Singer/songwriter Jemima’s new EP, Things I Never Said, is an intimate look into personal experiences she had while living in London. Her new EP is filled with songs that touch on experiences in love and living life. Besides music, Jemima has recently spent eight months living in an animal sanctuary in Byron Bay Australia, which was impacted by forest fires. We talked to Jemima about her new EP, experience living in an animal sanctuary during such a crazy time, and much more. Check out our exclusive interview with Jemima.

Where are you based?
I’m currently in Newcastle, Australia (which is where I’m from). But in three weeks I’ll be moving to the UK again.

Have you always wanted to be a singer/songwriter?
For as long as I can remember I’ve loved all things creative, including music, writing, and acting. I was about 13 when I decided I wanted to be a singer-songwriter and I’ve never changed my mind.

What inspired you to get into music and writing?
I loved writing first and spent a lot of my spare time as a kid writing stories and poems. When I realized that I could unite storytelling and music by writing songs, I was sold and it became my new passion. I love exploring emotions and human experiences, and it’s also a very therapeutic art form.

Where do you get your inspiration from?
I usually write about real situations from my own life, especially when I have an emotion I want to understand or express. Sometimes I write about the experiences of people I know or even fictional characters from books or movies.

Congrats on your new EP, Things I Never Said. What is the inspiration behind this album?
Thank you so much! The EP focuses on things that are hard to say and are therefore often left unsaid. In a way, this is me confessing those hidden thoughts or telling certain people what I’d want them to know. By pure coincidence, all the songs on the EP are about experiences I had in London.

Each song feels like its own story. Are they interconnected?
Some of the songs are about the same situation (“Soho” and “When It Rains, It Pours Down”). But I feel like each song expresses a different emotion or perspective. For example, even though those two songs are about the same situation, they tell the story from different outlooks and different points in time.

Of the five songs in the EP, which song was the most difficult to write?
”Soho was the most difficult to write. The original version was over six minutes long because I had so much to say about it. I rewrote it a few times because I couldn’t put it into words the way I wanted; I was even changing lyrics the day before recording.

What is the story behind the song, Soho?
“Soho” is about two best friends who are falling for each other but never tell one another. Eventually, one of them gets into a relationship and the other is left wondering about “the one that got away” and never knowing what could have been.

How about When It Rains, It Pours Down?
This song is about thinking you’re over somebody until you’re out at a bar and see them unexpectedly. The worst part is, you’re feeling overwhelmed by it, but the other person seems fine and is acting like nothing happened.

What do you want fans to know about this new EP?
I guess I’d want people to know that the stories and emotions are all genuine and real. So if anyone feels the same, they aren’t alone in it.

In addition to writing beautiful music, you have been volunteering at an animal sanctuary in Byron Bay, Australia. Can you tell us a little bit about this experience and why it is important to you?
Firstly, thank you for saying that! So, from the end of last year into this year, I lived and volunteered at an animal sanctuary for eight months. The animals there – cows, pigs, sheep, goats, and chickens – were supposed to be slaughtered for meat but were rescued. Getting to know the animals was the best part by far; learning each of them as individuals, their likes and dislikes and quirks, and unique personalities. Animals are so much more intelligent and emotional than a lot of people realize. I’m very passionate about this cause because I don’t believe we should use animals for food, which is why I’m vegan. Plant-based food is proven to be better for the planet, many health professionals argue that it’s healthier, and of course it spares the lives of billions of animals.

You were at the sanctuary during the Australian bushfires. Can you tell us a little bit about this and how you had to work to help the animals?
The last bushfire season was such a horrible time for so many Australians, and also for our country’s ecosystem. In NSW alone, dozens of people died and more than a billion animals were killed or displaced by the fires. The bushfires spread very, very close to the sanctuary, bringing the local warning notice up to the emergency level, which is the highest. We had to evacuate very suddenly. But first, we took all of the animals to a safer property. We hurriedly drove the animals to another sanctuary before taking any of our belongings, then returned to remove as much wood and foliage as we could, to fill the gutters with water, and leave as many buckets of water around as possible. It was a very tense and scary time because we knew the fire was getting closer and closer and the smoke was so thick we could barely see. But thankfully, all the animals and the property were safe in the end, so we were very fortunate.

As someone who experienced the impact of climate first hand, what would you like to see others do to fight this major issue?
Climate change is possibly the most pressing issue of our time. We can all help by voting for politicians who prioritize the planet and by trying to reduce our personal carbon footprint as much as possible. There are plenty of ways to do that, but one of the most effective ways is diet. In 2018, scientists from the University of Oxford in the UK conducted the most comprehensive analysis of farming’s impact on the planet ever completed. The lead researcher stated that a vegan diet is “probably the single biggest way to reduce your impact on planet Earth”, which is the main reason I follow this lifestyle.

How do you think we as a society should handle climate change?
I think just prioritizing the climate crisis and making changes that will help reverse the damage we’ve caused and prevent further damage.

Do you feel that Australia is handling its fires well? How would you like to see them handled?
There was a fair bit of backlash within Australia toward our government because of inadequate funding, including for the Rural Fire Service, that could have helped the situation. Our country could also be doing much more to fight climate change.

Australia seems to be one of the few countries handling COVID ok. How has the pandemic/covid-19 affected you?
Australia has been really lucky during the pandemic. Like most musicians, all of my gigs were canceled for about six months but I used that time to record the EP and complete all of the behind-the-scenes work that comes with releasing music. I’m grateful that I got to do that, and I’m aware that so many people around the world had it much worse than me.

Looking from a country that seems to be doing an ok job in the world’s eyes, do you agree with this? What do you think the rest of the world could learn from Australia?
We were fortunate here because our population is not very dense compared to a lot of other countries. And since we’re an island, there wasn’t much risk of the virus being brought in from neighboring locations. Australia closed the borders and went into lockdown quite quickly, and it seems like that benefited us in the long run. But we are also in a privileged position with our population size and location.

How are you staying positive in shelter in place?
I focus on all of the good things I have and try to feel grateful for those every day (I write down gratitude lists every night before I go to bed). I’m using this time to reconnect with things that bring me joy, like reading, cooking, painting and spending time with my dog Levi.

What is your motto in life?
It costs nothing to be kind.

To learn more about Jemima please follow her via the below platforms:
Jemima’s Official Website
Facebook: @jemimamusic
Instagram: @jemimamusic
Twitter: @jemimasong

Jemima's New EP Is Vulnerable And Personal, Just Like Her