Chilli Jesson takes a drag of a cigarette and exhales quickly. “I keep fucking going off on these tangents, man. You can tell I haven’t done this in two years can’t you?” he asks, his sentence dissolving into a smoky laugh. It’s true, the former bassist in Rough Trade riot-starters Palma Violets has been out of the game for a while, but Jesson is finally ready to unveil the most personal recordings he’s ever made. Informed by Nick Cave and Ennio Morricone, Crewel Intentions is a theatrical, scuffed-up, strain of rock‘n’roll.
Jesson, who addresses the death of his father in the new music and has been writing lyrics with his sister, a poet, says he’s “finally become a member of society”, having been thrust into life in a band at 17. He’s now 24, and much has happened since Palma Violets disbanded two years ago. “It’s the rollercoaster of the band and that coming to its inevitable end and being out, alone, penniless, riddled with anxieties,” he says. “But also this sense of freedom to create what I feel I’ve needed to say for a long time, in a more personal sense.”
Backed by a live band, Jesson has been playing low-key shows in London for a while (“They’ve been fantastic,” he enthuses) and Crewel Intentions self-release a debut three-track single later this month. “The notion of the song is missing, so many groups I see live, there’s energy there, but would I take it home and listen on the bus? I’m not entirely sure,” he continues. “That’s what I feel is missing and that’s definitely what I’m trying to bring back in the music.”
I’m excited to be a part of something again. I have this opportunity...
Chilli Jesson
Jesson describes the new music as “anthems that encapsulate the anxieties” he’s been feeling, but he sounds delighted to be back, interview rustiness notwithstanding. “I’m excited to be a part of something again. I have this opportunity,” he says. “Having that camaraderie and gang thing, that I’ve really missed. I love investing all my energy into that.” Jesson’s lifestyle has always been nomadic, and after living the dream and touring the world with his best friends, he initially struggled with staying put in London. He worked odd jobs (“Pubs, gardening… You name it, I’ve done it, man”) and one night behind the bar sparked him back to musical life. “One time this customer comes in going, ‘Oh fuck, are you Chilli?’” he remembers. “I wear glasses to work ‘cause I can’t see anything, and they were pissed and said ‘Take them off.’ They were asking me to sign my name in their Guinness. Oh my god. Reality really hit home, it was fucking funny. It gave me an ambition to go again. Now’s the time.”
Clearly, Jesson is champing at the bit, enjoying the taste of a comeback. “Even though these two years have probably been one of the hardest periods of my life, it’s also been the most freeing, fulfilling thing,” he finishes. “My life is within these songs, I feel like I’ve found my voice.”
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