janie

South Island artist Just Janie releases her beautiful new single ‘Muse and Musician’ today (July 5). 

Just Janie’s Muse and Musician is “at its core, an appreciation of what it means to be a musician.” Janie shares “I wanted to explore the idea of what creating art and sharing that art does to one's psyche.” 

“Muse and Musician was loosely inspired by Fleetwood Mac, as well as many women (and men) who have been considered a muse when they have a unique talent of their own. In Fleetwood Mac's case, the musicians wrote songs about one another and then performed these songs together, sharing their experiences for the whole world. That's an incredibly vulnerable and intense ability to give yourself in that way to your music”. 

“When I first write a song, it often hurts” Janie elaborates. “It breaks my heart to sing some of my songs initially, but it is healing at the same time. Eventually you learn to live with and cope with those memories. And so, the song takes on a new meaning, for someone else.”

Just Janie's captivating and tender music draws inspiration from the folk scene of the late sixties and early seventies. Janie describes herself as a “folk singer songwriter, with a case of nostalgia for the Laurel Canyon daydream.” Her lyrical landscapes offer an intimate raw window into her experiences of love and loss, the disillusion of rose-tinted memories, and what it means to write and perform music.

Speaking to the lyrical meaning of ‘Muse and Musician’ Janie shares “I have many muses, but I also think my idea of a muse is different from its original meaning. In Greek mythology, it was often seen as the source of inspiration, but the Muse was just that, the source. People who I view as a muse often inspire my art because of the incredible work they do, whether that is music, art, or something else entirely. They are their own individual with ideas and depth. That translates into the song as well. The ‘Muse’ isn’t just someone else's inspiration.” 

Janie writes music as a form of creative therapy, and a way to release her thoughts and feelings into another place. “My grandma Suey used to say that you should write your worries onto a piece of paper, then throw the paper in the bin. I’ve carried this idea with me throughout my life, and I bring this approach into my song writing.” 

This cathartic process has been so transformative in Janie's life it led her to study a Postgraduate Diploma in Arts Therapy at Whitecliffe College and a Bachelor of Arts, Majoring in Education and Minoring in Psychology and Writing, at the University of Otago. “I wanted to share the way the arts had helped me with others,” says Janie. 

Her passion has led her to work in mental health and arts, working as a facilitator of Central Otago’s Creative Outreach Programme, a non-profit organisation which works to help individuals struggling with their mental wellbeing post covid to find connection with creativity in their communities. Most recently Janie has stepped into a role working at Ōtautahi Creative Wellbeing as an artworker, providing equitable access for creative wellbeing in the community.

'Muse and Musician' music video was filmed in Central Otago by Seung Woo Hong. “I wrote the song here in Cambrian, and so it felt complete to film the video at home, in my world” says Janie. 

'Muse and Musician' is the third and final single on Just Janie's EP release, following 'Love Letter to Myself' (released January 5) and 'Nostalgia' (released March 29) recorded in the Blue Mountains with Australian producers Rick Turnock and Abby Smith (Smith and Jones).

Just Janie has also just announced a run of South Island shows to celebrate the release of 'Muse and Musician’ July 5 The Duck, Ōtepoti/Dunedin, July 21 Sofar Sounds, Ōtautahi/Christchurch, July 27 Supporting Adam Hattaway Wunderbar Lyttelton and July 28 Folk Club, Ōtautahi/Christchurch. Tickets are availble from Under The Radar. 

Just Janie’s single and music video 'Muse and Musician’ is available now (July 5) from all streaming platforms. 

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