Spellbinding

Singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and producer Jo Beth Young is back with a third album, which she describes as art-pop or experimental folk. Prog catches up with Young to learn more about the inspiration and process behind the thought-provoking Broken Spells.

- Francesca Tyer

“I sang before I spoke,” singer-songwriter Jo Beth Young begins. “Anyone in my family will tell you I preferred singing to speaking. It has been a passion for as long as I can remember.”

Young’s love for her craft is one of the main drivers behind her music. For her, creating and performing isn’t simply about becoming a musician, but accepting that intrinsic part of herself.

“I can’t imagine not being a musician,” she muses. “If I didn’t make records, I’d still be a musician, even if I went and sang to the seals!”

Music is a powerful artform that’s been used throughout the centuries for healing purposes.

“It is one of the biggest healing arts in the world,” she says. “It intrinsically makes us who we are, whether we think we are musical or not.”

In her own life, music has been a refuge and a form of release. Recalling her early years at school, Young reflects on how her experience of physical bullying led her to join the church choir.

“It was the one place I was safe,” she states, “where it felt like I had a place in the world.”

Young’s music teacher encouraged her to explore her musical interests. Later, at secondary school, it was her guitar teacher who prompted her to develop her singing talent following a performance.

“I became a backing singer as a joke just to get out of classes at school,” Young laughs, “but when the lead singer fainted with fear, I ended up taking over. My guitar teacher told me I should focus on singing.”

Two decades later, in 2018, her first album, An Abandoned Orchid House, recorded as Talitha Rise, was released to international acclaim.

“I’d been playing my own music live since I was 17 and I was 40 when Abandoned… happened,” says Young. “That’s a lot of years to be wondering if you really are a musician or not. When the vinyl arrived, it was a lifechanging moment.”