Exclusive Music Video Premiere: Jane Q’s “Sugar Water”

Jane Q is an up-and-coming singer-songwriter who’s taking the music industry by storm. Today, she debuts her first-ever music video, exclusively here on Pop Culturalist.com. We caught up with this fast-rising superstar to chat all things “Sugar Water.”

PC: How did you discover your passion for music?
Jane: I started playing music at a young age, which is pretty generic. I took piano lessons when I was little and always loved to sing. I’m super lucky to have two incredibly supportive parents who not only taught me anything is possible with hard work, they gave me the tools to become a hard worker. From a young age, my little brother and I both had a practice log to track the hours we practiced each day and what we accomplished in those practice sessions. It just so happened that my brother and I were interested in music, but I’m sure my parents would have figured out some other way to teach us discipline if we had other interests we wanted to pursue. Both of my parents are also super creatively inclined. My mom grew up singing, dancing, and performing in plays and musicals. My dad played French horn in his high school band, was a fine arts major in college, and picked up the guitar later in life. Though neither ended up pursuing creative careers, they are both so incredibly supportive of both my brother and I and our plans to pursue a career in music.

The turning point for me was combining those two passions and being able to sing and accompany myself on piano. I fronted some bands in middle school and early high school, but those bands always played covers. I never really saw myself as a songwriter until I started my first year at Berklee College of Music in the fall of 2017. I had written some songs in high school but wasn’t really sure what the future held for me in terms of a career in music. I knew I wanted to perform, but the level of vulnerability required to play your own music made me uncomfortable. Being at Berklee was pivotal in my development as a songwriter.

PC: Who or what has had the biggest influence on your career?
Jane: Content-wise, the songs are about specific events and situations that happened to me or the people I’m close to. Music-wise, the artists I’m inspired by the most aren’t necessarily the artists I sound most similar to, which I think confuses people sometimes. I’m inspired by Anderson .Paak, who always has been and always will be my musical hero. I’m inspired by Nai Palm, front woman of Hiatus Kaiyote, who was proof to me that there is room for artists, especially female artists, to be their most authentic selves. I’m inspired by the local sounds that came out of my beach town and out of neighboring Long Beach. I’m inspired by the Carole King songs my mom used to sing when I was little and the Grateful Dead songs my dad plays on guitar constantly. I’d like to think I draw a little inspiration from everything I see and hear.

PC: Tell us about your new single, “Sugar Water.” What inspired the track?
Jane: This single, and the EP, were the first songs I hadn’t written on piano in my room by myself. Being able to collaborate with a producer, who is also my good friend and a member of the band, gave me a lot more freedom to focus on the stories I wanted the songs to tell. It was basically a stream of consciousness. Johnny Hall, producer extraordinaire, showed me a beat he had made earlier that day in his bedroom studio while I sat on his bed humming and flipping through the composition book I use to write. (I refuse to type out lyrics.) I landed on a page that was blank enough to use and saw “Sugar Water” sideways across the top of the page along with some other random production notes pertaining to another song. I’d never written a song from just a title before, but it all fit together. I had the basic melody and lyrics for the verse, pre-chorus, and chorus within thirty minutes of hearing the beat for the first time. Some songs take days or weeks to create, but when something comes together so quickly and clearly, it’s a really great feeling. “Sugar Water” is about meeting someone right after ending a pretty toxic relationship. I was so enamored with this new person but also aware of the fact that my previous relationship started off perfect, and went downhill from there. In the back of my mind, I was worried that the same thing would happen and that what seemed so perfect and made me so happy was just, once again, smoke and mirrors. But obviously, I’m not gonna take my own advice, so I just went with it, and I’m glad I did.

PC: Walk us through the initial concept for the music video and the final product.
Jane: This is my first music video, so initially I was a little all over the place. I storyboarded multiple concepts and considered a lot of different filming locations. My friend Michael Danescu saved the day though. He took the drawings and diagrams and notes I gave him and turned it into a cohesive and beautiful video. I wanted to make sure that the energy and emotions that can be felt through the music were conveyed in the video, so it’s basically the same idea but a different medium.

To keep up with Jane, follow her on Instagram. Pick up or stream “Sugar Water” on Amazon Music or Spotify.