Name: Lara Jones
Nationality: British
Occupation: Saxophonist, composer, improviser, sound artist, DJ
Current release: Lara Jones's Fig EP is slated for release on June 16th 2023. The title track is out now.
Recommendations: A friend of mine, Thibault from Robocobra Quartet, recently introduced me to James Grieve, who designs t-shirts based on buildings in Belfast. I love them.
I’d also recommend listening to the full version of the White Lotus theme song, from composer Cristobal Tapia de Veer. I think it’s so great it’s now part of my DJ set.

If you enjoyed this Lara Jones interview and would like to stay up to date with her music, visit her official website. She is also on Instagram, twitter, and Soundcloud.



When did you start writing/producing/playing music and what or who were your early passions and influences? What was it about music and/or sound that drew you to it?

The first instrument I learned was the piano and it’s still one of my favourite sounds in the world.

It’s definitely through the piano that I started to really connect with sound and it’s still the instrument I go to when I’m making the bones of a tune.

When I listen to music, I see shapes, objects and colours. What happens in your body when you're listening and how does it influence your approach to creativity?

For me, I love music that gives you a physical response to it. Music you can really feel in your body as if you’re eating it.

How would you describe your development as an artist in terms of interests and challenges, searching for a personal voice, as well as breakthroughs?

It’s definitely taken me some time to find my personal voice with my music and to be making music I really want to make.

I’ve had some incredible mentors over the years who have really helped me find what I want to say and ultimately given me the confidence to go for it. I feel really grateful that I’ve had these experiences.

A real turning point for me was when Manchester Jazz Festival gave a place on their talent development programme ‘hothouse’. It really did help shape how I went about what I do now.

Tell me a bit about your sense of identity and how it influences both your preferences as a listener and your creativity as an artist, please.

My queer identity is a huge part of how I create and what I’m influenced by.

I think it’s taken time to realise how interlinked my identity is to the music that I make and I understand more and more that as I’ve relaxed with my identity it’s helped liberate and free my music.

What, would you say, are the key ideas behind your approach to music and art?

I think a big part of my approach to creating music is improvisation.

I love to improvise and a lot of what I make comes from moments where I’ve just made something without thinking too much about it. The process after the improvisation is where I spend a lot of time with it, shaping and manipulating the sounds and structures until I’m happy with it.

I also love to use field recordings in my work and mostly I use these to create the narrative of the track. I like to collect sounds like people collect photos and use these memories as starting points for tunes.

How would you describe your views on topics like originality and innovation versus perfection and timelessness in music? Are you interested in a “music of the future” or “continuing a tradition”?

As much as I respect tradition and take a lot of influence from it, in terms of what I’m making it’s all about innovation for me.

Over the course of your development, what have been your most important instruments and tools - and what are the most promising strategies for working with them?

Playing the saxophone has played a really important role in what and how I make music.

But really it was since I discovered Ableton a few years ago that really changed up my music making. It’s SUCH an incredible tool, the possibilities are endless in it and I absolutely love sitting with it and learning from it every day.

Take us through a day in your life, from a possible morning routine through to your work, please.

Every day looks quite different for me but my day definitely always starts with a coffee!!!

I’ll always listen or make or practice music in a day I’m lucky that I freelance as a musician so everyday can be all about music.

Could you describe your creative process on the basis of a piece, live performance or album that's particularly dear to you, please?

My latest release “fig” was the first track I wrote for my new EP coming out in June which is all about queer love, energy and identity.

The opening sequence in the track is taken from a conversation I was having with my wife in the shower. I love water and the shower is often where I do my best thinking and where the inspiration and starts of my tunes come from.

I built the track around the conversation we had and used parts of the conversation in the music itself.

Listening can be both a solitary and a communal activity. Likewise, creating music can be private or collaborative. Can you talk about your preferences in this regard and how these constellations influence creative results?

I enjoy listening to music alone on long journeys in equal measure to listening with a room (or a field) full of people. I love sharing the experience of live music with strangers.

When it comes to creating music, these days I mostly work on my own. Focusing on my solo project became a necessary priority during the pandemic, and while I’m always open to new collaborations, I’m really enjoying the solo creative process at the moment.

 I’m really lucky to have trusted friends and mentors who I can share with at different stages.  

How do your work and your creativity relate to the world and what is the role of music in society?

I hope my work speaks to my queer community - I’m driven by the sounds of the world around me and hope it connects with people from across the world.

Art can be a way of dealing with the big topics in life: Life, loss, death, love, pain, and many more. In which way and on which occasions has music – both your own or that of others - contributed to your understanding of these questions?

My goldfish, Kenny Rogers, recently passed away at the age of nine. He had been a constant in my life and had kept me company when I used to struggle with insomnia.

How do you see the connection between music and science and what can these two fields reveal about each other?  

One thing I’ve always been interested in exploring is how sounds generate affects in the body. I’d love to collaborate on a project that works with sensors to measure how bodies physically respond to music. I’m really excited by this idea but would need a scientist to carefully explain what’s happening!

Creativity can reach many different corners of our lives. Do you feel as though writing or performing a piece of music is inherently different from something like making a great cup of coffee? What do you express through music that you couldn't or wouldn't in more 'mundane' tasks?

Making great coffee is an art.

For me, music is how I express feelings I can’t put into words.  

Music is vibration in the air, captured by our ear drums. From your perspective as a creator and listener, do you have an explanation how it able to transmit such diverse and potentially deep messages?

I think music and sound can offer us an escape from our thoughts and can help us to connect with different ideas and feelings.

There are many different types of music created and I love that everyone can find the sound or vibration they resonate with.