Jeremy Redmore is a New Zealand musician, singer-songwriter and producer. But you may know him from the mighty NZ band Midnight Youth. Jeremy recently released his album THE BRIGHTEST FLAME. You may have heard that Midnight Youth were also about to take the stage again, before the virus spread & lockdown hit.
But he has been adapting and is still creating during these times. So we decided to catch up with him and see how he’s been.
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1. Happy NZ Music Month! How did you initially get into creating music?
I was an emotionally and hormonally overwhelmed 17 year old who asked his Dad if he could borrow his guitar and what three simple chords were that he could write a song from. I learned Am, Em and D and went to work.. I’ve still never had any formal lessons or training outside of what my Dad taught me that day.
2. Tell us about your inspirations & motivations?
I think writing music has always been a subconscious coping mechanism for me, a way to process the under-arms in life. Consciously though, it has been a way for an inherently shy and self-doubting person, raised in a restrictive catholic and boys-only world, to communicate and interact with other people, especially women.
3. What have you been up to in this lockdown and how has it affected you?
I released an album during the week that lockdown kicked into action and it hit my release plans pretty hard: multiple interviews cancelled, shows cancelled and an audience rightly distracted by issues much more serious than a bunch of songs. So I chose to embrace the situation and launch a series of initiatives related to the strange world we had found ourselves living in: ‘Songs to Your Steps’ lasted about five days and allowed people in isolation to request me to show up on their doorstep and sing them songs for free. Once lockdown hit I then started ’Telltale Tunes’, which is a series of songs I’ve written based on the anonymous stories about lockdown life submitted to me by the general public. Hopefully the latter will help document some of the unique ways our lives have been affected by a global pandemic.
4. What do you think of the NZ music scene?
The NZ music scene is incredible: it’s diverse, it’s unique, it’s ambitious and inspiring. There is truly something world class for every type of music fan, from Top 40 pop through to avant-garde alternative artists.
5. Goal board time – where would you like to see yourself in a years time?
Honestly, given the current circumstances, if I’m still able to create and perform original music in a year’s time I will count myself lucky. Ideally though, I would love to be taking an immersive live experience of my current music around Aotearoa and in the midst of recording my next set of songs.
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Jeremy recently released his new album ‘The Brightest Flame’! You can find out all the details on the release here: https://momentspassed.com/jeremy-redmore-new-album/
He recently offered a Songs to your Steps service before the lockdown intensified and is now doing ‘Telltale Tunes’ where he interprets the stories you send him into songs (with complete privacy and no judgement). Check out his IG and Facebook for more!
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