Check Out Jesse Flamand’s Story

Today we’d like to introduce you to Jesse Flamand

Hi Jesse, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
My musical story started like many others. I was lucky enough to grow up in a house with a dad who loves the blues and rock & roll, and after a few years of piano lessons he thought it was time to get me an electric guitar. Later an acoustic, then a nylon string and, well, the guitar bug was caught… In my early teens, I started experimenting with writing my first songs and fell in love with the outlet it gave me to work through experiences and emotions. And to capture magic. I recorded my first EP at seventeen at a studio in Connecticut, where I was born and raised, and then moved to New York City a year later.

There I met my now decade-long music and life partner, Jeremy Rompala. We were both playing acoustic mic nights around the city. He comes from a tremendous background in music having played in bands since elementary school and when we formed a duo together, he opened my eyes to the world of harmonizing and arranging. We busked in the subway and listened to endless records until 5 AM in our Harlem apartment.

In 2019, the West Coast called our names, and we made the decision to move to Los Angeles together. Over the past six years of living here, our musical roles have intuitively shifted. He is predominantly a producer and writer out of our home studio in Silver Lake, and I release music as a solo artist under the name Posie while also co-writing for other artists. I feel very blessed for the wide-ranging experiences I have been able to have in the music industry.

I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
I would say the road I’ve travelled has been relatively smooth but winding. I’ve been very fortunate to have a supportive family and find incredible collaborators from a young age that has allowed me to pursue a dream that can oftentimes be difficult to remain dedicated to. Life of course has provided some bumps, as it does. And when things go wrong you invariably get to hear the line that always makes me smile, “You should write a song about that!” Usually said enthusiastically by someone outside of the music world, and usually you realize years later – they happen to be right.

Building a sustainable career in music is incredibly challenging. Everyone has their unique journey and opportunities happen or breakout moments come for different artists on varying timelines. I do subscribe to the mindset that every failure is a chance to learn and grow. I think the fact I have slowly placed every stone on the path in front of me, although sometimes it can feel like you’re stumbling or have taken a wrong turn, has given me the confidence and knowledge to trust my intuition and vision. It’s easy to pass hard work along to someone else but nothing feels as good as challenging yourself through the hard times and seeing the fruit of your labor. Or rather, hearing it.

Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I am a singer and songwriter both for my own artist project as well as a collaborator. My main love and focus within music are lyrics and vocal tone. I’m fascinated with the nuanced textures and cadences that separate singers. Something that flows from the artist and then must be captured in the art of recording.

I’ve always been drawn to words, poetic language, and stories. I can never get enough of unravelling how my favorite songs were written, listening to the greats talk about which songs came to them in a stream of consciousness in 30 minutes or which took them 5 years to perfect. I am most proud of watching my craft evolve as I release music with ideas, themes, and lines that feel representative of my spirit and life.

In the past few years I have begun working with other artists across genres as a co-writer. It’s been an incredibly gratifying and exciting new way of working. When artists bring in what’s going on in their life it’s a new well of emotions to explore and can be freeing to view songwriting without the self-analysis that can bog down your own material. I like to give as many ideas to the artist as possible and really let everything out and see what they grab a hold of and want to shape together.

In this vein I have also worked in the sync world which is writing music for TV shows, commercials, movies, etc. It’s incredibly different from the personal aspect of being a solo artist where you are trying to tell your own story to fans. In sync you are trying to write as universally as you can. To all of these different variations of writing and recording I bring my experiences as a woman, my love of lyrics and singing, and passion for the tradition of music.

Risk taking is a topic that people have widely differing views on – we’d love to hear your thoughts.
Risk is a very interesting topic. I think there’s a wide scale with which to measure it. In a straightforward sense, I’m not a skydiving, bungee-jumping type of girl. I’m not an adrenaline junkie; I don’t get any kind of high from “risky” endeavors. But to many, I think the trajectory of my life and its unconventional nature could be viewed as a massive risk.

The way we have structured society offers mile markers and goalposts to assure you that you’re on the right track. I had a rather nontraditional childhood training to be a tennis player (which is a story for another day) and did high school online. Sustaining an injury gave me the time to explore my love of music. But I haven’t passed through any of the typical societal ceremonies or milestones in life – no high school or college graduation. I’m in my late twenties and haven’t settled down, gotten married, or had kids. Growing up, I thought this was just the “normal” way to do things. That following your passions was the safe route. So I dove in headfirst without much thought about what people raised in a more traditional environment might consider.

As I’ve gotten older, I’ve come to understand the reason behind this way of thinking and just how terrifying it is to not have the security of tried-and-true structures. I think I was given an incredible gift in not being tied up with the fear of taking risks in life. Because of that I’ve taken some and failed, and taken others and succeeded. Now, I have my own inner compass to determine whether something is worth the leap or not. I respect people who weigh these same options and decide not to pursue the arts or whatever it may be because it is hard and it is scary. To consider a risk and decide on a different path for yourself is one thing. But you can’t let fear hold you back from attempting something if you feel you’re destined for it, even down to the smallest day to day choices.

I always vote to take the risk. Especially artistically and creatively, that’s integral.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/posiedreams
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@posiedreams

Image Credits
Personal Photo : Giovanni Zuniga