Australian indie songwriter and producer Jesse Judies (Nick Bray) has released his new single “I’ve Been There Before”. On the heels of his September single “Colors of Youth”, the song will be included on his upcoming full-length album ‘Coup De Foudre’. The busy musician describes both singles as deeply personal, and creatively tells the story of uprooting from a familiar life in San Francisco to begin anew in Sydney, Australia.

In this interview spotlight, I chat with Jesse about the latest project, dream collabs, AI in the music industry, and more.

Full Q&A along with links and music below.

Congrats on the release of “I’ve Been There Before”! Tell us a little bit about the song and the music video you just released.

The song is inspired by my love for bikes, drum and bass, Bossa Nova and the need to always comb through voice memos to find the demo gold. IBTB would not have been the same if I hadn’t been lucky enough to have Sasha March on vocals, Matt Power on drums or Ollie Brown on the mix. 

The video is an accidental riff on the idea that “The World is Your Oyster” with a little bit of hypnosis by a benevolent witch thrown in for good measure.

AI (aka Artificial Intelligence aka Chat GPT 4.0)… How is it changing the music world? What are your thoughts about this new trend?

AI is making some of the production choices a lot easier in audio and video. For instance, it’s becoming more common to have AI assisted plugins to help with mixing and mastering. This is a game changer for people who are producing on a budget. It’s definitely cutting corners too and may have an effect on songs sounding similar, but it’s a new set of tools that will also spark creativity. 

Can you choose a favorite song of all time? Or is this an impossible task? If yes, what’s the song? If no, what’s your current Top 3?

I think I decided that You Can Call Me Al is my favorite song of all time. But, Corcovado is also up there. Weird Fishes. Those are my top three in non particular order.  A song can’t be my favorite for very long. 

What about this project makes you most proud? Was there a specific goal you were trying to accomplish with this release?

I’m proud of the sonic space I’ve created. There were some real challenges connecting the musical tissue in I’ve Been There Before, but I am really happy with how it moves through different sections and ultimately resolves.

What inspires you to create music? What motivates you to keep going?

Bass, drums and melody. It’s pretty easy for me to just start messing around and then see a potential path forward within a 16 bar loop. At the moment, my Digitakt is playing some samples I threw together and I would like to find out where things are going. I’m a process driven person, so I am always discovering new ways to listen and interact with my music.

If you could collaborate with anyone – dead or alive, famous or unknown – who would it be and why? If it’s an indie/DIY artist, please include a link so readers can check them out.

I would have loved a chance to collaborate with Tom Jobim, Maurice White, Nigel Godrich and am holding out hope for a future collab with Mocky or Magic City Hippies.

What was the last song you listened to? Favorite all-time bands/artists?

I listened to a live version of Earth Wind & Fire’s “After the Love is Gone” this morning. My favorite is probably Radiohead. Though, I don’t listen as much as I used to. No other band has helped me to feel more love and appreciation for music.In Rainbows and OK Computer were  so formative and life changing.

Where is the best place to find you and stay connected?

Either Facebook, or Instagram. Sadly, I am a late adopter and missed the Tik Tok boat completely.

I appreciate Your time. Want to say or plug any other projects before we part ways? 

Thank you for your time and questions. I have an EP coming out in mid-december that will feature a collab with my West Coast touring partners. I’ve dubbed them “The Volunteers”