November 2009

10 Minutes with... Finding May

With their music making its presence felt on Jetstar’s new ad campaign, we ask composer Blair Joscelyne of the songwriting duo Finding May about their sound

INTERVIEW RACHEL FARNAY JACQUES

Where did you and singer/songwriter Erin McCrory meet?
We were both on a bus that conked out in the middle of nowhere. It was May 2006, which is what inspired our name – Finding May. Erin was humming and I asked her what she was singing. She said it was an original song, and I started making funny noises and beat-boxing with her. We had a laugh and soon after we wrote a song called “Rain, Hail or Shine”‚ which ended up on the Arnott’s biscuit commercials.

What influences your genre of “weekend music”?
There’s this image of musicians recording at 3am with beer and pizza, but we write and record in the morning. I have a grand piano that opens out onto the garden so we meet up every Saturday morning and write. There’s this sense of a whole weekend ahead and we try to capture that feeling of excitement and possibility in our song writing and production.

Blair, your music’s been used in over a dozen advertising jingles. Which comes first: the song or the client?
I serve the music first, and the client through that. If you have a song that connects with people, you can’t go wrong. While the music needs to support the message of the ad, I aim to create something that can stand on its own musical feet.

You wrote the music for the new Jetstar ad campaign. How did that come about? They’d heard a song we wrote called “Join In” and liked the style. We wanted the song to appeal to all ages and span multiple genres so we referenced all kinds of sounds from Jetstar destinations, with over 40 different instruments, using different technology. There’s also a small choir plus some amazing musicians.

What advice do you have for budding songwriters?
Luck is a combination of talent, perseverance and opportunity. Ultimately, the most important thing is to make music that is honest with something unique to say. Then just keep bugging them until they give you a chance!

Have you flown with Jetstar recently?
Yes, to Osaka where I bought a racecar. It’s sitting at the docks now waiting to get shipped back to Australia. Erin and I will be heading to Japan again in early 2010 to do some live shows.

Is there a particular place in Melbourne you find inspirational?
I always feel at home on Brunswick Street. There are so many awesome bookshops, clothes and cafés. We also can’t go past The Espy in St Kilda – it’s an Australian icon for live music.

Where can readers hear your music?
We’re doing shows in Sydney and Melbourne over the coming months –the details are on our website. Our music can be heard on all Jetstar TV commercials and on the plane.