A Chat with LittleFox (26.05.23)
The brainchild of singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Alison Jenkins, LittleFox brings together elements of folk, pop, bluegrass and blues in her melodies. We speak with Jenkins about her EP, Ghost In This House, what music means to her, her achievements, and female discrimination in the music industry.
OSR: What made you decide to pursue a career in music?
Jenkins: I can’t really remember a time when music wasn’t part of my life, as my parents always played albums and encouraged me to be musical from an early age. I actually wanted to be a theatre actor for a long time but I found the whole theatre school process to be pretty soul-crushing. Music was originally my way into live theatre, but bit by bit music started to be more creatively fulfilling than theatre, especially when I started my own project. I have a knack for it, obviously, so it’s where I feel most at home, whether I’m in a recording studio or singing live in front of an audience.
OSR: What does music mean to you?
Jenkins: It’s cheesy, but music means community to me. It starts in a quiet and solitary place, which is the songwriting process, but then it really takes so many people to make the songs sound the way I want them to and also to distribute the music, to manage and book and publicise the band and, of course, it takes an audience to listen to the songs as well! When I think of the people in life that I’m closest to, the unifying connection – and often how we first met- is music, whether it’s some of my oldest friends that I was playing music with in my twenties or my new friends whom I met during the pandemic and beyond.
OSR: What do you hope people take from your music?
Jenkins: I really hope they hear the truth behind the performances. I hope that they hear the message that connections with other people should be sought-after, and celebrated and that music can be the force that brings people together. And of course, I also just hope they enjoy the sounds on the EP because every one of those songs means a lot to me.
OSR: What can you tell us about your EP, Ghost In This House?
Jenkins: Ghost In This House is really an EP about connection, which is something I’m pretty obsessed with. So there are happy songs about finding connections with people, like the instrumental ‘Home Is Where You Are’, which is dedicated to my partner, and ‘Magpie Heart’, which is about friendship. And there are dark songs like ‘Thirsty’ which is about obsession, and ‘Death Bloom’, which is about a missing person. And the title track, which is written from the point of view of someone who feels like they’ve lost connection to their life and the world around them.
OSR: If you could change one thing about Ghost In This House, what would it be and why?
Jenkins: I wish I could have included my amazing bandmates on the EP, but there just wasn’t the time or the budget. I can’t wait to record a full-length album with all of the Foxes! That being said though, I’m really proud of how full it sounds anyway, which is the benefit of being a multi-instrumentalist.
OSR: What is your creative process?
Jenkins: I try to keep notes and musical ideas, often by jotting stuff down on my phone or making little recordings. Sometimes I’ll hear a sentence, or read a news story, and something will just resonate with me. It can take a while for me to find the time to expand on those ideas, but eventually, I’ll make time to turn them into a whole song. Sometimes the words come first, sometimes the music; sometimes they both come together. I try to stay open to what feels best at the moment.
OSR: The music industry is one of the most difficult to take on, what is your advice to emerging artists?
Jenkins: Don’t be afraid to make your own path! This is a hard career, but it’s also super flexible. There are so many different ways to be a musician. Your career in music might look different from everyone else’s…and that’s totally okay.
OSR: Female artists continue to face challenges like discriminatory language, lack of respect, industry inequality, stereotypes, and much more. How do you feel these issues are being tackled and what is it like being a female in the music industry?
Jenkins: Being an older woman in the industry has been kind of liberating in that I don’t feel the pressure to look or act a certain way because that ship has sailed! But I definitely have felt some condescension. That usually goes away once I open my mouth and start singing though, because there’s nothing demure about the way I perform.
I am a music teacher, and something that I find very hopeful is how many female-identifying students I have in my classes! I love how students these days are much better at advocating for themselves than I was at their age, and that makes me optimistic about the future of music. We shouldn’t waste time expecting change to come from older men in the business who are stuck in their ways; we have to BE the change.
OSR: What is your greatest achievement, and it doesn’t have to be a musical achievement?
Jenkins: I am a pretty introverted person, so I am very proud of the fact that I found the strength to put together a project which attracted a bunch of people who didn’t know each other before and now are a tight-knit group of people who really care about each other. Sometimes I look around during a band practice or a show and think, “I made this happen”. That’s pretty cool.
OSR: Do you have future plans as a musician?
Jenkins: Yikes, I would hope so, since I’m just getting started with LittleFox! I’m just figuring out how to make this career work since there are definitely challenges with being a middle-aged person in this business. For example, I don’t want to go on tour and get in a van and sleep on floors for months at a time the way a younger person might be okay with doing. But I DO want to perform at a lot of festivals and showcases around Canada and the world. I also really want my songs to be heard as much as possible and hopefully find some representation as a songwriter so that maybe other artists will record my songs. For the immediate future – I’m going to perform a lot this summer, and then hopefully take some time to write new songs and record an album with my band.
OSR: Do you have a message for our readers?
Jenkins: Thank you for listening to and supporting acoustic folk music!
Many thanks to Alison Jenkins for speaking with us. For more from LittleFox, check out her Facebook, Instagram and Spotify.
This artist was discovered via Musosoup #sustainablecurator
