Amelie Jat
Beneath the teenage angst & heartbreak, a villain’s origin story comes to life in Amelie Jat’s 2023 album, ‘for the plot’. In a new era for the UK-based artist, Amelie’s glittery fusion of alt & pop-punk shines throughout the album, evoking that brooding nostalgia of our teenage years.
‘for the plot’ clutches onto the age where main character energy thrives and drama is everywhere, where the music becomes a big middle finger to anyone and everyone. Despite its nostalgia, Amelie’s shift in sound marks a maturity & confidence in her sound, letting her energy shine throughout especially on songs like ‘2028’ and ‘YOU RUINED MY BIRTHDAY’.
Amelie captures such a transitional period of life perfectly, creating a time capsule for these feelings of anger, loss, confusion. It’s a lived in moment of time, one that will continue to garner new fans due to the universality of her music.
Check out our interview with Amelie Jat below, and be sure to follow her on socials for the next phase of her musical career! ‘for the plot’ is available on all streaming platforms now!
GRRRL Music: You began songwriting on your bedroom floor at the early age of 11, can you share how your songwriting process has evolved or what themes you find yourself drawn to?
Photo Credit: Provided By Artist
Amelie Jat: It’s a bit of a cliché thing to say that songwriters have a tendency to write music that’s inspired by their actual lives, but it really is the truth when it comes to my music – I think that my writing process has grown up with me as I’ve stepped into my early 20s, and it’s particularly evident when I look back on songs from my first album that I wrote when I was 16/17. I’m still writing about falling in love, breaking up, mental health – but I know for a fact I now have a different take on girlhood, on healing, on love. I am a different songwriter now but I am simultaneously every past version of myself, and I think the same applies to my music and song-writing. I’ve also learned so much from working with my producer James McMillan, and we’ve really developed the Amelie Jat sound over the last 6 years of working together.
GM: We've seen you transition from bedroom pop to pop-punk, drawing inspiration from artists like Avril Lavigne and Maggie Lindemann. What motivated this shift and do you find yourself feeling more secure within the genre?
AJ: As an artist I am constantly finding ways to challenge myself and think out of the box, and one aspect of that is venturing into new genres and styles. The first song that I wrote out of this pop-punk collection was a complete game-changer for me – I walked into the studio in the summer of 2019 and just told my producer that I wanted to write a song that would be completely different from anything I’d made before that, and I just knew it was the sound I wanted for this collection, I could feel it in my bones.
GM: With 'YOU RUINED MY BIRTHDAY,' you've created what you call your 'villain origin story.' Can you elaborate on the significance of embracing the 'bad guy' persona in your music and personal growth?
AJ: A huge part of my album ‘for the plot’ is teenage rage and drama – I think it was important for me as an artist to explore the edgier, angstier side of myself in the form of my music. I was 19 when I wrote the songs for this album and I was really playing on the ‘cinematic’ idea of life being like a movie, and I realised that you can’t always be liked by everyone you meet, and sometimes – whether or not it’s true – you will be the bad guy, so why not embrace it?
GM: Having been born and raised in Hong Kong, how do your multicultural experiences influence your music, especially in terms of thematic elements or sonic choices?
AJ: Although I was born in Hong Kong and spent most of my early childhood there, I’ve actually spent a lot of time in the last 10 years in the UK – I feel a bit like a fish out of water whenever I’m back in Hong Kong as I’ve grown accustomed to British pop culture actually, and I was told a couple of years ago that my music doesn’t fit within the mould of pop music in Hong Kong!
GM: Your mixtape 'CINEMATIC!' is described as a soundtrack for every main character. What was your vision behind this project, and how does it represent your current stage in life and music?
AJ: ‘CINEMATIC’ was sort of a prequel to my album ‘for the plot’ – as the titles suggest, they both orbit around the same idea of ‘being the main character’. I think it’s easy to get lost in other people’s lives from the outside, but every person should feel like the main character in their own life, it’s just a rite of passage. I just turned 21 – I’ve developed and grown as a person, as an artist since I wrote all these songs (I only released them when I was 20 but wrote them all when I was 18/19 as previously mentioned) and I’ve realised that life doesn’t always have to be over the top dramatic to be enjoyable and memorable, but I definitely still stand by the fact that sometimes you just have to throw yourself into things and have some fun – do it for the plot.
GM: As you continue to evolve as an artist, are there any new musical styles or collaborations you're excited to explore? What can your fans look forward to in the near future?
AJ: I’m really looking forward to releasing a new era of music, I’ve been in the studio a lot since ‘for the plot’ dropped in October, and I can say that although the pop-punk element will always be a part of the Amelie Jat music palette, I’m really excited for my fans to hear new music that seems to be drifting in a alt/pop direction.