Jessica Lea Mayfield – in session for Marc Riley – BBC 6 Music – April 8, 2018 – BBC Radio –
Jessica Lea Mayfield in session for Marc Riley at BBC 6 Music on April 8, 2028. At age 15, Mayfield recorded her first album White Lies under the moniker “Chittlin” produced by her brother David Mayfield, printing only a few hundred copies. One of those copies fell into the hands of Dan Auerbach of The Black Keys. After an introduction, Mayfield and Auerbach hit the studio, laying the foundation of her debut album With Blasphemy So Heartfelt.
Mayfield’s first LP was the September 16, 2008 release With Blasphemy So Heartfelt. The album was produced by Auerbach and recorded over a two-year span in his home studio in Akron. With Blasphemy So Heartfelt features Mayfield on acoustic guitar and vocals, Auerbach on a variety of instrumentation, and Mayfield’s brother David on upright bass. Dr. Dog’s Scott McMicken and Frank McElroy provide vocal harmonies on the track “I’m Not Lonely Anymore.” Says Auerbach of the recording experience, “I think she’s dark and moody in a mysterious way, not unlike Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds.” He adds, “I’m just always really excited to make music with her.”
With Blasphemy So Heartfelt debuted with quite a buzz around it. Pitchfork Media gave the record a rating of 8.2 out of 10. Online magazine Blurt named With Blasphemy the Best Album of 2008 and gave Mayfield the title of Best New Artist of 2008. The album’s opening track “Kiss Me Again” was featured on The CW’s hit series Gossip Girl on February 2, 2009, and “Bible Days” was featured on CBS’s CSI: NY. “For Today” is featured on the Starbucks compilation Have You Heard?: Winter ’09. Mayfield’s cover of the Buddy Holly song “Words of Love” is featured on the Starbucks compilation Sweetheart: Our Favorite Artists Sing Their Favorite Love Songs.
On September 29, 2017, Mayfield’s fourth studio LP Sorry Is Gone was released by ATO Records: with the exception of the song “Offa My Hands”, which was written and produced by Patrick Damphier, who has worked with The Mynabirds and The Arcs, the album was produced by John Agnello, who has worked with Dinosaur Jr and Sonic Youth, and includes appearances by Seth Avett and Steve Shelley of Sonic Youth. Sorry is Gone was another nod to Mayfield’s grunge-alternative influences, while incorporating some alt-country and pop elements as well.
The deeply personal album chronicles Mayfield’s years-long journey as a survivor of domestic abuse, and separation from her abusive husband: “I feel like it’s almost my duty and my responsibility to advocate for this subject. Because if I really want things to change and I want women to be treated more fairly, then hiding my own experiences isn’t going to help anyone.
Hit the Play button and have a listen.
As you know, we’ve suspended indefinitely our ads in order to make Past Daily a better experience for you without all the distractions and pop-ups. Because of that, we’re relying more on your support through Patreon to keep us up and running every day. For as little as $5.00 a month you can make a huge difference as well as be able to download all of our posts for free (news, history, music). You’ll see a banner just below. Click on that and become a subscriber – it’s easy, painless and does a world of good.
