Darla Jade

Hey Darla! Thanks so much for sitting down with us. Introduce yourself and tell us how you would describe your music!

Hey! Thank you very much for having me! Sure, I'm Darla Jade and I'm an electro pop artist from Stoke On Trent. It's very much pop but with a bit more edge to it, I'd say!

Tell us about “Broken Amour”. Was it based off personal experience, or was it a song that just came out as you were writing it?

Broken Armour was a bit of a weird one actually, me and my producer wrote it in the pandemic on zoom and to be honest when my producer asked me what I wanted to write about that day, I was just a bit like "well nothing is going on in my life right now really, we're all just at home, let's just get the melody first and see what happens." So we did that and the melody for the whole song came really quickly, and then we added lyrics with what felt 'right'. Broken Armour when we first wrote it didn't have too much meaning for me, however later that year me and my family went through a pretty turbulent few months, as we found out my younger brother had a tumour on his lung (he's all good now thank goodness!) but the song gained a new meaning for me! 

Were there any particular songs or albums that inspired the sound of this song?

I really love the new 80's sound, which you can really hear in this song! I listen to a lot of Sigrid, Griff, Lennon Stella and Conan Gray!

If you had the opportunity to put this song over any moment in a movie or TV show, what kind of moment would that be?

I'd love my music to be in 'Stranger Things' although I guess that's kind of impossible with the show being set in the 80's so it's mainly 80's music played haha!

How does collaboration fit in to the way you create music? Do you like to create more by yourself or do you value other input?

I absolutely love collaboration. Last year I went through a phase of writing a lot on my own and although I did enjoy it, I just feel collaborating is so much more fun!

I think it's because one person's idea could make you come up with another idea and other people's perspectives can be so helpful in that creation period. Also as well, I can sometimes struggle to know what is 'good' or not when I'm on my own, whereas just having another set of ears in the room when you're creating can be so helpful.

Did you always know what kind of music you wanted to make, or was finding your sound a process of trial and error?

Oh it was 100% trial and error. I don't know one person that found their sound straight away and it's forever evolving because you can't just keep making the same songs over and over.

I thought I wanted to make indie folk music when I first started out and I genuinely think now 'how did i get that so wrong' lol! 

Do you find that the process of creating each song is different than the last?

Sort of! Usually I start with a lyrical concept or I start with melody like how I did with Broken Armour. It does vary, but it's usually one or the other for me which is why I wouldn't say it's really that different other than the melodies and the lyrics changing of course!

What was your definition of success when you started out, and how does that compare to where you are now?

Oooh that's such a tough question! I remember when I first started out I just wanted to be able to do music full time and be able to afford that, which after a few years of grafting I've successfully managed to do, but I also do cover shows to help cover costs etc, so I guess my new goal is to be able to afford and live off just my own music alone. 

Thanks so much for taking the time to talk to us! What are your social media handles so your fans can find you?

Aww thank you so much for having me! Sure! My handle for Instagram, TikTok and Facebook is @itsdarlajade and my handle for twitter is @its_darlajade and then I'm of course on Spotify and Youtube if you just type in Darla Jade!