The only thing that local independent artist and producer Jaavon obsesses over more than death, is love.
“My name is Jaavon and [my musical moniker] is Jaavondies (pronounced Jaavon-dies and not Jaavon-dees),” said Jaavon. “I came up with my name because death fascinates me, the concept that when you die… it’s over and it’s the end of your life. [What is] importance of self? When you die who is really going to care? This [idea] really captures my interests.”
The Love Diaries, Jaavon’s most recent project featuring his partner Kelsie, is available for streaming via Soundcloud and was released on December 23 of last year.
“I don’t really make music,” said Kelsie, the femme vocalist on The Love Diaries EP. “Jaavon knows that I sing in my spare time. We made the song “The First Time” together and decided to make more music.”
The Love Diaries spans six tracks sitting at under 17 minutes. The couple behind the project describe their sound as R&B soulfulness that speaks to their relationship. The content features self-written lyrics from both Jaavon and Kelsie with discourse on love and relationships.
“It comes from stuff that we feel and that actually happened,” said Kelsie. “It’s not like I’ll walk up to someone and say ‘make an EP together!’ But do something like making a photobook or traveling. For [myself] and Javon, it was just [making music]. The whole Love Diaries thing… we weren’t expecting a lot out of it- we did this for fun,”.
The EP itself took about two months to come together and started out as a gift from Jaavon to Kelsie. An independent musician in his own right, Jaavon made the track “Strawberry (a happy ending)” as tribute for his partner: “So I made this song for her, the fifth song called Strawberry and I never showed her, but told her about it,” he said.
“We were [recreationally using] one night and [Jaavon said he] wanted to sing this song to me,” said Kelsie. “He sang it to me and I loved it. He asked me after if we would make a song together because I have a really nice voice and that’s where “The First Time” came from. After that, we decided that we wanted to do a whole EP.”
On the production side of this project, Jaavon shows potential as a multifaceted producer using mainly Garageband to create instrumentals. “When I graduated, I bought all my equipment. I record everything at my own house, I mix master all at my own house.”
The high points for The Love Diaries more often come from the beats, though the mix of reverbed-out, youthful vocals from both singers creates a raw tribute to one another. The two sing about eternity and forever-ness with a genuine attachment – it’s sugary sweet with a off-tone indie bent, like a R&B Moldy Peaches.
Though Kelsie’s first time creating music, we can expect from Jaavon who has been producing music since high school. His other collaborations can be found via his Soundcloud where his projects under Culdesac can be found.
“I don’t think of myself as a rapper but more of an artist,” he said. “I have so many different sounds and styles to my songs. It’s never always the same.”
Contrary to the wave of online interactions and collaborations in underground music, Jaavon prefers to keep his creative efforts authentic and personal.
“There is a lot of music locally out here,” said Jaavon. “I’m friends with these people, or [I’ll collaborate with you] if I like your sound. I only make music with people I like and that will relate to my music,”.
Ultimately, the experimental music coming from this artist spans his interests and inspirations very honestly. “I usually just talk about things that go on in my life,” he said. “I’m influenced by my girlfriend and my mom, I’m always talking about love,”
Kelsie, the other half of The Love Diaries, explains her beginnings as well, noting that singing in the shower, in front of loved ones and Jaavon helped her find her voice. The duo imparted some advice for aspiring artists, like themselves, on how to find their sound.
“Just do it,” she said. “If you don’t know what you want to do, just explore a little bit. Just try. If you don’t like it, you don’t. If you do, keep doing it… Music is really powerful,”.
“If you don’t have the equipment, there is always studio time. If you want to do something you have to make a way,” said Jaavon. “You can’t say ‘I want to do music’ and do nothing about it. Push yourself.”
Jaavon and Kelsie do plan on making more music together for themselves. Jaavon, however, has bigger goals for his sound with Culdesac and independently.
“I just keep pushing myself. I want to get my voice heard out there. I want to keep creating music,” he said. “I have so much unreleased music. I have an album now that I am not putting out until [I know it’s done]. I have a good 60 to 70 songs unreleased- I’ll be recording until four or five ‘o clock [in the morning].”
Words by Tico Noise
