Bending Binaries: Planningtorock Interview

Musician Jam Rostron created Planningtorock to make her voice heard. Andrew Darley talks to Rostron about what it means to unlearn ideas about gender, and how music can help people do that.

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Tired of her music being misunderstood, Jam Rostron’s music is now making defiant statements with her electronic project, Planningtorock. After her 2011 album, W, the singer-songwriter and producer realized that the messages in her songs were either lost in translation or falling upon deaf ears. When it came to write its successor, she wanted to make something bold, something that could go unnoticed. Deciding to write in a far more explicit way, All Love’s Legal exists as a musical rally against oppression and fight for love in all its forms. With songs like ‘Misogyny Drop Dead’ and ‘Human Drama’, she takes on issues of sexuality, love and gender set to the pulse and rythmn of dance music that is vibrant and hard-hitting. There’s no denying that it’s an ambitious album. Over twelve songs, the singer confronts and retorts social constructs of masculinity/femininity, homosexual/heterosexual, right/wrong in way that encourages listeners to see that these ideals are much more fluid than the way we have been taught and learned them, and if indeed they exist at all. But just as important as the politics of the album, the intent of All Love’s Legal is to make people dance.

You’ve said that the song ‘Patriarchy Over And Out’ was the starting point for the album. The song’s lyrics mark a definite change in style for you that is way more explicit and direct than previous work. Was writing in this way like this liberating for you? 

Absolutely. W was more subtle and poetic regarding the lyrical dealing of political thoughts. Sadly this meant that people didn’t pick up on what I was trying to put across, however, the experience with W is what enabled me to make an album like All Love’s Legal. Producing W also taught me something very important about myself and pushed me to be bolder and more honest.

Were there any events or experiences in particular, whether world events or on a personal level, that initiated the idea of the album?

On personal level, for sure. Gender politics and liquid sexuality is a big deal to me. That together with discrimination becoming more visible and new scary discriminating laws that attack human rights being introduced around the world.

Would you say then that All Love’s Legal is a musical rally against oppression and a fight for love? 

Nicely put. I’d say it’s an honest attempt to be all that, but it’s also about learning and unlearning and opening up these issues. I’m also working out my own politics on this record.

Some songs encourage listeners to challenge societal norms and our own belief systems about the world and people around us. Have you always questioned the concept and construction of identity? 

I’ve always tried to challenge societal norms both personally and in my work. It took me a while to find the people and the books with the words that help create and evolve the language around issues like gender. I’m still learning and unlearning.

You’ve described your approach to music as ‘queering sonics’. Can you tell me what that concept means to you? 

Queering sonics is about challenging norms in music production and the production process – producing outside of the box.

The sound of this record is more distinctly dance-inspired and house music orientated. Was this something you wanted to do after W? 

I wanted this record to be dance and happy. I wanted to be able to dance on stage and have fun whilst singing about things that are heavy. Dance music is such an amazing human glue and everybody/anybody can be part of it.

From the get-go, Planningtorock has experimented with physicality. Whether it’s visual distortion in your music videos, clothing or facial prosthetics; there is a mystery about your project, your identity, even your gender. In doing this, do you want people to project their own ideas of your identity? 

I’ve always used the production of music and video as an opportunity to mess around with image, gender and identity. It’s a lot of fun and has really helped me unlearn a bunch of stuff and grow. People have to be really open to that side of what I do and seem to get what it’s about. It’s not about a disguise or hiding. It’s more about adding or expanding on what we’ve got and coming undone.

Do you think by experimenting with your identity shifts the focus away from who you are as a person and moves it onto your creations?

Everything I produce is me. I’m just exploring ideas and issues through music, videos and image. That’s what is great about these mediums they can take you very far. Having said that though I do like to keep my private life exactly that, private.

Is there sense of achievement when people are confused by who or what Planningtorock is? 

It’s completely unintentional and I find it hard sometimes when that happens, but then there are people who don’t react and don’t find it mysterious, yet totally connect to it and make it theirs and own it. After years of doing this, I’ve learnt that you can’t know how people are going to react and that’s fine and a big part of it.

Are there any artists that you have found personally inspiring in subverting the norm in music? 

Fatima Al Qadiri is a really interesting producer, one of the most interesting around in my opinion really pushing norms in music production. The Knife, and I also really like Micachu, rRoxymore, Pursuit Grooves and Paula Temple.

Were there any insecurities in yourself, or things you had to overcome, in order to fully believe and execute the ideas behind the record? 

Oh wow yeah, I was pretty scared at times about how blunt and direct my lyrics where but then I would remind myself how low I got after making W because of being misunderstood, or stuff just going under, and then I’d feel better. I thought “What’s the worst? To make a record that’s direct and get a reaction? Or to make something safe and be misunderstood?”

You know the route I took.

Have you learned anything about yourself making this album? 

Lots … The best has been the conversations with fans at the live shows.  This album created those kind of opportunities and I’m so grateful for that.

Now that you’re on your third solo album, do you feel that you are becoming stronger or more confident as an artist?

I guess so. It’s funny looking back at all three records: Have It All, W and All Love’s Legal. They’re all very different but all very connected. I’m looking forward to start writing again.

What do you hope to achieve as Planningtorock in the future?

I’m thinking a lot about what else I can do with  music and video. I’m really into TV and would love to make a queer comedy series or a film.

In light of what this album has allowed you to learn, do you think music has the power to enable people to see things differently?

YES!!!!! Music is the most magical language we have. Everyone can like music and you don’t need a degree to make it. It’s a people’s language.