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ONE-ON-ONE: Being in a Room with Jack Antonoff aka BLEACHERS 

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One Music PH Team

Jack Antonoff is definitely a pop music savant, from his early days in the New Jersey underground music scene to his part as a member of <a href="~/">FUN.</a> to his solo project-turned -band <a href="~/">BLEACHERS</a> down to his current run as multi-awarded producer-songwriter-studio collaborator for the likes of <a href="~/">Taylor Swift</a> and <a href="~/">Carly Rae Jepsen</a> to <a href="~/">St. Vincent</a> and <a href="~/">Lana del Rey</a>, among many,many others.He recently won his 10th Grammy Award recently, winning Producer of the Year for his work on <a href="~/">Swift</a>&#x27;s <a href="~/">Midnights</a>. He has won the said award for three years in a row, making him only the second producer to ever accomplish the feat.If there ever was a perfect time for<a href="~/"> Antonoff</a> to release a self-titled <a href="~/">BLEACHERS</a> album, it would be now. Released under the eclectic world-renowned record label <a href="~/">Dirty Hit</a>, the album combines the influence his pop sensibilities, his eclectic New Jersey indie music scene influences, and the feel of those John Hughes classic films. He recently performed the rollicking <a href="~/">&quot;Jesus Is Dead&quot;</a> on The <a href="~/">Late Night with Stephen Colbert</a>.<div><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen="" frameBorder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/KqAQ2VOXqKA?si=CrA5Bl7aV9o4jcdp" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe></div>In an exclusive interview with One Music PH courtesy of his label, Jack said that “The overarching concept of the album is about deepening relationships, what happens when you go further and further into intense relationships, that’s what it feels like. There’s a lot of personal relationships, that’s what it feels like with how long the band has been making music at this point. And I didn’t really did not know at the time, but it’s also the reason that it’s self-titled, it’s because I found myself in this place where all my reference points were just…my band. I think it’s very hopeful even though at some times it could be sad.”Somehow, Bleachers manages to combine the feel of a fun, big arena show and the cozy, intimate club gig. “There’s something about…I always say when I play a small venue, I want it to feel like a giant venue, and when I play the giant venue, you kinda’ make them feel like they’re all together in a small bar, but I’ve never been afraid of the big venues,&quot; Antonoff elaborates. &quot;It all depends on the kind of music, there’s always something about the type of songs that I write and what Bleachers sound like where…When a lot of people get together to celebrate, something very special happens. So I don’t think about playing the music when I’m writing it, I only think about recording it and what I’m trying to say. And when it’s in the phase that I’m in now, (that’s when) I start to think about ‘Oh, it would be cool to play it in this type of venue…” That’s when I start to imagine that stuff. And yeah I agree, it feels quite big. But it’s funny because they’re made in a small environment.”We then talked about the album tracks Bleachers prior to the full album drop, starting with &quot;Tiny Moves&quot;, the music video of which features a lady doing a cool interpretative dance of the song. “The song for me, kinda’ came out from thin air,&quot; Jack says. &quot;I was in…[inaudible], and then I literally just started singing it, so the song literally came out of me out of nowhere. But it’s about how everything is so delicate, that with every tiny moves that are made it feels like the whole world is shaking, and it’s about that really crazy feeling when you first fall; every little motion; every tiny, tiny thing feels earth-shattering.” <div><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen="" frameBorder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/kmpyfDF_pes?si=lkpC-82CWs2Imwo9" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe></div>When asked if the interpretative dance added new layers of meaning of the song for him, he answered, “Entirely! It really feels like I can’t hear the song without thinking of the video now, with every note I see every motion the dancer did. And those are the best videos for me, the ones that uhm (do that)...I wrote that song, and I recorded that song, did all these different things and worked so hard on that song, and as soon as I saw now, that’s what’s in my head now. It totally captured it for me.”The track <a href="~/">&quot;Me Before You&quot;</a> has that Bruce Springsteen vibe going for it. “Well, the way that he works with, like, humming synthesizer pads, and then creating a really narrative mood on top of that is something that’s always spoken to me,&quot; Antonoff relates. I had this idea for the song, and songs come in different ways, like how when I said that ‘Tiny Moves’ fell to me out of thin air, ‘Me Before of You’, I thought of that line (before everything else followed). Then I just became very interested in describing all the things I was before and kind of breaking down the mythology of what I used to tell myself. And, I don’t know, it just came out that way, but there’s definitely a connection to that New Jersey sound of hope and terror.&quot;<div><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen="" frameBorder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/MgjSE5v_4x0?si=Q3pYU26GCPSGf8QZ" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe></div>He also talked about <a href="~/">&quot;Alma Mater&quot;</a>, his collaboration with <a href="~/">Lana del Rey</a>. &quot;The best!,&quot; Jack said about his experience working with her anew. &quot;We made that song, that song is basically a hyped up-version of what just happened live in the studio at that moment (when we first worked on it together), and I wanted to keep it that way, so it felt like everyone was in the room with us.&quot;<div><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen="" frameBorder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/UwgWo9dn3LY?si=3k0DAgY1HA-Pc97B" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe></div>Whether as Bleachers or as a producer for other artists, Antonoff has always had the knack of marrying his mainstream pop sensibilities and his eclectic indie music influences. As a producer he has proven that he can work with the likes of Taylor Swift and Carly Rae Jepsen on one side, Lana del rey and St. Vincent on the other, and even The 1975 in between. &quot;I don’t know, I just think a lot about the music I grew up with, and at the same time coming from the New Jersey underground scene, and learning from that I was also listening to so much pop music from the 60’s and 70’s, and there’s also the things that were coming out of the radio at the time, I never felt any elitism about a different style of music, so I just like what I like,&quot; Jack elaborates. &quot;I would just bounce around from a lot from different things. I would listen to the Gin Blossoms, then I would listen to Fugazi. Then I would listen to, you know, Billy Joel, then I would listen to Yazz. I would just move quite quickly in my head. I never felt overly boxed in, which is may be why it took people a long before they understand what I do.&quot;On working with Taylor and Del Rey: &quot;Everyone is so different. Every day in the studio is interesting because even though my body Is doing the same thing it feels so different working with different kinds of artists.&quot;It&#x27;s also curious as to how artist-producers are very good at producing other artists, but still feel the need to have another person to bounce ideas to when it comes to their own personal work. For his self-titled new relase, he enlists the help of Patrik Berger.Yeah, I feel like I need…I like to have that partner with me who’s climbing the mountain with me, you know? I like being in a small team, me and someone else or one other person. A really small team, I really feel like when you’re in a small group of people, you kind of shut yourself away, you kind of believe you can do anything, and then you do. And sometimes I’m that kind of person to other people, and sometimes I need that kind of person for myself. Patrik was that kind of person for me for the past two albums,&quot; Antonoff shared.As a record producer, he describes himself as a flexible producer who can operate different ways. &quot;It’s always different, it depends on what the song needs,&quot; Jack explains. &quot;I don’t really care to work in any specific way. I only care about what it sounds like. So sometimes, I’ll have things done quickly, and they’re kind of rough and ready, and that’s that, great! And other things call for these long processes of many takes and many versions.&quot;When asked about why people should listen to Bleachers the record, he said &quot;This album is a crazy journey, so it’s a whole world unto itself, and it’s exactly about what it feels like being in a room with me right now.&quot;

One Music PH got the privillege of talking online to award-winning producer-singer-songwriter Jack Antonoff on his new self-titled album as BLEACHERS and working with the likes of Taylor Swift and Lana del Rey. Photo by Alex Lockett