“She’s at peace and yet somehow on fire.”
“Some women are lost in the fire. Some women are built from it.”
For Sequim composer Jennifer Thomas, she’s drawn inspiration from a few quotes like these to help with “The Fire Within,” her next album tentatively set for release at the end of August/early September.
This week, she’s opening pre-orders for the album at PledgeMusic with links at her website www.jenniferthomasmusic.com. She previews some of the album at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, July 7, at Benaroya Hall in Seattle for the Ensign Symphony & Chorus’ “God Bless America” concert followed by Thomas’ all new music.
Tickets are available through the Seattle Symphony’s website at www.seattlesymphony.org.
She is in the final stages of the 10-track album being mixed, which she says may be her most personal release yet.
“In the past, it’s been very nature-inspired music,” she said. “This one I wrote from a lot of personal experience.”
One song, “Girl in the Mirror,” she wrote about her struggles with body image.
“It’s about looking into the mirror and being happy with the person you are,” she said.
Another song, “Rise of the Phoenix” serves as inspiration for building yourself anew, she said.
Eight of the tracks on “The Fire Within” are written by Thomas, and the album includes two covers of Hans Zimmer’s “Time” from the film “Inception” and Imagine Dragons’ “Believer.”
“Time,” she said is her “go-to inspirational song.”
Thomas, who has a cinematic feel with her music, said she tends to write with sports in mind.
“Sometimes I think ‘this would be really cool to skate to (or) this would be energetic as a dance,’” she said.
Ice skaters and dancers are some of her biggest fans, she said, including a 15-year-old ice skater who recently wrote her saying when competitions come up, she and other girls fight over who gets to skate to Thomas’ music.
“That’s the best thing I’ve heard all year,” Thomas said.
Top quality
Like the athletes she’s inspiring, Thomas says she’s always striving for top quality with her music.
That’s one reason she flew to London to record strings at Abbey Road Studios with the English Session Orchestra.
She also flew to Sweden to meet with Glen Gabriel, her co-producer/orchestrator, earlier this year to record orchestrations, and they spent time in Seattle doing additional sessions.
“I won’t release something unless it’s top notch,” she said.
“I’ve been able to consistently release music that meets my expectations and my fans have come to know it’s not coming out unless I feel it’s at its best.”
Despite the great lengths she goes to release each album, Thomas anticipates “The Fire Within” will be her last full length album as she’ll focus on EPs (shorter albums with around five-six tracks).
“I can get more done in a faster time,” Thomas said.
Full albums are becoming less of a necessity, she said, as digital downloads of singles and streaming individual songs become much more common.
Thomas is considering staggering the release of “The Fire Within” a few weeks so people can only listen to it by purchasing it before streaming is available.
At the July 7 concert, she plans to provide sheets about her album’s preorder, which she plans to offer incentives, such as signed CDs, photos and sheet music, and possibly VIP passes and Skype phone calls.
Thomas finds herself embracing Patreon, an ongoing support site for artists, where she offers exclusive behind-the-scenes videos and music videos that either premiere on the site first or only show by subscribing.
She’s planning to release at least two videos for the album’s release.
As for the rest of the summer, Thomas said her sons love swimming and her husband continues to train for an ultra-marathon.
She said her family continues to love it in Sequim and they hope to take a week off in August at Cape Flattery.
To learn more about Thomas and preorder “The Fire Within,” visit jenniferthomasmusic.com.
Subscribe to her Patreon at patreon.com/jenniferthomas.
Reach Matthew Nash at mnash@sequimgazette.com.
On July 7, Jennifer Thomas of Sequim performs again with the Ensign Symphony & Chorus for its “God Bless America” concert at Benaroya Hall in Seattle. They’ll perform some of her new music from the album “The Fire Within,” too. Photo by Girlinde Gilmore
Jennifer Thomas recently flew to London to record strings at Abbey Road Studios for her new album “The Fire Within.” Thomas said it includes some of her most personal work to date. Photo courtesy of Jennifer Thomas
Jennifer Thomas recently recorded strings with the English Session Orchestra at Abbey Road Studios for her new album “The Fire Within.” It releases late August/early September and features 10 tracks that Thomas said includes some of her most personal work to date. Photo courtesy of Jennifer Thomas
