An Interview With Jiggly Group
“Jiggly Group: Music is an Art. Don’t Make It Something It’s Not”
INTRO
Names: Aislinn Kelly and Paul Soultanakis
Pronouns: She/Her and He/Him
Band name: Jiggly Group
Instagram handle: @jigglygroup
What is your inspiration behind starting Jiggly Group?
Paul: Well, Jiggly Group originally was like a collective idea where we would drop our more avant-garde music in addition to other bands we had going on at the same time, so we have both kind of concepted out like a desert rock band, while we were making Jiggly Group, but we found that writing to a specific genre got boring quick and the music that we were making under Jiggly Group was really fun and exciting. Upon that realization, we decided “Why don’t we just do that?”
Aislinn: It also helps that it was just both of us, like Paul and I are literally together all the time. Why not make something that’s legit, just Paul and I. We don’t have to really rely on anybody to like, playback a band, at all.
Paul: Yeah, that was another big part. In that, it’s really hard to get other people together and on the same wavelength when it comes to making music. A lot of the Jiggly Group sound and approach ended up coming from us sitting down and being like, “What could we just do together?” and “How ambitious can we be with that?” Just us two
How would you describe your genre and who influences your music?
(Both begin to laugh)
Paul: Our genres, I would definitely describe it as experimental electronic, if you're really trying to delve into what classification it might fall under.
Aislinn: But, to be honest, it's like what we were talking about: it's ever evolving. Like that's why it's kind of hard to pinpoint, I guess, an actual genre for it.
Paul: The sound we attribute is jiggly. In that, it is free flowing, it can be a solid, it can be a liquid...
Aislinn: And it moves around...
Paul: And it moves with the wind, it moves in a certain direction. If you squeeze it, it tastes different, depending on which part of your tongue you put it on. Jiggly Group is ever evolving. A lot of the inspiration from the sounds come from the idea of multiverses. The idea that we could be very, very small compared to extraneous forces or we could be really, really big, two extraneous forces. Those two concepts are sort of redundant because, in either way, you are what you are and the universe surrounds you. And you are also that universe. For instance, right now I'm sipping a cup of coffee and in the time it took for that sit to happen, an entire universe could have been born and slowly destroyed as it slides down my mouth and into my gut biome, which acts as a black hole, which is now the new universe being born on the other side. That's how we classify Jiggly Group’s music.
Aside from music, what other mediums have inspired you both for Jiggly Group music (your aesthetic, your attitude, etc.)?
Paul: For me, definitely a lot of science. Science is a big inspo for me. Whether it's the ideas of quantum physics or inter-dimensionality. That kind of stuff are things I definitely contemplate when I'm arranging the music. Or there are things that will inspire me to make music. Anything like that. Like, if you've ever watched a supernova unfold, I mean there, there's nothing that can look quite so musical to you than that. If you turned on music and started spraying paint around, you would do cosmic things. The way that the cosmos reacts to stimuli looks like music to me. Have you ever seen even a nebula and a piece of gas blow up in colors, and the way it spreads out? It's just symphonic. It's like an orchestra. There are ebbs and flows to the energy of it. That kind of stuff really inspires the music that we make. And then I would say a lot of animation.
Aislinn: Yeah. 3-D work, in general. It comes from nothing. Like, you literally have, for the most part, a blank, empty room. And then you add geometry and just keep adding geometry, until it forms a shape that you can put light over for us to actually recognize what it is. Being able to be in that big empty room and just create something out of nothing is inspiring. And what you do create is like “what the fuck is that?” That's what I love about animation, for sure. Especially because it goes hand-in-hand with music.
Is there a purpose or importance to your music because of its eccentricity?
Aislinn: It's like totally us from the core. So I think like the importance behind it is that we just like, if you want to know what we're thinking or like, if you want to really jump inside, maybe our problems or what we're hashing out at the time… It's us.
Paul: Jiggly Group’s eccentricity definitely comes from the fact that it's the most honest thing we could be doing because there's really no bars. There's not a whole lot of editing that goes on.
Aislinn: It's really fluid when we work together, too. It's like, “Oh, well, what do you think of this? Do you like that sound? Doesn't really hit right here for me”, but we can always come to a conclusion.
Paul: Everything funnels through the both of us. And we're both really equal co-creators. That allows us to not only be really honest with what we're talking about, or the sounds we're trying to make, but it makes the music extra cathartic because after putting the song together after putting even like a little piece of music or a video together, I feel like we've solved something between the two of us. We've like unlocked an avenue of communication that isn't only relevant to the two of us as like, an artistic entity, but I think now is something that we can communicate with other people. And that's really where the eccentricity of our band is, almost a symptom of that way of working.
TOUCHING ON THE ONGOING ISSUES IN THE MUSIC SCENE AND HOW STANDARDS ARE CHANGING
Considering sexual assault still being a correlating connection to the music scene, even nowadays, and the stories that have been coming out with bands such as The Growlers, Banes World, The Buttertones, OC Hurricanes and more, how does your music respond to this?
Paul: Well, it definitely responds in a way that it has even before these allegations came out, in that, you know, we definitely strive in being a different sort of band and being like kind of an experimental band to break down the assumptions of the music industry that allow these kinds of predators to be permeated. So, a lot of people will start up a band when they're in high school and your initial motive might be to hook up with chicks or to be really cool.
Aislinn: Get your 15 seconds of fame.
Paul: Yeah, your 15 seconds of fame is going to come from your million Spotify plays or something like that. And I, of course, resonate with the fact that when you're young, those types of things are really, really important to you. Even if it's a little bit of an illusion.When bands aren't coming from a place of artistry, they're coming from a place of ego. And I think those two things go hand in hand because to create and put your music out, in general, you need ego. If it was purely just a cathartic thing, we would never put our sound out there...The conversation should be with your own ego, not using your ego to boost your ego. It's almost like dealing with your ego, in a way.
I think that the way we go about presenting ourselves is inclusive. Not only because we're male and female here, but also we're a couple and we're Jiggly Group. I wouldn't necessarily classify us as like male or female all the time. And we like to show that in our art and in our live shows, if you've ever been to them. I would say that you might have a few questions on which one is Aislinn and which one is Paul, if we're up there. Especially if we're in full costume, you might not be able to distinguish between the two of us at all because we're Jiggly Group. Yeah, with the wigs on definitely, definitely tough.
Aislinn: (Laughs) Yeah…
Paul: When my hair is really long, it's kind of tough. When I'm wearing Aislinn’s pants, it can be kind of tough.
(He’s currently wearing Aislinn’s pants. We all laugh).
Paul: It's not even that it is on purpose. It's just another avenue of how we're trying to express the visual aspect of the art. We want to be fluid because our stuff is from another dimension. It's not from here. There's no male or female where we come from. There are no bodies where we come from. It’s frequency in space traveling through some notion of time, that's also irrelevant here. We try to show that. That's the inclusivity; nothing that you see matters. What you hear matters. How it tickles your wormhole.
As we all know, music is an art. I feel music cannot be taken seriously if a lot of hypermasculine bands have stronger intentions to take advantage of women rather than use their passion to produce art. Going back to the shifting standards in 2020, do you both think new genres, or at least new sounds, will come out?
Paul: Yes, yes. Short answer, yes. Definitely. If I could draw a direct comparison, I would say that a lot of the bands who have had allegations against them are in a similar genre. I think there's something about throwback rock and roll that really heightens the idea of sex, drugs, money, rock and roll, right? So, I think that in a subtle retaliation to that, the bands who have been doing more experimental stuff, I think we'll move a little more into the mainframe.
Aislinn: Music is always ever evolving. We wouldn't have hyper-pop if we didn't have dubstep in the early 2000’s. You wouldn't even know what dubstep was in the late-90’s. There's always new music, always new types. It also helps when the world is upside down, too. You begin to think, “Well, if nothing's normal, why should I be normal? I could make whatever I want.” The world is endless and is not telling you what to do. But you can totally react to what is happening. I feel like a lot of artists are totally taking that to heart and making what they want.
Paul: I also think tearing down these hypermasculine bands really promotes feminine bands. I feel like the time and the era are really supportive of these [femme] acts and that's making their art better. It's adding fuel to the femme energy and art...The music scene is taking a hard look at its love for these boy rock and roll bands and saying, “These guys are causing us the biggest headaches. We should really redirect our focus on these emerging femme bands.
Aislinn: Putting themselves out there takes more guts than anything.
Paul: It's exciting to see the empowerment of female bands, femme bands. And the avant-garde.
Aislinn: And the non-binary, too.
Paul: Yeah, anything that kind of trashes that old scenario. But really, I think that a lot of it… I don't mean to sit here and claim that I don't love garage rock, because it's where I come from, but I will say that I love seeing the motive of making the music torn down because it really comes down to your motive. Are you trying to be popular? Are you trying to make money? Are you trying to get laid? All those things are going to point towards garbage music. Not only a garbage personality, but probably garbage music, too. Now, we have decided, all those things are going to turn into a shit sound.
Aislinn: With all that being remade, people emerging, and trying to create maybe a new genre, if we’re still on that topic, it also comes down to what people have instrument-wise. That changes constantly with technology, too. Definitely, new types of music are going to merge just based on the tools that we have.
Last time we all talked, Paul mentioned that ever since people have been coming out with their traumatic experiences and the unsafe environments in the music scene, the standards have been changing and will continue to change. What exactly do you mean by that?
Paul: I think that the reckoning with other bands has really, if anything, has done a lot to spur education about what these situations look like when they happen, because it's really easy in a venue to be standing around, dancing with people to look over to the side, and see somebody swerving and being like, “oh, wow, they're really drunk.” Then, assuming the person who's carrying them out is their friend. And I think that education that's come out of this is if you see someone carrying somebody out, offer to help for no other reason. Maybe they're really intoxicated, and their friend could use help, but maybe that's not their friend and stepping into help, you can assess the situation a little more, instead of just assuming.
Aislinn: Especially older people, too...Plenty of times I've been at shows, especially the Observatory where I've seen really young girls just getting shwasted and swerving around. And it's like, I could have done something. I could have helped them, too. Instead, I was like, “Oh! That sucks. I've been there before.” I should use that knowledge to be like, “Hey, you okay? You need a Monster? Bread? I got you!”
Paul: There are predators everywhere you go. That’s just a symptom of nature: there are predators and there are prey. Unfortunately, humans really like to dance around the nuances of those things...I mean, it just seems more like pop culture…
Aislinn: Sex, money, rock and roll...
Paul: Sex, money, rock and roll. Drugs, money, sex. We've been fed that for a really long time. Eventually, people get full and their stomach starts to hurt. If you eat too much of something, you're probably going to puke it up. And I think the music scene is just puking up that sentiment right now.
Aislinn: It's about the rock and roll.
Paul: It's about the rock and roll...As traumatizing, as sad and as much solidarity there is present for this moment, it is also a positive moment. We will have now set a standard and it's a standard that you cannot ignore. I'm excited to see where we go from that because I think the face of shows will change the look of them, the idea of them. I’m excited to see where we go. I’m excited for people to stop touching each others’ buttholes.
(We all laugh - Paul & Ais are hysterical)
Paul: I mean, you can ask first!
What general tips would you give to people who want to produce music in the 2020 music scene?
Paul: Only do it because you need to or you love it. There's no other reason to get into producing music. Absolutely none. If you want to make money, go get a degree and get a job. And I promise you that you will have all the money you need to play, whatever instrument you want. Friday, Saturday, Sunday, after 5pm. After working nine to five. You can have a great paying job and you can play music. If you want to make music and you want to be paid for it in a scene, well…
Aislinn: Don't expect to get paid. Having the mentality of wanting to get paid hinders the creativity. If that's in your mind, then you start thinking, “Well, what should I make, so I can get paid?”, rather than “What should I make?”
Paul: Don't expect it. If you get paid somehow, some way, amazing. You know, everybody dreams of that. But, don't make it for that reason. I guarantee you that if you make it to get paid, you will never get paid. Nobody wants to pay you for something that ends up being uncreative because you were “trying”. If you're really trying to get paid, sign up for an A&R deal. You can go to meetings. They’re in L.A. all the time. Artists and representatives of Capitol Records literally hold open auditions.
Aislinn: Don't plateau. Always challenge yourself. Always try and become better at your craft. That's so important. You can't just learn all the major chords and be like, “Yeah, I'm done”, and expect your music to be super popular, as if you haven't even challenged yourself with what you can do and what you can create.
Paul: Don't be afraid. Don't be afraid to do it because you love it. Don't be afraid to chase a sound that you like. Be confident that you'll be accepted.
Aislinn: If you like it, put it out. Doesn't matter what anyone says. If you like it and it fulfills something for you, that's more than enough reason to put it on any kind of platform.
Both Paul and Ais: Do it for yourself.
Paul: Do it because you need to. Do it because you want a community. Just don't do it for popularity. Trust me, you will suck. Don't do it.
Aislinn: But, you will also meet a lot of great people. So, if you go into it with an open mind, you will definitely meet super awesome cats.
Paul: You will find that popularity is a relative term. Once you're in a community of like-minded people, the idea of popularity kind of becomes irrelevant. Because you are already around the people you probably want to surround yourself with. It's about community and friendship. It's about needing a release. Some people really need that. Those types of people make good music.
