- 2024-09-18
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MUSIC
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Dora Jar Releases Debut Album “No Way To Relax When You Are On Fire”
American singer-songwriter Dora Jar released her highly-anticipated debut album “No Way To Relax When You Are On Fire” on September 13, 2024.
The album comprises a 13-track, which she co-produced with producer Ralph Castelli, producer Rostam Batmanglij, and British rock band The 1975's George Daniel. In additionally, co-produced by Henry Kwapis, Felix Joseph, AoD, Jack Karaszewski, John DeBold, and Solomonophonic.
She recorded the album in Poland, Alaska, and California.
Dora Jar said of the album, “I started writing these songs 2 years ago after opening for one of my favorite artists in the world Billie (a life changing and overwhelming dive into the deep end). There were times in the writing process where I crumpled in the confusion of imposter syndrome. I was trying to make sense of what felt like a lucky break. But I used the freedom and time to face my deepest fears, my shadow self, and get closer to the truth of who I am { ever changing }. This album is a stained glass window, it is the creepy raven on your windowsill waiting for you to make eye contact and then when you do you realize it is very cute, it is the burn of regret from a cigarette, it is a falling petal at the mercy of the wind, it is my childhood fear of the devil, it is my adult eye roll to my fear.”- Dora Jar told Flood about the album title, “It means a lot of different things. There's a positive feeling to being on fire, spiritually, when you're warm on the inside and feeling confident and hot-shit and doing exactly what you want to do. There's also the total discomfort of burning and being under a spotlight that you don't want to be under and not being ready for the fire. It was such a visceral line. I play around with metaphors a lot in my music, but once in a while this blatant lyric comes into my head and I feel like saying it.”
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Dora Jar explained about some tracks for the album.
“This Is Why” via DORK
“We've made a few songs together, but 'This Is Why' felt like the one that fit this album. We had this demo for so long that he named 'Monday Elves'. I was like, what the hell is this? I just leaned into the nonsense of it all. I love George (The 1975's George Daniel). He's such a whimsical guy; people don't really know that about him. He really gets tickled by fantastical things and loves nerding out on the Mellotron.”
“Timelapse”
“'Who am I?' is a recurring question I ask throughout my album. When I moved back to New York in my early adulthood, it was the first time I felt like I could have fun living the answer to that question. New York moves so fast, your surroundings blur, and change feels more intense and inevitable. I wanted this song to sound like getting lost in the busy time lapse of life.”
“Ragdoll”
“'Ragdoll' is about me feeling sometimes powerless in my own life. And also finding the power in going with the flow. If I don't have control let me just swing around and decide I'm ok with this. It also plays with an oxymoron at one point. 'You can let me fall, heavy little ragdoll.' A ragdoll wouldn't be heavy, but I feel that way, these opposing contradictions. I did Ketamine therapy with my mom, and it made me feel like a wooden balloon. It brought up all these contradictions within me. I'm shy and outgoing. I'm light and I'm heavy.”
“Cannonball” via DORK
“He (producer Rostam Batmanglij) offered one day, 'Show me music whenever you want; I'd love to be a sounding board for any thoughts or confusions you have'. So I showed him a bunch of the album when it was 80% done. He really responded to 'Cannonball'. I was like, 'Wanna help finish it?' It was all recorded – all the vocals and my picking guitar, Ralph had recorded cello - then Rostam came in with all these amazing chords. He added guitar layers, little key sounds, and so much texture and movement that made it feel so much more exciting and magical. It kind of reminded me of 'Clocks' by Coldplay, but like not! He just gave it this swirling momentum.”
“She Loves Me”
“This song is an ode to the girl I wish I could be.”
“Puppet”
“'Puppet' came together earlier this year while I was off social media, in a remote part of Alaska. I wrote the lyrics in a cabin overlooking a river full of salmon who swim upstream in August to return to where they were born, lay their eggs and die. Being off the internet my awareness shifted away from how I was perceived online to a strong feeling that everything around me was alive, and aware. The wood of the cabin walls was watching me as I stared at them in search of patterns, and the guitars we passed around seemed to tell their own stories.”
“Sometimes All Ways” via DORK
“He (producer Rostam Batmanglij) also worked on 'Sometimes All Ways' with us. Same situation; it was recorded here in Alaska, then Rostam added percussion and some electric guitar in the chorus-y sections. He's so fun to collaborate with. He's a unique person to talk to about music, too. I feel very similar to him in the way we converse; I take a lot of pauses, and so does he. Usually, when we're hanging out, we sit in silence, and it's so comfortable; there's never any compulsion to fill the space or perform. Really zenned out. It's rare to have that patience and allow space in conversation with people these days.”
“Behind The Curtain” via DORK
“Behind that little green curtain, he's projecting this all-knowing, powerful wizard. Really, he's just a scared little guy pulling levers, trying to make it seem like he has everything under control. I feel like that is just the human experience - that we're all pushing random buttons and seeing what happens, trying to make it seem like, 'Yeah, I know what I'm doing'.”
Photo by Haley Appell - source : Apple Music
