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CARYS JONES
A Poet, a performer, a journalist, a great many of things (as you will see below); Carys Jones is without a doubt someone who surrounds herself with creativity and feeds off of the energy of the talented individual she mingles amongst. Originally hailing from the U.K., Carys now calls Seoul, South Korea home, and over the past few years has become a lynch pin in the expat creative circles — a known face and name amongst the musicians, poets, performers , writers, artists, and a host of other scenes. Unsurprisingly her portfolio represents her incessant work ethic, with writing credits for Blues & Soul Magazine, Eloquence, Groove Korea, and the era defining webzine known as AWEH, while she continues to grace stages across the Korean peninsula, including the Gwangju World Music Festival earlier this year. Aweh managed to sit Miss Jones down in one place long enough to get a peep inside of her world and find out what drives her to create in so many different directions.
Aweh: For the record, list the myriad of creative pursuits you engage in.
Carys: Primarily performance poetry and percussion (like my use of plosive alliteration?) But yeah, I write and perform a lot of poetry, I play drums, I write for various magazines and websites, and I’ve dabbled in other activities including DJing, singing, making cards and collages for friends, freestyle rapping, acting, voice acting, stand up comedy, promoting, hosting and organizing events. When I say ‘dabble’ I don’t necessarily mean I’m necessarily particularly successful or good at any of these things, I just get bored easily so I frequently flip back and forth between projects to keep my brain occupied.
Aweh: What is your earliest memory of picking up a pen and creating something out of words? When did you first starting making music?
Carys: As clichéd and unoriginal as it sounds, I’ve been writing for as long as I can remember, ever since I learned how to construct full sentences on paper. In primary school I got really into writing stories and even though I was never very academic, my teachers would often praise me and share my creative writing with the other teachers. I had a pretty vivid imagination. My strongest early memory of writing something is from when I was seven. I wrote a story about time travel and it was 16 pages long. All of the other kids wrote about five pages. I can’t remember how long it took me to write, but I’m assuming it was a long time as I’m generally a very slow writer (which can be a hindrance for someone who writes as much as I do).
As for music, I began taking piano lessons at the age of six and started learning the trumpet about a year later. The one instrument I really took to was the drums. My fascination with drumming began when I was around five years old. The drummer at my dad’s church used to sit me on his lap at the kit after the services and show me how to hold the sticks and what to hit and I knew from then on that I wanted to be a drummer. I was self-taught for a while and started playing in church, then I briefly had lessons at school and joined the percussion section of the Birmingham Youth Training Wind Orchestra. The piano lessons came in handy as I had to play tuned percussion as well as drums. I also used to sing a lot as a child, but it’s something I’ve only recently started getting back into.
Aweh: How did you get into doing more performance orientated work?
Carys: Asides from having to read my work in front of the class at school and one incident when I was asked to write and read a poem at a youth club event when I was about 14, it didn’t kick off until around 2006. I’d started attending an event called The Live Box, which was hosted by Soweto Kinch, an award-winning hip hop/jazz artist.
Every week they would feature a different guest artist and the show was split into two segments. The first half was a performance by the headliner and the second half was an open mic where anyone could get on stage and jam with the headlining act and the band. One week, Zena Edwards, one of my favourite spoken word artists was the featured guest and I really wanted her to hear my poetry, so I signed up for the open mic. I had the poem memorised but I quickly scribbled it down on a napkin in case I forgot the words because I was so nervous I was convinced I was going to choke. It turned out I didn’t need the prompt. I remember the microphone was shaking in my hand like crazy, but I received really positive feedback from both Zena and the crowd.
Shortly after, I was approached by a friend who was president of the African & Caribbean Society at my old university to write and perform a piece for a Black History Month Event and things escalated from there. Three years later, I was asked to perform the same poem for a spoken word series called Verbalizm on OHTV in the UK. I would say things had come full circle, but that suggests returning to a starting point when I feel I’ve actually moved forward. I like to think of my current journey as a second, interlocking circle.
Aweh: Is there any real division between spoken word performances and musical performances or is this simply a case of people categorizing the same thing as different animals?
Carys: I think there is a distinction between the two, but they often overlap. As with most art forms, nothing is black and white, boundaries are easily blurred. Many would say the most obvious difference is the use of musical accompaniment, but it could be argued that the voice is also an instrument. I’ve witnessed several acapella performances where artists will incorporate beatboxing, singing, and body percussion into their poetry. I love performing acapella, but often a bar full of drunk people won’t want to stay silent and listen to poetry for an hour, so I try to switch it up to keep things interesting. Sometimes I’ll sing or do some kind of vocal percussion, sometimes I’ll use instrumentals and I’ve performed with bands and beatboxers too. Music and poetry have always been my core forms of creative expression, they are of equal significance to me so it’s natural for me to combine them.
Aweh: What first brought you to Asia?
Carys: In my final year of university, I got run over by a car. My injuries thankfully weren’t as serious as they could have been, but it was enough to put me out of action briefly and set my studies back. Whilst playing catch-up, my laptop got stolen and I foolishly hadn’t backed up my work, so I lost the bulk of a year’s worth of assignments, including my dissertation. I took a year out and worked in schools, first in admin and then as a behaviour support assistant, before returning to university to repeat my third year.
By the time I’d finished my studies, rather than feeling a sense of accomplishment, I was melodramatically wallowing in self-pity, feeling like a failure because I narrowly missed out on the grades I’d hoped for. I was single, had no steady job ,and was forced to move back in with my parents . In hindsight, it was quite petty and immature of me, but it gave me the kick up the backside I needed to find somewhere to live and look for a job. I soon found a place to live and the next step was to find somewhere to work.
I was looking online for local jobs and I saw an advert for teaching positions in Korea. The pay was decent, flights were reimbursed and they provided free accommodation. I figured I’d enquire and possibly head out there in six months or a year. I heard back from the agency two days later telling me a school was interested and wanted to do a telephone interview with me. This was early 2007, before immigration laws changed, so I didn’t need to wait to get a criminal record check, and less than a month later I was living in Korea. It was all a bit of a whirlwind, I didn’t really have time to over-analyse the situation and change my mind, it was very spontaneous.
Aweh: How would you describe the open mic scene in Seoul?
Carys: I wouldn’t go so far as to say it’s thriving, but it’s fairly healthy and that’s a good thing. In the past, I’ve experienced a lot of tension and ego clashes. There have been cases where the comedians didn’t like the poets, the acoustic musicians didn’t like the rappers etc. Those are just examples, but I feel a lot of that has died down. There’s now such a wide spectrum of open mic events that cater to different styles. I’m currently involved with Itaewon Open Mic which takes place at Bar Ireland Yuki every Thursday and is hosted by my friend Fancy. It’s one of the most diverse open mics I’ve attended, and she does an awesome job of making everyone feel a part of the community. She has also been extremely supportive of me and helped me organize and facilitate Lyrically Minded, an open mic I host primarily for spoken word performances at The Orange Tree.
Aweh: You’ve lived abroad for some time now and; how do you think your environment and those around you have influenced your work?
Carys: It’s difficult to specify. I’m influenced by everything and everyone around me to an extent, but it’s not always on a conscious level. My environment affects my mood, which in turn affects what I write about. Of course some people and situations have influenced me more than others, but I’d be typing for all eternity if I had to list all of the people, stories and experiences that have inspired my work.
Aweh: What are you working on right now that people should look out for in the near future?
Carys: I’m currently working on my as yet untitled debut album. It’s still coming into shape, but if I had to label it as any genre I’d describe it as a blend of spoken word, hip hop, electro, and experimental music. I’m recording at Geoff Nostrant’s studio and I couldn’t have asked for a better engineer, he has an ear for perfection. The album will feature collaborations with some incredible producers from around the globe, including Dave ‘Gadget’ Lewis of Millennium Jazz, Whodiniz, Diverse Concepts, and Scotty Soul.
I’m unsure when the project will be finished, I was initially aiming for early next year but if it isn’t completed by then I won’t beat myself up over it, I’m not going to rush the creative process and jeopardize the quality for the sake of meeting a deadline. In addition to my own album, I’m contributing to projects by other artists including fellow Korea expats Lyric, Pravda 23, Elliott Ashby, and Danielle Arsenault. I recently recorded a verse for a track with a guy in Brooklyn named Leo Albatross who I was introduced to through a mutual friend who lives in Seoul. I’ve also been in talks with Dylan Owen, an up and coming emcee from New York, who asked me to record an intro for his album. I’m unsure whether it’s made the final cut or not, but we plan on collaborating with each other in some capacity in the future.
Aweh: How can people read or indeed witness more of your work?
Carys: I’ll be contributing to AWEH and www.culturemmagazine.com You can hear tracks and poems at www.soundcloud.com/carys-matic or check out my videos at www.youtube.com/caryshj. I don’t have a website yet, but I post information about upcoming events and projects at www.facebook.com/carysmaticjones
If people want to see/hear me in action, I’ll be hosting more editions of Lyrically Minded at The Orange Tree in Haebangcheon and I’m also at Itaewon Open Mic at Bar Ireland Yuki every Thursday night.
Aweh: Finally, name three books and three records that you believe our readers should check out right now.
Carys: Records…
- She Said by Ursula Rucker. This woman just gets it right. Whenever I hear her speak, it’s as if she’s crawled inside my brain and said exactly what I’m thinking, but more poignantly and powerfully than I could ever express myself. This is the first album she’s recorded in-studio with a full band.
- Special Kind of Fool by TY. This is like Prozac for the eardrums. It’s such a positive, uplifting album.
- Therapy Chop Sessions by Tall Black Guy. Tall Black Guy is currently one of my favourite music producers. This is more of an EP than an album, but it’s phenomenal. It’s a collection of tracks he produced for the weekly ‘therapy chop’ challenges from the Beat Inn group on Facebook.
Books…
- Unrealistic Expectations and other POEMS by Leeanne Stoddart. Stoddart is a fellow poet from Birmingham, U.K. (though she grew up in Alabama which can lead to much confusion). Her style of writing appeals to me because it’s multifaceted and honest. She speaks with such wisdom, yet the slightly naïve voice of an inquisitive child still occasionally echos through. You can buy the book here.
- Brilliant Rappers Educate Intelligent Students by Breis. Breis is a truly special person. He’s a hip hop artist, writer, educator, and someone I look up to greatly. This is his first published poetry collection and a large chunk of the proceeds from sales are going to support an orphanage in Kenya. The book is available for purchase here.
- My book. It’s so exclusive it’s currently only available inside my brain.
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Published by Dann Gaymer
16 December 2011