Meet Jade Faria | Singer, songwriter and music producer.

We had the good fortune of connecting with Jade Faria and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Jade, why did you decide to pursue a creative path?
I was a very creative child overall. I remember always playing and always having fun with what I now understand as expressive experiences. I used to say I was going to grow up to be a dancer or singer or actress or painter or writer… so I believe it was already something that I was inclined to.
When the time came in my life to choose a path in academic life I chose to do a Bachelor in Performing Arts. I graduated from University of São Paulo in 2023 with a major in Performing Arts education. It was truly life changing because I got to explore different ways of expression and that showed to me that music and sound was my way. Today, doing a Bachelor in Music Producing and Sound Engineering at Berklee College of Music, I have understood that my first Bachelor taught me a lot about the art of presence and the artistic side of developing collaborative creative methodologies to work with other artists in projects which has been very useful.

I do believe that the reason I am inclined to art, both as a creative and as a consumer of art, and the reason why I chose pursue an artistic career and devote time, study and making into it is because I believe deeply in the art of connection, collaborativeness and presence as tools/paths that can be deeply transformative both on an individual and communal level. Art connects through messages and experiences that are not necessarily tied to the meaning/word/significance of it, but to how it makes people feel. And music is universal, and extremely collective. It really sparks emotions and connections that can change everything from the inside out and vice versa.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
I am a singer, songwriter and music producer from São Paulo and São José dos Campos, Brasil. I am currently based in Boston pursuing a degree in Music Production and Sound Engineering from Berklee College of Music. I started writing music in 2018 and the passion for it grew during my Bachelor in Performing Arts due to working with sound and music in theater. My first EP, Solar, co-producer and co-arranged by me with all original compositions, came out in 2022 and that is when I consider my career to have begun. It was a beautiful release and I began to understand music as a photograph of a certain moment in time (or in sound), where I made/thought/listened to music in a certain way that will never come back or be the same. After that release I produced and co-produced some singles and got to work with amazing artists in Brasil such as Luiza Brina, François Muleka and Diego Xavier. I have had recognition from the Brazilian music industry such as being featured in Revista Noize as one of the emergent voices of the new Brazilian Popular Music. My music is a blend of Brazilian MPB from the 60s and 70s, which are deep influences of my sound, with Brazilian jazz and a psychedelic/experimental touch. I love to work collaboratively and most of my arrangements are done as a collective with the musicians that are working on the project. I feel like that is present in both my production and artistic workflow as I have been developing practices to really highlight the collaborative aspects of my music.

The moment I am in my career right now is challenging but at the same time very inviting due to all the wonderful opportunities I have been having. I have just released, in May, my newest single entitled “Boca do Estômago”, which is truly connected to the way I have been thinking of and making music right now. It is about the emotions we feel in our gut when we have interactions and connections that, sometimes, don’t really feel right and how the world affects us from the inside out and vice versa. This year is full of releases that are coming next, with versions of songs that I have already released and a new EP coming towards the end of the year as a result of a wonderful collaboration that I had the chance to do with musicians that I have connected to at Berklee’s Global Jazz Institute.

Of course there are a lot of challenges in pursuing an artistic career and, although having a lot of support from loved ones, there are obstacles that we just have to deal with. I feel like one of the biggest ones is comparison and how it makes us disbelieve our own music. This is a dangerous one because it can take us out of our musical and artistic truth in order to “fit the industry standards” which I always tend to believe as a big mental trap. The way to overcome it is to find ways to be more present with ourselves and our creative outputs. It can be truly empowering and life changing to be someone present in our own projects, ideas and, the hardest one, being present with ourselves to really understand and connect with our emotions.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
This is a tricky one, are they visiting in Boston or São Paulo?
I do have ideas for both, so here is it.

In Boston I would probably start the day by having a good breakfast at Trident Booksellers and cafe to fuel up for a good walk. I really enjoy walking and I feel like Boston is a city that really brings out the walker side in me. The walk would go all the way to Boston Commons were we could spend a nice morning/afternoon walking and probably grabbing a drink or snack at a bar near by. I would also love to do the Boston Freedom Trail because, when I got to the city, this was something that truly showed me around with the bonus of not ever being lost since it is an actual trail all around the historical places in Boston. I would wrap up at Faro Cafe, a no computer/technology cafe which aims to literally have people talking to one another, in Cambridge, having a bite and a glass of wine, enjoying good music and meeting amazing people.

As for São Paulo, what can I say? I absolutely love the city.
I would start off with a nice breakfast in any local bakery with all the Brazilian delicacies we could have. I would then take them for a walk at Parque da Aclimação and after that go to MASP to see the expositions. After that I would probably head to a bar at the wonderful Bixiga neighborhood and head to Teatro Oficina to watch a play. And I bet after the play there would be a show going on somewhere we would go to. We would wrap up at the 24 hour Riviera bar at the corner of Avenida Paulista and Rua da Consolação.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I would like to give a special shoutout to Nayron Rodrigues, Vida Walkiria and Dreamland Digital, my Brazilian label that truly believes in the music I make and have been by my side since the beginning of it all; to Yujin Han who connected me and Shoutout LA for this wonderful interview; to my parents and sister who are the number one supporters of my artistic journey; and to all my musical partners (musicians, engineers, producers, professors, mentors…) that I have encountered in this path, thank you for all the music and love.

Website: https://jadefaria.com.br

Instagram: @jadefaria_

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/JadeFaria

Other: Apple Music: Jade Faria

Image Credits
The yellow and black and white ones are by Jade Monteiro and Otávio de Roque.

The brick wall one, where I am in a green dress, is by Marina Estrela

The one performing in a closed space and the blurred one were I am seated on a couch are by Nayron Rodrigues.