Meet: Feign Jima - Funny How Things Turn Out

From Naarm/ Melbourne comes the tender lyricism, sincere songwriting, and smooth vocals of Feign Jima (pron. Faye-n Jee-mah) aka Jamie Fanning. Over the last 18 months the project has seen the emerging singer-songwriter build her audience through live shows, whilst her releases have gained support from the likes of triple j and FBi Radio. Collaborating with Jim Rindfleish, producer and member of Mildlife whose catalogue includes Meg Mac, Maple Glider, Lucianblomkamp, Feign Jima invites us into her transcendent world with the EP Funny How Things Turn Out. 

Taking inspiration from the likes of Maple Glider, Julia Jacklin and Stella Donnelly Feign Jima’s sound is delightfully intriguing from the choice of more complex rhythms seen in Ultimate Defender, the warm swirls of guitars heard in Beaches, and her honey-like sensitive yet powerful when required vocals unraveling honest tales throughout the new EP. 

To celebrate the new release Funny How Things Turn Out, we wanted to learn a little more about Feign Jima, so asked her a few questions. Be sure to listen to the new EP, and learn a little more about what went into it below. 

Tell us about yourself? (age, location, hobbies/passions, what you do outside of music etc?)

In recent times I’ve been very much enjoying hand building cursed house hold items with clay, I get a lot of enjoyment out of how bad I currently am at it. The things that are on regular rotation in my life include nature walks (especially in winter because I love looking like that Lenny Kravitz meme), batch brews (way too many cups), going to the movies, dinner with friends and electric conversations. Also hanging with my cat Bobbi, she’s a literal saint. 

When and why did you start writing/recording/performing music?

Singing came first for me, I was a show kid who danced and sung to other peoples music for a large portion of my life. It wasn’t until I was 17 that I decided to take music seriously. My musical awakening happened when I listened to Amy Winehouse’s Frank for the first time and just hearing the rawness of her writing at that age was everything. It really lit a fire in me to want to unveil that emotion within myself. I began with writing a lot of songs on piano and in the last little while moved to playing guitar predominantly. 

Tell us about your creative process? 

It’s MESSY. I will often unintentionally change the process when I sit down to create. I think it’s because I need it to feel fresh or something. One thing that I always start with is doing something mundane like folding washing whilst listening to music, that definitely always sparks something. 

Tell us about your new EP (Title, inspiration, writing/recording process, any other interesting info)?

The title Funny How Things Turn Out actually started off as a joke between my partner and I because it’s a line that’s said in one of our favourite TV Shows Flowers. It’s about this highly dysfunctional family and amidst the chaos Olivia Coleman’s character turns to Julian Barrett’s character and says in quite a chirpy way, “Funny how things turn out isn’t it Morris?”. Hilarious in context but when I was repeating her line on a regular basis it started to connect the dots between the songs on the EP and resonate in a different way. The songs on Funny How Things Turn Out are all about relationships at their core. Relationships to friends, family and to myself. This EP was written in another lockdown (like my first) and I was doing a lot of healing during this time and I think the music is reflective of that (hopefully). 

How can fans best support your music?

Come and heckle me at a show so I get better at banter. But also following me on all the social platforms and listening to my music if it resonates. 

What's coming up for the rest of the year? (Music or otherwise)

I’m launching my EP at The Retreat Hotel on Friday the 8th of July with Winten & Arbes supporting and I simply can’t wait! Lots more shows too hopefully and starting to figure out my debut album (!!!!!)

What have you been listening to lately?

Current obsessions are Mitski, Helena Deland, & Aldous Harding 

Feign Jima’s new EP Funny How Things Turn Out is out now. 

Follow Feign Jima: FACEBOOK / INSTAGRAM