Janani K. Jha on Community and Mythical Inspirations

Janani K. Jha is an Indian-American artist based in Los Angeles, California, where she is creating art inspired by Greek mythology. Pleaser was able to sit down and talk with her about her inspirations, her Softside merchandise campaign, Percy Jackson, and upcoming projects.

PHOTOS BY VALERIE LOEBLICH

Pleaser: How has Indian culture influenced your music or the way you navigate the music industry if at all?

Janani K. Jha: I grew up obsessed with Indian music. The first style of music that I actually studied was Indian classical music—specifically the kind from the South, where my mom is from. And I grew up being awestruck by how technically proficient, but also spiritually resonant Indian music is. The style of Indian music that I learned is actually a form of worship music. People would sing to please the gods, and there was this idea that the gods would come down to the earth to hear beautiful music. And that I think has totally shaped my perspective on music, specifically the amount of emotion and meaning music can hold. It’s also given me so much technical prowess that I was able to bring into Western music when I made that shift. Things like improvisation, scales, modulation—all of that vocally was stuff that I learned from Indian music growing up. The musical influences definitely are present in the music. And then culturally, everything about Janani K. Jha and the world we're building comes from me, and because being Indian is such an inextricable part of who I am, I often find that there are elements of the culture that come into it, even if I’m not intentionally setting out to do that. I would say if you're ready to look, it's all around. That’s also why I decided to make the protagonist of the accompanying companion novella to my album—the story that's at the center of the album—Indian-American, because I just want to write about my own authentic experiences. Asha is very much Desi and proud.

I love that response because I feel like personally, also being Indian American, I really appreciate people like you putting art out like this because it's representation. 

J.K.J.: Yes! I care so deeply about representation. It's so important to me because I remember what it was like to grow up—and we probably grew up at the same time, watching the same shows—and I remember how it felt to be hungry to see someone who looked like me on the screen. Sometimes I would have to head-canon that certain actresses were Desi when they weren't. I was like “yeah, Victoria Justice is a proud Desi woman.” Because when you're a kid, when you're so young and everything is so impressionable, you just want to see somebody like you doing what you want to do. I had these dreams of being a musician and I didn't have anyone to look at and say, like, “oh, well, they're doing it.” And so at every level now, as a small, emerging artist, with whatever platform I have, it's important to me to talk about being Desi, in case there are other young Desi girls who are listening to the music. I want them to know how important it is to be proud of who you are and where you come from, and how important it is to embrace all the different aspects of your identity. 

Agreed, for sure. Multi-fandoms come together to support you from different areas. How does it feel to have support from, say, Survivor fans, or Greek mythology fans, or even the pun community

J.K.J: Oh, I love that question, because I think of myself as like the luckiest person in the entire world that I get to tap into so many different communities about things that I'm passionate about. I just feel like I've been warmly received by all of these communities, and it's like a massive blessing in my life. You're so right. What I'm trying to do in media and entertainment is really multifaceted and potentially a little unprecedented. I wanted to always honor myself and be authentically who I am, and who I am as someone who's interested in a lot of things. I love to write. I love to make music. I love to do competitive punning. I also have an academic background, and I was on Survivor and in EPIC: The Musical. I feel so grateful that people have been able to see me for all these things, and are willing to embrace my multifacetedness that way. It's, like, my favorite thing when the pun fans meet the EPIC fans, who meet the music fans, who meet the survivor fans. It's just such a fun family we're building. Take our Discord server for example—it's all these different kinds of things being talked about. I think the thing that vaguely binds us all together is, like, nerd culture, which is something that I am really passionate about and was really immersed in as a kid. So that's the cool “invisible string,” if you will, throughout.

For sure, the “invisible string”—it’s like Taylor Swift says in that one song, you know? And then on the topic of fans, I saw your Softside campaign yesterday. What does it feel like to be able to collaborate with them in your merch process or does it bring a sense of community to you? 

J.K.J.: Oh my gosh, I'm so excited! People tag me all the time in fan art and designs that they create that are inspired by the music, and I have always wanted an opportunity to bring those designs into the official merch, but logistically, it's presented an issue. So when Softside reached out, I immediately leapt at the opportunity because I was like, “wait, this is perfect.” Not only is it a really streamlined way to get all the designs in one place so we can make decisions about which ones to select for merch, but it's so important to me that artists are compensated for the work that they do. And this is a great, great way to logistically handle automatic compensation for every time a sale is made. To me, when someone goes out of their way to create art that's inspired by something that I make, I rack my brain about how I can make sure that that person is rewarded for the amazing time and effort they've put into the art. So I'm really happy that Softside reached out. 

What does community look like to you?

J.K.J.: When I was growing up, I did not have a lot of friends, and I turned to fandom to be my community. I always dreamed about creating a world one day that was a safe space on the Internet, and in the world, too. Where people could gather and be passionate about the things that they love and be nerdy, if that's the way that they lean, and that, to me, is what community is. It's a place where you feel comfortable being yourself. I sought those places out as a kid because I didn't necessarily find that in the real world around me. So now, to be part of the Janani K Jha community, it's, like, healing my inner child, because it's all the things that I wanted and sought out in fandoms when I was a kid. We all, you know, freak out about the Percy Jackson show together, and it's amazing! It's just great. 

Speaking of your album and Greek mythology, how did Greek mythology find you?  

J.K.J.: Percy Jackson, easiest answer. When I was a kid and needed an escape, Percy Jackson somehow found its way into my hands, and then I totally immersed myself into that world. I think that a lot of kids feel like this when they read something like Percy Jackson, that you just want to feel connected to something that's bigger than yourself. I gave this guest lecture in the Harvard Classics Department a couple of years ago, and we were talking about Greek mythology, and why so many young people connect themselves to it. My theory about it is that America doesn't have a founding myth, the way that a lot of other cultures and countries do. We sometimes have to borrow from other founding myths in our country's imagination. So when you go to Washington, D.C., you see so many statues of Athena or Minerva; you see statues and Doric columns. You can tell that we want to be bigger than ourselves. We want to connect ourselves to a larger narrative and legacy. And I think Greek mythology is such an accessible way for kids to do that, because it's characters, it's people—it feels very human. The gods feel very flawed, and there are epic quests and stories. And it makes you feel like, wow, I am part of generations of storytelling, knowing these myths. 

It's also like in the form of escapism, you know, like watching the Percy Jackson movie growing up, that's also like in a form of escapism because in the movie, they go through forms of escapism. So it's like we're living vicariously through these people.

J.K.J.:  We one hundred percent do, and I think that's why stories like Percy Jackson resonate so much, because who doesn't read that book and see themselves in Annabeth, Percy, or Grover? Everyone sees themselves in someone, you know? And that’s what I was trying to do a little bit with Katathon, the accompanying novella, is create this world where you can listen to the songs. and hear something that you relate to in the songs, but then also read [the novella] and see yourself in a character. I just think that's the coolest thing ever.

Speaking of the novella,  as an author, you have the capability to transform and create your own world. How would you describe your world to an outside person for the first time?

J.K.J.: I love it! This era of Janani K. Jha, I would describe as a nerd's paradise–a nerd Avalon, if you will. Specifically for the Rest of the Laurels, it's a dystopian fantasy. It's a world where people are thrown into uncomfortable new environments and forced not only to find the way out, but to find themselves in the process. And also there are swords and fantastical elements and enemies-to-lovers, all of those fun tropes. There's something for everyone.

So, with these almost ancient backgrounds, how do you turn that into a modern pop sound? 

J.K.J.: Just like the world of Katathon, the world of the Rest of the Laurels is dark, kind of sexy in places. It's mysterious, eerie. I tried to capture those feelings sonically on the record with things like vocoder and bass and washed out drums. You can definitely hear an electronic influence on a lot of songs on the album. When I went into the studio, the biggest thing that I was just trying to do was just write songs that I organically loved. And to me—like, I'm a lyrics-first girl. So I would come in with these lyrics that were so mythologically tinged, and then I would try to find the right sound for that lyrical world. “Hellbent,” for example, was inspired by Asha's decision to join Katathon in the book. And I was like, okay, well, these lyrics are pretty heavy and dark, and it's about jumping off into the unknown and not knowing what comes next. So this has to be like a creepy electronic song, but it also has to have big moments and moments of tenderness, because making a decision like that is like a multifaceted emotional experience. I thought we were able to capture that. It doesn’t hurt that I get to work with really awesome collaborators to bring my crazed visions to life. 

How has being like a public figure in like music in reality TV or like just general public expectations? How have you been able to maintain your authentic self?

J.K.J.: Oh my gosh. Well, the first thing is, I never anticipated in my wildest dreams to be here, or to have any sort of a platform in life, so it's been a little bit of a learning curve. Like, I truly am just a girl writing songs in her bedroom who got a little bit, you know, in over her head, and is now making it work. It's been a fun odyssey, if you will, because it's been the greatest blessing in my life to connect with so many people through what I make and what I do, but I'm also naturally kind of an awkward, introverted person, I would say. My ideal Saturday night is truly just sitting on my couch and reading a book and, like, drinking tea. So it's been a bit of a learning curve to, for example, go out in public and then have people sometimes know who I am. Most of the time I'm like, “oh my God, that's so crazy. I'm being perceived in real time by somebody who knows me.” But it’s just like they're my friends, you know? I just like to remind myself how grateful I am. I think 13-year-old me would not in a million years believe anything about what's happening in life right now, truly. I'm just happy to be here. 

In terms of projects, what can maybe anyone expect from you for the rest of this year? Or if not this year, do you have anything you can spill on your upcoming projects? 

J.K.J.: I'm sitting on so many secrets right now, it's insane. I wish I could just spill my guts. But I do wanna save some of them because they're gonna hit harder when they finally come. But without saying too much, the world of The Rest of the Laurels is not done. I'm scheming away, hard at work on what's next for the world of Katathon, for the world of Asha, for the world of Laurels. And we’re probably going to see some familiar faces start to rejoin this world, which I'm really proud and excited about. So that's the first thing. And the second thing is—as a perennial schemer and someone who's incapable of shutting up my own thoughts—I can say that the next project is currently being developed, and I'm so freaking excited about it. This music is the music I've honestly been the most excited to make. I'm pushing myself creatively for this next era after Laurels, and I feel like people are not going to see it coming, but I hope they're going to love it. I'm just so excited to show you guys what comes next.

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