Memories float like ghosts across a barren landscape, and a heartbeat pulses powerfully in Jai-Jagdeesh’s newest single Road to Somewhere. It is an anthem reconciling a painful past, the mystery of the future, and the knowing of the present moment. Jai-Jagdeesh confronts the sadness of a hard childhood experience, and she does so with the courage of an adult brave enough to venture onto paths unknown.
Listening to “Road to Somewhere” feels like being invited to an intimate chamber inside Jai-Jagdeesh’s heart. It is an honor for us to support this music and an equal honor to share Jai-Jagdeesh’s heartfelt words about this song and the experiences behind it.
Spirit Voyage: “Road to Somewhere” seems to come from the most profound depth of your being. What does this song mean to you?
Jai-Jagdeesh: Everything. It’s everything I never knew I needed a song to be. It’s a safe space in which to fall apart, and breathing room to get as lost as I must in order to re-find my center – or find a new center altogether. I cry every time I listen to it, which has been a lot lately because of how much happens to prepare a song for release.
Spirit Voyage: What has been your experience of weaving your recent life experiences into your music?
Jai-Jagdeesh: Having written and sung these lyrics means I’m no longer swallowing the sadness of the experience that birthed them. There is great catharsis in naming the pain, in holding up the poison dart and saying “This. It was THIS.” Weaving my saddest stories into songs has actually been the biggest part of the healing process so far.
Spirit Voyage: It is admirable how artists can transform human heartbreak and pain into art that comforts the hearts of others. How do you feel about sharing your heart so openly with the world?
Jai-Jagdeesh: At first, while writing first drafts of lyrics or improvising during a studio take, I didn’t question any of my impulses. I didn’t think “Is this too personal? Should I maybe change that lyric or change the subject altogether?” I just wrote and riffed, which was made easier by the emotional, musical, and collaborative support of Bogdan Djukic & Ram Dass Khalsa. They were such champions, walking with me through every door I opened, always working to enrich the sonic landscape. That type of support creates a lot of freedom, so I just poured out everything I felt, unrestricted and uncensored. It wasn’t until we were finessing each track that I noticed I was carrying a little bit of fear about being SO candid – but it didn’t last. This felt correct. It felt vital. I’m glad we did it just as we did.
Spirit Voyage: It seems like you are breaking new ground with this song. What is that like as an artist?
Jai-Jagdeesh: It’s interesting to hear you say this, because it doesn’t seem like new ground to me, but I guess it IS. This is the first time I’ve written from the inside of an emotional existential crisis. Usually I’m affirming something for myself, and, in the process, empowering the listener with reminders of how loved they are, how precious and important and beautiful they’ve always been. Or I’m writing about something painful after the fact, which enables me to reflect on the lessons I learned rather than speaking as the protagonist in a current-moment story. “Road to Somewhere” is sung from the inside of a storm, and I’m still very much within that storm. The current events quality feels different… but it also feels natural. And thousands of artists before me have been deeply autobiographical in their music, sharing the hardest and saddest moments of their lives through song. I’m following in those footsteps.
Spirit Voyage: What does music mean to you in this present moment?
Jai-Jagdeesh: Music is therapy. Working on my own, listening to others’ creations; it’s all therapy. Whether I’m discovering something new or returning to old favorites that have held me through hard times in the past, it is equal parts crutch and catalyst.
Spirit Voyage: Can you talk about your collaborators on this song?
Jai-Jagdeesh: Ram Dass and Bogdan are both geniuses, which makes them a wildly unpredictable and exciting pleasure to work with. In truth, they crafted the musical arc of “Road to Somewhere” long before I had finished the lyrical arc, so I owe the power of this piece to their intuitive imaginations. The bones of this song were built with guitar (Ram Dass) and cajon (Bogdan), followed swiftly by a violin overlay (Bogdan) that we turned into an steadily-building undercurrent. Ram Dass and I tried a couple of other instrumentation possibilities, eventually testing piano and finding that it was the missing link. Ram Dass played it in this cascading way that was the perfect engine, especially when coupled with the drums he programmed in at the last moment. They helped craft a song that feels like a journey, and helped make sure it would end with hope.
Spirit Voyage: Is this release the beginning of a bigger project? Can you give us a sneak peek of what’s next for you?
Jai-Jagdeesh: For the first time in my entire career, I’m having an impulse to leave you with a bit of mystery as to what comes next. Here’s all I’ll say: There’s an album, it’s HUGE, and it’s coming very soon.
Listen to Road to Somewhere now.