Jules Paymer – The Daughter That My Mother Wanted

By starrymag | August 15, 2023

By: Dianca Yssel

 

 

Q) Your music is described as being bold, lyrically heavy and tapping into influential themes that explore the world from a new perspective. How would you describe your sound?

 

A) My music has a hard-hitting alternative sound combined with vulnerable and intentional lyricism. I would say it lives in the indie, singer-songwriter and alternative worlds but I try not to box myself in!

 

Q) Who are your musical influences and what about these artists resonate with you?

 

A) Conor Oberst is the first one that comes to mind. He’s been a huge influence on me since I was in middle school. He’s honestly the reason why I write the way I do. His lyricism is unbelievable to me. I also love Taylor Swift. I grew up on her and her storytelling which definitely influenced me lyrically. Another is Julia Michaels – I love how conversational she is in her lyrics and melodies.

 

Q) What is your creative process when making new music? Do you need lyrics before adding music?

 

A) I always write lyrics first, usually in my notes app or in my journal. I like starting with a concept and then going into the studio and figuring out what production and melodies sonically add to that concept. It changes a lot as well depending on the day, but I would say I’m pretty much always lyric first!

 

Q) Your music has been making noise in the industry from the get-go, with your first original songs gaining the attention of Spotify curators (featuring on Spotify’s New Music Friday, SALT, Fresh Dance Pop, and Young & Free playlists), as well as catching the attention of artists, producers, songwriters, and industry insiders alike, piquing the interest from the likes of Hayley Williams (Paramore), Noah Kahan, Joshua Bassett and more. What is your recipe to getting people to really take note of your music?

 

A) Thank you for saying that! It might be internal, but I do feel like it’s taken a long time to get people to really listen. However, it’s also taken a long time to figure out how to be truly unguarded in my music. I honestly thought that somehow less people would care if I made the music that I wanted to make instead of what I thought that they wanted to hear, but the second I stopped doing what I thought would work and started making music that was vulnerable and brutally honest, people started listening. I’m so grateful for that.

 

Q) Being part of the music industry as a member of the LGBTQ+ community, you are likely no stranger to the unwarranted challenges, especially the undeserved hateful critique, that comes with expressing your true self in a world dominated by heteronormative ideas. How have these challenges affected your journey as a musician, and how do you manage to keep rising above them in the pursuit of your ambitions?

 

A) This might sound toxic ([laughs]) but I’m a very revenge-driven person. I’m not sure if it’s the Capricorn in me or if it’s just in my blood, but I LOVE proving people wrong. I like to think that if people are mad, then I’m probably doing something right.

 

Q) Despite these ongoing challenges, would you say that the music industry is becoming more open minded and welcoming to non-binary musicians such as yourself?

 

A) It’s hard to say. The positive feedback I get is overwhelmingly positive, but the people who are upset with my identity and me proudly showing it to the world are overwhelmingly upset about it. But to be honest, I’m grateful for this. People either love me for being a sort of pioneer for nonbinary and queer artists or they hate me for the same reason. I would rather people feel strongly about me (whether it’s good or bad,) than feel neutral.

 

Q) Congratulations on your new single, “The Daughter That My Mother Wanted,” which you created in collaboration with celebrated artist Miki Ratsula. How did the two of you connect together to collaborate on the song?

 

A) Thank you! I was and am a huge fan of Miki, so to collaborate with them was a huge honor for me! We connected through social media, mutual friends, kind of just being in similar worlds. We have pretty similar stories of coming out as non-binary and how that affects our relationship with our family, so it was a very easy connection to make, and the song came super naturally after that!

 

Q) “The Daughter That My Mother Wanted” explores the theme of what it is like to be non-binary, queer and the struggles of feeling out of place in the world, as well as the feeling of letting your family down by wanting to express your true self. Why is it important for the rest of the world to hear this?

 

A) I wrote “The Daughter That My Mother Wanted” knowing that it was the exact song that I needed to hear when I was a kid. If I had heard it, I would’ve known that I wasn’t alone and I wouldn’t have felt so crazy and sad. I want the rest of the world to know that it’s okay to be someone you’re proud of rather than someone your parents are proud of. It’s okay if growing into yourself means that you’re growing out of other people.

 

Q) The music video for “The Daughter That My Mother Wanted” depicts both your and Miki’s younger selves stuck in the unhappy state of having to comply with being the perfect daughter. What was the creative process behind making the music video and how does it enhance the lyrics of the song?

 

A) I thought the song was complete and then we made the music video, and I couldn’t believe how big the world that we created around the song had become. “The Daughter that my Mother Wanted” music video is the singular piece of work that I’m most proud of out of my whole discography. Seeing the little versions of us sing our lyrics broke my heart and put it back together again. It shows the song’s story in a much more intimate way – seeing inside the lives of the girls that we could’ve been.

 

Q) Congratulations also on the release of your more recent single, “Mommy Issues.”  The song is described as being dirty, fun and satirical despite the heavy subject matter it deals with. What kind of fan response have you been receiving to this single?

 

A) Thank you!! I’ve been getting an amazing response, which I’m super grateful for. People love the angst, and making that heaviness feel light for a song definitely felt like the right move.  It is for sure raunchier than my other stuff, which I think some people were a little surprised by, especially by the music video (which gets a little steammyyy,) but I’m just excited that listeners get to see another side of me and my music!

 

Q) What do you hope your fans will take away when listening to your latest music? 

 

A) I hope fans can take away that they’re not alone, there are people like them and there is music out there about them!

 

Q) Will you be releasing an album or EP in the near future?

 

A) I just released my debut EP Girls Will Be Boys that I’ve been working on for the last year or so. I had such an incredible experience creating it and would love to do it again, I think I’ll be releasing some singles before the next one, but I’ve already started to work on project #2 so you will definitely be hearing a lot more music soon. [smiles]

 

Q) Which artist(s) would you love to collaborate with on a song in future?

 

A) JP Saxe, Phoebe Bridgers and Conor Oberst

 

Q) What would you like to say to your fans and supporters of the music that you make?

 

A) Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. I started writing music because I thought nobody could hear me. My words couldn’t get through to anybody, so I thought that stringing them together in a song might make my voice louder somehow. Each and every person who takes the time to listen to me means everything to me. I wish I had better words besides “thank you,” because it really means the world to me, but thank you.