Interview with JEANNE D’ARTE (2/2)

Jeanne D’Arte from Vienna is releasing her debut album “Am Ufer der Welt”. Musically, she moves between ethereal, dark pop and electronica, which she weaves into a mystical journey of sound. In our second part of the interview, we talk to the likeable artist about cracks in the earth and city vs. country life.

Cracks in the earth

Orkus: “Rain floats on earth” is also very captivating. Is there a background story to it?
Jeanne D’Arte: Uh, I’m glad to hear that – that’s my favorite on the album. “Rain Floats on Earth” is inspired by a brutal scene in the nature documentary “Our Planet” (2023), where a flamingo colony is forced to move on in search of fresh water. In the process, they leave behind many salt-encrusted but otherwise healthy hatchlings, abandoning them to certain death. I associated this image of abandonment and being exposed to external circumstances in this way with childhood memories in “Rain floats on earth”. In summer, the Weinviertel soil is characterized by deep cracks in the loamy earth, which means that sudden, heavy rain floats up and cannot seep away. This is what it feels like to want to thrive on unresponsive soil or to have to fight against the unchangeable. You try to find a foothold, to break through and bring forth your own form of growth, but the subsoil does not allow it and thus leads to the death of what could have been.

O: Rain, the sea and water in general are omnipresent on “Am Ufer der Welt”. What significance does that have for you?
J: I often feel like the ground is slipping out from under my feet, which makes life and the world around me feel surreal and difficult to grasp. Running water bubbles with life and naturalness. The sounds of a rushing river or crashing waves on the beach and the sight of their constant movement gives me confidence, peace of mind and a momentum to re-engage with life. When I see the sea or feel the rain on me, the ground under my feet comes closer again. I love water and I know I should live by a body of water for my heart one day. Preferably by the sea.

City vs. country

O: You’re from Vienna, aren’t you? Would you say that the city has shaped you in some way?
J: I was born here and Vienna has certainly shaped me, just like growing up in Lower Austria. I love the modesty and tranquillity of country life just as much as the dense development of a lively city. In Vienna, the Tiergarten, the museums, the Graphische (College of Graphic Design), the obsession with titles that I can’t understand and the great friends I’ve made here have probably influenced me the most … and the Café Savoy. But I believe that in order to understand how strongly and to what extent Vienna and the Weinviertel have shaped me, I have to leave the familiar to get to know other facets of myself in other places. Even as a child, I was characterized by wanting to move into the unknown and striving for self-discovery. My aunt lives in NYC and once said to me: Vienna is a city to come home to.

Kissing muses

O: If you can generalize at all: Where do you find inspiration? Is there a particular place or mood that you put yourself in to be creative, or can the muse kiss you anywhere?
J: I find inspiration constantly and everywhere and would prefer to spend my time exclusively on creative projects. One project usually inspires the next and there are so many veins of music that I want to explore. I long for a little more freedom to always be able to follow my creative urge and just do it. I’m still looking for a better way to manage my creative energy and time resources. For me, inspiration comes from observation, intuition, daydreaming and my passion for building worlds and writing stories. But I create best at night, my mind really only gets going from 18:00 onwards, haha. If I set up an ideal setting for making music, then it’s a room with lots of soft light sources, candles, coffee, tea and plenty of space on the floor for dance breaks. I like to produce alone and together with musicians who share or understand my musical language. As long as the rivers can flow.

Music as a total work of art

O: We are a magazine of the black scene. What connects you to this scene?
J: I think I have to find out a bit myself. When I was at school, I admired Enya, Tokio Hotel, Lady Gaga, t.A.T.u. and a whole rainbow of different artists and discovered a preference for music as a complete work of art early on. This is also reflected in my visual appearance, on stage and digitally. I love experimenting with clothes and make-up and developing the aesthetic thread that runs through the world of Jeanne D’Arte. This world embraces the witchy and elfin, the otherness, the heaviness in us and longs for real social cohesion. Personally, I find it important to stand up for human rights and to appeal for equal opportunities for all. I don’t want to rest until every person in the world is allowed to experience a fulfilled life, so I carry an eternal fire within me. The world of Jeanne D’Arte is my calling and exists to find her Tribe and to honor our unique existence together.

Sharp, strong and smart

O: What does the near future hold for Jeanne D’Arte?
J: Live shows! I hope to play outside of Vienna soon and will be celebrating the birth of my album “Am Ufer der Welt” over the next few months. At the same time, my fingers are already itching for my next album and musically … I want to bring more edge and dance and english back to the lyrics. Jeanne D’Arte with sharp teeth, sharp movements and sharp fashion.

Watch the video for “Deep seas are black”: