What’s up Jack? We ask Jack Adamant some questions and we want answers! Lucky for us, he obliges and tells us what’s up!
First off, What’s up with your name? Is there a story behind it?
I suppose there’s always a story behind any stage name. I have played in several bands since I was young where this Jack thing used to come up most of the time. Supposedly it was in Valerihana where everyone in the band started referring to me as something between Jack Black & Frank Black from the Pixies. At the end it was only Jack left and Adamant in order to describe my approach/attitude, too fussy, a control freak, a bit too much meticulous and hard to be dissuaded. This is it!
Tell us about your musical past, would you tell us about your early years?
Sure, a quick throwback when I was between 8 and 10 years old. I remember having this obsession about writing lyrics snippets. Nothing special or too serious just a kid who tells love stories and tries to stay out of trouble. Already there my way was to write something that resembled lyrics, picturing in my head how these words may sound with an actual instrument. So, I had a whole orchestra in my head but couldn’t even strum a chord on a guitar. Things started to change when I convinced my parents to buy my first guitar, from there I haven’t stopped ever since. No one in my family is a musician or slightly passionate about making music so I don’t really know from where my interest is originated.
How would you describe your sound?
I guess it has changed a lot from the early days.
My first EP “Lunch at 12 since ´82” was a bit more folk I should say. My second record “Unkind” something in between grunge and alt rock while my last one “Obscure places & cupboards” definitely more indie punk, alternative punk but still grunge rooted, not really sure how to describe it. Since I started playing as Jack Adamant I tried to get a lot of inspiration from Billy Corgan, R.E.M. and Sonic Youth. I usually listen to Dinosaur Jr, Superchunk, Bob Mould, Sebadoh and plenty of punk music.
Which artists have the biggest influence on your sound?
Talking about recording my last record I can only think at the bands I was mainly listening during that time. Apart from the ones I’ve mentioned before, The Get Up Kids, The Campbell Apartment, Daniel Johnston, Elliott Smith, Frank Turner, Archers of Loaf, Mikal Cronin and Guided by Voices.
What’s the last song you listened to?
“I don’t wanna hold your hand” by Coastal Fire Dept.
What’s your source for hearing new music?
I don’t really have a specific source, most of the time I find myself on some artist page where I just click the link in their bio. Bandcamp and Spotify, I use them a lot, YouTube too although it’s getting more and more annoying with these stupid ads at the beginning of each video. I know they have to make money but still annoying tho.
Who is your dream producer?
I actually have two, Steve Albini and Butch Vig.
I like Albini attitude too much, he has a crazy amount of experience and expertise and still very much with his feet on the ground. Butch is an excellent musician and music engineer; I like his work with Garbage and Nirvana of course.
If you could collaborate with anyone, who would it be?
Someone that has more or less my same music background, who’s in this new era of self-producing where you have to be the writer, the artist, the sound engineer, the producer, the marketing guy, a journalist and an insanely good promoter.
If you want me to throw you some big names, Craig Finn, Bob Mould and Jeff Tweedy.
What led you to music, and what motivates you to keep making it?
This honestly remains a mystery to me. No one in my family ever encouraged me to follow this path, a bit worthless for them, something that you start when you’re a kid and then you drop it on your way to adulthood, I guess. But I’ve always found a way to trick them to indirectly support me, buying my first instrument, cd’s, cassettes whatever was music concerned. Once I remember in order to prove I was serious about music I told my parents that I wanted to get some guitar lessons which was not doable without a guitar! It worked.
What motivates me to keep making music is unconscious, I do it because I feel better. This is also the reason why I like to share my music; I hope my songs can communicate to others the same way they do it for me.
Tell us about the songwriting process. How does it all come together?
It is never the same. I mean, it has changed a lot over the years especially from my first record to the last one.
I’m aware that much creativity is inside the recording and mixing process as well as in the writing and the arrangement of a song. So, I was particularly focusing on these aspects in the last 5-6 years. My plan is to keep improve in this field to see if this can help to express myself without making me uncomfortably odd.
I mean this new technology is giving us a bit too much to fiddle with. I just want to make the whole process easier from having an idea to translate it into something pleasing and listenable.
How do you connect with your audience? What is the easiest way for them to connect with you?
Social media, I guess. I’m on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and TikTok, so anyone can easily find me almost everywhere.
website: https://jackadamant.com
spotify: https://open.spotify.com/jackadamant/
bandcamp: https://jackadamant.bandcamp.com/
instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jackadamant/
facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jackadamantofficial
What’s next for you?
Keep working on music, playing shows and sharing whatever I do with whoever is interested in it. I don’t like to plan too far but I feel opened to try new things so I cannot wait myself to see how new songs turn to be in the future.
Anything else you’d like to add or let us know about?
I have a new record out called “Obscure places & cupboards” and some cool music videos as well. I worked on all of this together with my partner in crime Ged. Please check me out and let me know what you think. Cheers
BIO
Jack Adamant is a singer/songwriter from Italy who lives and records in Sweden.
His solo career began around 2012 when he started writing songs that were heavily influenced by American artists such as J Mascis, Lou Barlow, Evan Dando, Bob Mould, Mac McCaughan, Robert Pollard, Daniel Johnston and others from the same music scene. Learning to play guitar at twelve years old he couldn’t wait to start writing music, learning to mix with an old tape recorder won in a street raffle. By experimenting with different genres of music and meticulously studying his favourite lyrics, he finally found his own style leaning towards alternative folk/rock.
In 2007, he joined Valerihana, where distortion and heavy guitars gave him the foundations and confidence to play live. Touring mainly between Italy and Sweden, they had a good amount of shows under their belt by the time they released their first record “Out of regulation”, which draws influence from the likes of Smashing Pumpkins, Placebo and the Pixies.
After signing to AR Recordings in july 2017, the work began to release Jack Adamant’s first EP “Lunch at 12 since ’82”. The EP consists of five songs which tell the story of a couple navigating the obstacles and hardships of life together. His way of narrating highlights the fragility of a relationship; the difficulty in knowing when to push harder and fight for something, when to whisper words of support if the other is struggling but also to be brutally honest with each other when things aren’t working out.
”Writing this EP forced me to be honest and take stock of my opinions. It allowed me to know my own mind.”
Jack released his first full record “Unkind” in 2019, which was a massive change in sound from the old days, written between Stockholm, Liverpool, Rome and God knows where else. “I am so thankful to all the people who supported me and the musicians who shared their talent to make this happen”. Since 2020 he’s been working on a slightly different sound more towards punk-rock. A new batch of songs were produced by Jack and his drummer Ged at home mainly during lockdown. Jack Adamant’s new record “Obscure Places & Cupboards” was recently released on AR Recordings!
