CMU Approved

Approved: Jenny Wilson

By | Published on Monday 29 January 2018

Jenny Wilson

Jenny Wilson has always been an artist who draws on difficult life experiences as subject matter for her songs. Her last album, 2013’s ‘Demand The Impossible’, was written and recorded while undergoing treatment for breast cancer. Her latest, ‘Exorcism’, however, deals with a subject even she was unsure about delving into – the aftermath of a sexual assault.

“This is the most difficult thing I’ve ever done”, she says. “In so many ways. At first, I actually didn’t know if I even wanted to go on with music anymore. Then, something terrible happened to me. I ended up at a crossroads. Either silent – or speaking. It was not an easy choice”.

She continues: “I didn’t want to talk. I didn’t manage to talk. But I had to talk. Not to bring justice or to take revenge. Nothing is ever as easy as it seems. I wanted to take back what I’d lost. I had to get rid of what was hurting me”.

The first single from the album – its opening track ‘Rapin*’ – is a bold and uncompromising piece of music, which comes with an animated video to match. Created by Swedish artist Gustaf Holtenäs, Wilson says of the video: “I wanted to make something awfully direct. Something you just can’t hide from or misunderstand. This song demanded a brutal video, and it had to be done in a beautiful animated style to reach the full power of the story”.

It does exactly as she says. It’s bold and uncompromising. As she has throughout her career, Wilson takes a difficult subject matter and places it within great music. It’s not an easy listen, and the video is not an easy watch, but there’s immense bravery and power in the telling of her story.

Watch the video for ‘Rapin*’ here:

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