Jade Cuttle: “Tuning in to the World of Plants”
Dec 14
Liv Bonsall
Languages and Creative Writing graduate Jade Cuttle talks to Co-editor Liv Bonsall about her career post-Cambridge as well as her debut album, ‘Algal Bloom’.
Credit: Jade Cuttle.
The multitalented Jade Cuttle is a full-time Commissioning Arts Editor at The Times. As a poet, musician and nature enthusiast, Jade’s career is continuing to evolve. She has recently blended her love of poetry and music to create her debut album, ‘Algal Bloom’, which was released in January 2020. She has written for BBC Radio 3, has performed for BBC Music Introducing, and her reviews can be found in The Guardian, The Poetry Review and The Times.
Liv Bonsall
Thanks so much for joining us. Firstly, could take us through your career as a writer and musician, and how you got started?
Jade Cuttle
So I studied French and Russian at Cambridge, and was always really interested in creative writing. I started journalism with Varsity Cambridge; I was the Arts editor there, which was a really good introduction to journalism. I also did a few internships, at The Observer, and The Times briefly. And I just loved it. Poetry's always been there as well. The poetry scene at Cambridge is just amazing, and it’s really one of my highlights. I think those two strands of poetry and journalism just continued afterwards.
LB
And what about the music? Did you start at Cambridge, or was that something that came later?
JC
My first ever live gigs were at Cambridge, in terms of me sharing my own songs for the first time. That was definitely when I was a student. I did open mic nights, which were great. And then I actually wrote most of the songs from my album whilst at Cambridge, probably at least half of it. I also recorded some of them in studios in Cambridge. So it was a really busy time to juggle the two, you know; we see the academic pressure but also the creative drive. But I feel more inspired when I'm busy and I think the two strands of academia and creativity do stimulate each other. So I definitely found it to be a really stimulating time.
LB
Yes, I often think that being at Cambridge could be a hindrance to creativity. But actually, there's so much going on that you can't resist getting involved in as many things as possible.
JC
Definitely. I was always eager to snap up any opportunity. And everyone you meet at Cambridge is so interesting. You really want to soak up the atmosphere.
Credit: Jade Cuttle. Her debut album ‘Algal Bloom’ is out now.
LB
Moving on to your amazing debut album, ‘Algal Bloom’; you describe your music as poetic folk. Which comes first, the poetry or the melody?
JC
They always come together, and I call them poem songs in the sense that often there's no set structure. They flow freely in terms of the form, like a poem would. In terms of what comes first, they always have to fuse together. I can only write the lyrics at the same time when I have a melody in place. I obviously write poetry as well, but I keep that as a very separate thing. And for me, the poem songs are very much more instantaneous and emotionally charged. I write a song and I leave it alone, as it captures the emotional intensity of one particular moment. I just do it; it's a record of what happened and how I felt at the time. Whereas with poetry, I go back and draft and redraft for months and months, years even.
LB
As for the album itself, where did the inspiration come from? You mentioned that you started it at Cambridge, but how did you come up with the idea in the first place?
JC
I’ve always turned to nature in times of seeking comfort or during the stresses of Cambridge. I was a part of the hill walking society at university; I went on hikes most weekends, or every other weekend. It was a real comfort to me to seek solace in nature. So that's why every song in the album is inspired by it. I wrote one called ‘I Am Like The Tree’, which was inspired by me biking to lectures, and just musing about the similarities between trees and humans on the long bike ride from Homerton College. Most people used to complain about the bike ride since Homerton is so far, but I actually really loved going through the meadows and seeing all the cows and the trees and just having that time before the stress of the day began, to just think creatively.
LB
Do you have a favourite song from the album? Or do they all mean something different to you?
JC
Each song definitely captures a different moment in my life, a different feeling and experience. We settled, in the end, for ‘Algal Bloom’ as the title of the album. And that's actually a newer song that we recorded, but I found the algal bloom phenomenon fascinating. I’d been reading up about the science behind it. It's a really thought-provoking natural phenomenon where a pond or some body of water is taken over by algae. And it might look beautiful, but it's actually quite damaging in the sense that it blocks light for the fish. So I was really fascinated by that dynamic of something looking beautiful but being harmful at the same time. Some of the songs have this science behind them that I’ve found interesting. ‘The Ice and The Crack’ is inspired by glaciology a little bit, because I used to be really into geography. ‘Leaves and Lovers’ is more of a musing on when loved ones leave, a feeling of grief. And the idea that a tree can no longer have leaves but still be haunted by the memory of warmth. That was one idea that I had on the way to lectures.
LB
I've seen that you translated that love of geography into your plant whispering workshops, which I found really interesting. Could you tell us a bit more about them and where the idea came from?
JC
So the idea first came just after leaving Cambridge. I was the apprentice poet in residence for Ilkley literature festival. I had Daljit Nagra as my mentor, and as part of the festival, we had to devise workshops for the public. And so I decided to bring in my love of nature to try out the workshops the first time. I discovered that if you stethoscope a tree, you can hear noise, usually a sap passing through the xylem tubes and whatnot. I’m not exactly sure on the science of this, but I look at it from a poetic perspective and it fascinated me, the idea of being able to tune in to the world of plants. So that's where the idea first came from, and I've noticed that I'm still interested. I programmed it for The Poetry School, and BBC One came and filmed it in my last job, too. So people are becoming increasingly interested in restoring this connection with nature, particularly in such a turbulent time.
LB
Yes, and I think it’s quite fitting that your album came out this year. Once the workshops start again, I feel like people will be really interested.
JC
Hopefully!
Credit: Jade Cuttle.
LB
As a lot of our readers are Cambridge students, do you have any advice for them as a Cambridge graduate who's gotten into writing and music? I think some students can be quite intimidated to start out in a creative career that may not seem that stable at first.
JC
For journalism, internships were definitely the gateway for me, mainly for making contacts, but also obviously for the experience. So I definitely recommend trying to do as much work experience and internships as possible. That’s something you can even build up whilst at Cambridge in terms of the societies that you choose to join. For me, that was joining Varsity, and deciding to prioritise my extra time on journalism and creativity, which was a nice outlet. Don't put too many pressures on yourself, just enjoy taking as many opportunities as you can. In terms of the poetry, submitting to magazines and entering competitions are good ways to get your name out there a bit, and working towards the first pamphlet. So I recommend writing and reading as much as you can. Open mic nights are great as well, for meeting other people. Make sure you enjoy it!
LB
How did you been cultivate your creativity in lockdown?
JC
I've been working on my first collection of poetry, adding to the manuscript, editing and thinking more conceptually about the themes that I'm wanting to draw together, which I hadn’t had the time to do before lockdown. That's something that's definitely emerged during the pandemic while being at home. So I'm looking forward to working on that manuscript and talking to publishers as well; that's exciting. I also recently went on annual leave for two weeks, and went around the Aviron region of France. Just kayaking and canoeing and the beautiful scenery has really helped inspire so many poems. As well as that, I've started painting a little bit, nature scenes again, and also writing short stories. With an extended period of being at home, it feels as though time has stretched out a little bit more. Now, I'm not as rushed between places. So I guess my creative form has expanded as well, from the short poem form to short stories.
LB
One final question: if you could invite one writer or musician to dinner, who would it be and why?
JC
I’ll have to think about that one… Regina Spektor. She's an absolute creative genius that bends all musical boundaries. But she is also one of the most lovely, fun, approachable people. I've seen her live and she's so genuine and brilliant.
LB
Thank you, Jade. It’s been a pleasure to chat to you and I hope readers will check out your new album!
You can listen to Jade’s debut album, ‘Algal Bloom’, on Spotify, iTunes, Amazon Music, Google Play or on her website, www.jadecuttle.com. It can also be bought via https://jadecuttle.bandcamp.com/album/algal-bloom.
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