“Get out of your comfort zone—youʼll be glad you did.” Not what youʼd expect to hear from a self-proclaimed introvert, but the sentiment has a through line in Jenna Lottiʼs approach to music and life.
Jenna Lottiʼs moody pop songs are constructed with remarkable intent. The production is pure sonic delectation, but it is Jenna Lottiʼs voice that proves her penchant for vulnerability. There are many things singers hide behind, whether it be a smoggy haze of reverb or just affectation, but Jenna hides behind nothing. The effortlessness behind her delivery and the honesty in her lyrics make it easy to trust her, easy to follow where she leads.
And this trust is something Jenna herself yearned for when she and her husband and bandmate Chris Facey first moved to Hollywood from their family centric life in Massachusetts. “Your Party” is a song about one of their first nights in LA, in which the two left an event, overwhelmed with the lionizers and name-droppers, to drink wine and slow dance at home. But these off-putting encounters didnʼt send the two back east. Instead it became a catalyst for Jennaʼs songwriting… apparent in the synth drenched down tempo banger “Hollywood”.
In “My Fault”, she further hones her minimalist aesthetic. The song itself an oriflamme for any who have ever been gaslighted in a relationship and want to set the record straight. So is it, umm, perhaps uncomfortable to venture out of that comfort zone when writing relationship songs only to perform them on stage with your husband? We get Jennaʼs angle on this and more below…
What has the biggest adjustment been moving to LA from the East Coast?
The Biggest adjustment has been being so far away from my family and friends. My whole family is in Massachusetts. I grew up just a few blocks from both sets of grandparents, aunts and cousins. It was so strange getting to LA and not having those roots. The first year was really hard.
Do you find the the new environment to be the biggest inspiration in your writing? If not what has been lately?
At first the environment was a big inspiration. My husband and I were living in West Hollywood for about 2 years. Itʼs such a cool feeling over there, the hustle & bustle, the hills, its just so magical.
The production is fantastic in these songs. Does the writing process begin with the production or do you write the songs on guitar or piano and then build production around them?
Thanks! I work with a few different producers out here and cannot take any credit for any of that! I do like to be in the room with them while they are adding production to a song though. Iʼll chime in with my little ideas here and there but producing is a foreign language to me. Typically, Iʼll go into a session with an idea that I think is solid. Sometimes that is just a melody/lyric and sometimes itʼs a whole song. It just depends but I find that works best for me. I also recently realized that going in with an idea is comforting to me. So lately, Iʼve been challenging myself to go into sessions with a blank slate and just go with the flow. The last time I did that, I ended up leaving with what I think is the best song Iʼve written.
“Your party”, the Billboard premiered single, is about how staying home on the couch with your husband is better than going out to parties. Youʼve said this song was a reaction to one of the first parties you attended upon moving to LA where everyone was networking and namedropping. Have you found a better, more organic scene since youʼve settled in? Or have you found youʼve resigned from the social aspect of being a musician altogether?
Yes, we have definitely found our people out here and that continues to grow. We have met so many amazing people in LA. I think we were just so taken back by some of the people at that party. I come from an Italian/Irish Catholic family. My dad runs a third generation plastering company & is a college baseball coach and my mom is a seamstress. Both of them work their asses off. I was always taught to work hard, be humble and kind. Being around people who name drop makes my skin crawl lol.
“My Fault” depicts a situation where one is perhaps being gaslighted in a relationship and finds the strength to declare that in fact the partner is the “asshole.” Do you find that writing a song like this affects the dynamic of a relationship you are in?
No, because the person doesnʼt know itʼs about them. HA! People always assume that my songs are about my husband. My husband is literally my everything. He is the sweetest soul Iʼve ever met. Thatʼs probably why I never write about him because itʼs hard for me to write a happy song!
What is your opinion of the growing consensus that ‘the albumʼ is an antiquated idea for releasing music?I hate that consensus but I understand why people say it. I LOVE albums. Early in my career, I put out two albums because I was obsessed with the idea of creating a whole body of work (and didn’t care about the outcome). But, the industry has changed so much. When I decided I wanted to really pursue this as a career, I had to start looking at things differently. It is hard for independent upcoming artists to get their music heard. I think thatʼs why so many of us release singles now, in hopes that one of them catches. Everyone wants new music FAST. It used to be that an artist would take months or even years off of releasing music in between albums. That doesnʼt happen now for the most part. If I put out an album right now, my small fan base would listen to it (aka my mom and dad). If Kacey Musgraves or John Mayer puts out an album, everyone will listen to it. I feel as though you have to be established to have a successful album in this day and age.
What is the first album that comes to mind that you would say is great from start to finish?
I know everyone always says this but Continuum. Itʼs my favorite record of all time.
If you were quarantined with that artist long enough not to be nervous around them, what would you ask them?
I’d say “Hey John, what drugs were you on when you wrote that?”
What is your biggest piece of advice for an introvert breaking into the music scene in a new city?
OMG. I donʼt know if I have advice because THAT IS ME STILL. I would say you just have to be brave even if it feels so uncomfortable. Get out of your comfort zone- youʼll be glad you did.
CONNECT WITH JENNA LOTTI
photos / Paige Sara
story / Chris Hess
