Jacob Ezra Walks the Dividing Line
He’s a music artist. He’s a music journalist. EARMILK writer Jacob Ezra shares his organic journey doing both with The Renaissance.
Jacob Ezra is a very unique individual. Yes, we all are unique individuals — but Jacob wears two hats that rarely cross: that of a music journalist and an artist. He literally lives on both sides of the line that have long had a divide, but especially so in the past few years. Over the last year, Jacob has become both the critic and the critiqued, the reviewed and the reviewer. He talked to the Renaissance about how he walks this line as well as what it’s like in each respective position.
Jacob’s journey as a music journalist began like many of our own’s did, by writing locally and for small blogs. Originating from Vancouver, Jacob first wrote at a publication there called BeatRoute. He took a break from writing (again, as many of us do) but soon returned about a year ago, and with his resume being a little bit longer, he joined a publication you may have (or should have) heard of, EARMILK. “I’ve found it really rewarding, I’ve immersed myself in the world of it and learned a lot about music and the music industry,” Jacob says.
One may think writing articles and songs would go hand in hand as they are both forms of creative expression. Jacob lets us know there’s a difference.
“I think being a songwriter is a really challenging thing, and it often goes overlooked just how difficult it is,” he tells the Renaissance. “A lot of factors have to line up to make a song work, and then to make it a memorable track requires all those factors to be pushed even further.”
Walking the line between music journalist and artist is a very rare position. For Jacob, he started as a music artist before he was a music journalist, so naturally, his perspective is both unique and considerate. Nowadays, we often hear artists ranging from Kanye West to Kevin Abstract, and everyone in between, taking shots at “bloggers” in their lyrics or on social media — sometimes simply over excerpts of a review they got. The conversation over who has the right to review music, and what type of music they review, has reached a new level of polarization.
It’s all very interesting, to say the least. There seems to be more of a divide between the journalist and artist, and that is unhealthy for both sides. As we all know, all music is subjective. All art is subjective.
“It has given me a wider picture of what’s going on in music as a whole,” Jacob tells me. “Because I’ve been an artist for long before I became a journalist, I think I have a lot of empathy for artists and I understand where they’re coming from. I understand how hard it is to be an independent artist and gain exposure, especially if you’re not making commercial sounding tracks.”
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Like many artists who view the music they make as an extension of themselves, Jacob’s artist name is his real name — just not the one most people know him by. “I just took it from my actual first and middle name,’ he says. “Earlier, on I used to go by different aliases, but I think this conveys the direction I want to go in, one that is a bit of a spontaneous, and unfiltered representation.”
In his writing, with his byline credited as Jacob Saltzberg, you can find him covering rap artists and melodic R&B and trap artists. The same effort and thoroughness that goes into his writing also goes into his music, making him all in no matter what form of expression he’s sharing with the world that day.
This intentionality extends to the composition process of his music, too, especially the spontaneity aspect. “I usually start with making the instrumental, and then I try out different experiments with the vocals and just keep them if they fit,” he tells us. “Earlier on when I was making music, I was putting vocals on every track, but now I don’t feel the need to do that always.
“These days I never really want to be confined to being considered a rapper, singer, or producer, I just want the songs to take on their own identities if possible.”
Jacob ensures each song has its own identity — as well as his — in the (rightfully titled) EP The Organic Sounds, which has everything from dreamy melodic tones to psych rock influenced moments and straightforward rapping too.
While not a new method in the slightest, but perhaps more appreciated nowadays, Jacob joins other producers who include the instrumental versions of songs on their albums. The Organic Sounds has two instrumental tracks out of six songs total, and the last 45 seconds or so of the other songs with vocals are completely instrumental. For those of us who used to have to rely on YouTube to access these, the gratitude for that alone is eternal.
Jacob explains, “I delved into the production element especially on this project, and my main focus was creating an atmosphere with the sounds. I wanted to give people time to become fully absorbed in the ambiance of the song if they listen to it through, as well as give the project some breathing room, as it is a bit chaotic and busy at points.”
In recent years, producers have been getting more credit and name recognition than ever. More of them have dropped projects of their own, done exclusive projects, and worked with multiple artists on huge songs, sometimes thanks to their own individual brand. It’s a sort of recognition that a beat to a song has just as much power as the vocals, and the two should enhance each other. Jacob’s EP The Organic Sounds opens with an instrumental track, appropriately titled “Magic,” to establish one of several tones on the project.
“At first I actually had a bunch of versions of the opener ‘Magic’ with vocals on them, but they just didn’t feel right, so I left it as an instrumental. I think out of all the songs, this one felt the closest to my heart, and the most reflective of the emotions I wanted to communicate,” he tells us.
“I felt that this is the closest to what I wanted people to hear if they were hearing me for the first time,” he states.
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A true producer who is rightfully an artist can tell a story with just their production. They can create a mood, an atmosphere, a universe — and you can see things play in your head while the melodies and drums (or lack thereof) play. Tracks “Magic” and “July” both carry a dreamlike atmosphere that makes falling asleep while listening to them more of a compliment than an insult.
Jacob hopes as much: “I’ve always been attracted to dream-like music and sounds that remind me of nature. For these songs, I was inspired by a love for nature, as well as a mood of curiosity. I’m always trying to be curious and inquisitive about the world around me and I wanted that to come across in these songs.”
Meanwhile, other tracks like “The Great Decline” feature elements from psychedelic music, and the EP’s closer “Speak Softly” has the most rapping on it, including a feature from Jay Squared.
With The Organic Sounds, Jacob was able to craft his vision in all aspects of the EP, from the title to the cover and of course, the music itself. It all ties into one central theme.
“For the cover, I wanted to flush out the organic theme in the title. My goal with the EP, creatively, was to make something unfiltered or unprocessed, just trying my best to deliver something spontaneous and raw. That was the inspiration behind taking the photo with the fruits and the instruments, and then I also wanted to capture the dream-like and surreal feel of the music with the cover,” he says. “With the name, I wanted to communicate this, with organic being a metaphor for what I was trying to achieve with my creative process. Also, my music has always been inspired by nature, so [Organic Sounds] captures that too.”
As Jacob responded to my questions, I couldn’t help but realize he makes balancing the worlds of journalist and artist seem…easy. He comes across completely focused and comfortable in each respective lane, and he appreciates the overlap just as much as the separation. In fact, he recommends it to others as well.
“It’s a great way to learn about music on a deeper level, and get to know a lot of talented and driven people,” he tells the Renaissance. “Also, I think it can also help anyone, either an artist or a writer, to differentiate themselves by combining interests like that. It can help someone stand out in the music business and gain a wider perspective.”
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Find Jacob on Twitter, Instagram, and EARMILK. You can listen to The Organic Sounds on streaming services now, including…
Spotify:
YouTube:
Soundcloud:
Apple Music:
