Jinjer, Pisces- A Classical Musician’s First Listen and Reaction

#virginrock #jinjer
How many songs can you think of on the topic of… fish?! It was fun to notice a common strand between this and, of all things, Schubert!

Here’s the link to the original song:

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Amy Shafer, LRSM, FRSM, RYC, is a classical harpist, pianist, and music teacher, Director of Piano Studies and Assistant Director of Harp Studies for The Harp School, Inc., holds multiple degrees in harp and piano performance and teaching, and is active as a solo and collaborative performer. With nearly two decades of teaching experience, she teaches privately, presents masterclasses and coaching sessions, and has performed and taught in Europe and USA.

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Credits: Music written and performed by Jinjer

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[BTAColorado]

This version is a re-recording of an older song of theirs when their current drummer, Vladislav (Vlad to us fans), had just joined. They did this song over because they loved the feel that Vlad brought with his drum interpretation with the added ghost notes, etc. There is probably a good reason this reminded you of Schubert. Vlad himself is a classically trained pianist and is self taught on the drums. I am sure he is VERY familiar with Schubert and I think a LOT of his drum technique takes from his classical training.

[neilpatrickhairless]

Wait until she sees the drummer play Rach on piano LOL

[ExMachinaAnimata]

The most "classically" sounding song of Jinjer is probably "Vortex". At some parts it really sounds like something that could've been played on harpsichord or something. Recommend it 100%!

[HCXWinchester]

Song also represents the duality of human nature by its vocal styles, Pisces is associated with duality.

Tatiana is a master of vocal growls, will be seeing them live next week. Amazing band.

[adnap]

I loved watching this classy, seasoned classical musician sitting there just swaying and grooving to Jinjer. One of my top experiences of the day.

[LeviAckerman-cbji]

I feel that for a time, this song with reactors became more about Tati's vocal turn than the actual song.
You're the only one I know will give this song an honest assessment.

[MarathonVidmaster]

A lot of her growling technique involves the false folds, and if done correctly isn’t actually harmful long-term or even painful for that matter. The easiest way to do this is to start with an exasperated sigh and then talk using that exact part of your vocal anatomy. This is how she’s able to make such a deep sound – she’s not using her true vocal cords at all, and that’s why her voice doesn’t sound any different when she transitions back. If you’ve been doing it right, it *_shouldn’t_* sound different.

I strongly recommend the breakdowns The Fairy Voice Mother and Rebecca Vocal Athlete did of this song - both of them not merely understood exactly what Tatiana was doing with this song immediately but were able to demonstrate the exact technique themselves, which I always find super impressive.

Great reaction. “Perennial” at Wacken (pronounced roughly between _Vocken_ and _Vahken, _ since it’s a German festival) and the “Judgement and Punishment” vocal one-take seem to be the most common suggestions for next steps after this song, and they’re both very defensible choices.

Also, you’ll now get a ton of suggestions to hear Spiritbox, too. “Rule of Nines” and “Circle with Me” are the best starting places, but make sure to use the one-take vocal performances of those, too. The ending of “Circle with Me” in particular is so much more powerful in the one-take – Courtney LaPlante does things in that performance that I’m not sure I’ve ever heard anyone else do.

Lorna Shore might still be a bit heavy for Amy, though I’m sure she’d at least appreciate their musical chops and compositional skill, but it’s a name to keep in mind for a bit further down the road. Make sure to use the music video when you do get to “Pain Remains”. It’s an essential part of the song’s impact – its storytelling is absolutely masterful.


Edit: It’s also worth noting that proper mic technique can do a lot for a performance like this – her growls aren’t _necessarily_ as loud as you might expect them to be. Mind you, some harsh vocalists are known for being _incredibly_ loud. Slaughter to Prevail has a section in live performances of “Demolisher” where vocalist Alex Terrible turns off his mic and is _still_ loud enough to be heard over the band, but I’m pretty sure he’s some kind of mutant. (The dude has literally wrestled bears, and I’m pretty sure he’s wrestled alligators now, too.)

Also, a couple other names of bands worth checking out as follow-ups to this one: Opeth and Otep. Very similar names, two completely different artists. Both were very large influences on Tatiana’s vocal style – the latter’s lead vocalist Otep Shamaya was the first female vocalist she heard performing growls, and she was immediately fascinated by her; Mikael Åkerfeldt is also a big influence in his ability to transition seamlessly from absolutely angelic clean singing to utterly demonic growls. I’m not familiar enough with Otep’s music to give recommendations (so whenever you do get to them, it’ll be educational for me, too), and I believe Amy has already done Opeth’s “Windowpane” (which is one of their songs without any growls). Good next steps for Opeth are “Ghost of Perdition”, “Bleak”, and “The Drapery Falls”. “Blackwater Park” is a fantastic track as well, but shouldn’t be the subject of a first reaction since it only uses clean singing for background vocals over an otherwise instrumental passage.

[hoblon]

That's so funny you mentioned the drums, because Vlad (the drummer) is a classically trained pianist in the first place. So the Shubert actually might be involved =)

[massboy]

Oh, I can’t wait for this reaction. I live for jinjer reactions.

I hope it doesn’t hurt Amy’s ears too much.

Edit: the look on Amy face is absolutely priceless. Love it. 😂

[Birdienamnam]

As Vlad, the drummer, is a trained pianist the chances that he is familiar with Schubert’s “Die Forelle” are probably not that slim.
The musicianship of the band deserves mentioning! So also the lyrical song writing by Tatjana.
Perennial live at Wacken (for also seeing the band perform) or Judegment and Punishment one-take (for closer singing analysis) could be two great options to come. 🤗

[MattKrogmeier]

I mean, it’s not thematically about “fish, ” per se…it’s about duality, both in the zodiac sign and in the vocal delivery; one informing the other.
Tickled to see you tackle this one…it’s largely been a reaction channel rite-of-passage! They are world-class musicians, and I applaud you for your analysis of one of the most important bands in music!

[markwarner]

They have a song callled Teacher Teacher in which she flips between vocal styles on different words in the same sentence with no transitional period. It's a great tune.

[sthenzel]

Try "Perennial" live at Wacken, vid included (jinjer´s pretty much ok about it)!
Last piece of their set, done in the morning, Tati´s running around on stage and while sometimes you hear a little exhaustion, she still hits all the notes.
"Pit Of Consciousness" live in Kiev is another great performance.
Others already mentioned "Judgement (& Punishment)" - just Tati and the prerecorded track, nothing else.

[mrake]

Yes this song is a classic. Its like 3 vocal styles. One more pop oriented style, and then we have the growl and in the end of the song a moore hard rock vocal style. Amazing.

[Hayreddin]

I think the best video to analyze her technique is "Judgement (& Punishment)" as it's shot in one take, up close, with good illumination and no clothes obscuring the throat.

[evenifyou]

all of this reaction videos of this song are discover some new layers and meanings, background details, it's so beautiful, amazing, awesome))

[Bigdaddycaldwell]

The juxtaposition of the clean and harsh vocals is to demonstrate the duality of a Pisces.

[Grumpyseabee]

The duality of man is a huge part of this

[robertocortez]

Great reaction,
I want to suggest you a live performance by this skilled musicians:
Perennial (Live at a Wacken )
Or:
Judgement & punishment
(One take vocal performance)
Thanks for your reactions!!

[Laurael]

Love watching reactions from people who have never heard Jinjer! Tatiana is amazing.