J Mitchell Interview
By Norman Mayers
Photo by Kat Goduco
Probably best known for her slick and bold remix of Exile’s “Summer Song”, Cali-based J. Mitchell is a force to be reckoned with. Smooth vocals, forward thinking beats, musical talent, and a kind spirit are the tools of her trade. Nu-Soul was able to chat with J. Mitchell backstage at one of her shows with us. Get educated on this emerging talent.
Nu-Soul: How did your partnership with Exile come about?
J Mitchell: I met Exile the first year that I moved to Los Angeles, which was ’05. We had a mutual friend who was a producer too. He just came to the door one day and my friend was like, “This is Exile”. So this is maybe like 5 or 6 years ago now. We had just been col then I hit him up on myspace one day and said ”Let’s do something”. He was like”Okay” and there it is.
Nu-Soul: So where are you from originally?
J Mitchell: I grew up in Denver, Colorado. But I was born in Seoul, Korea. I’m a military brat. So we lived in Korea, we lived in Germany, and we lived in Colorado. So that was where I spent most of my time. I’m a child of the world.
Nu-Soul: So I know you also sang with The Rebirth for a while. So do you feel you are just more suited to being a solo artist or that the music you are doing with Exile is just more suited to who you are?
J Mitchell: Definitely. And that was a wonderful experience for me. Being able to work with Loslito. They’ve had that band together for 7 years so the fact that they would give me the opportunity to just learn as much as I did; I left that band a much better singer. It definitely influenced me but I feel what I’m doing now is much more who I am.
Nu-Soul: You did the remix of “Summer Song” for Exile’s remix album so that is how a lot more people found out about you. What has the overall reception to the song been and to the video as well?
J Mitchell: It’s been overwhelming. I’m really happy. There’s been people hitting me up from all over the world. You never really know who’s listening to your music unless people come up to you. But the fact that it was so well received made me feel really good. It’s more than what I expected.
Nu-Soul: What would you say about the California music scene in general?
J Mitchell: Love it! It’s fresh. And I’ve been a lot of places. I just got back from Atlanta. But I just feel that LA has a creative, fresh type of thing that just can’t be duplicated. In Atlanta I meet so many artists that are like “I’m trying to get to LA.” There is just a fresh sound coming out of LA and people are looking to LA to set the trends.
Nu-Soul: So you recording new material with Exile. What can people expect to hear on that project?
J Mitchell: It’s going to be a concept of just beats. It’s hard to describe. I also play the guitar so we are incorporating some of that as well. I call it the electric acoustic odyssey. Lyrically, it’s just positive. It’s not corny though. It would sneak up on someone who’s not into positive music.
Nu-Soul: Who are some of the artists or some of the different scenes and events that you’ve gravitated towards?
J Mitchell: I come from Leimert Park. When I first lived in Los Angeles I lived in Leimert Park so I would go down to the open mike spots and I kinda got refined. I met up with Ta’Raach and Exile. I met the Rebirth. And it slowly started to build up. As far as artists there are so many. I remember seeing Flying Lotus at an open mike spot in Pomona. I remember Jimetta Rose on the poetry circuit. Of course Aceylone, Georgia Anne Muldrow, Exile, Blu, Pudge, HouseShoes, there’s a lot of creative people here. This is a strong community. I’m so happy the cool kids in LA embraced me!
Get Music from J. Mitchell: http://jmitchellmelodiousfly.bandcamp.com/
http://twitter.com/melodiousfly
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