By Elijah Noggle, SCO Cultural Critic
Kaufman and his band will bring the album to life in a full live performance on Thursday, April 9 at 7 p.m. in Neff Hall Room 101.
Recently, I sat down to speak with Jacob Kaufman, a performance and songwriting major at PFW and a talented, passionate musician with some unique influences. Kaufman and his band, Heart of Iris, have been hard at work on their ambitious debut album, which was recently released on streaming platforms. The band will perform the album live in its entirety Thursday, April 9 at 7 p.m. in Neff Hall Room 101.
This self-titled concept album is a passion project for Kaufman. When asked about his musical influences, he said that while he does pull from aspects of art rock and progressive rock, the vast majority of his inspiration actually comes from films and novels – particularly horror. He cited the works of the great Stephen King and H.P Lovecraft, to be more specific. He’s a massive fan of cosmic horror, which heavily informs the album’s themes.
Cosmic horror, Kaufman explained, is “the fear of the unknown or the unknowable, or in other words, it’s the thinking man’s horror.” The music is a very diverse and unique blend of all of these influences. “It utilizes elements of art rock, but I wanted to go for an entirely unique sound in itself,” Kaufman said.
Kaufman also discussed his philosophy on strong songwriting. He spoke about how what can really elevate a song’s quality is when the music matches up with the lyrics. He compared his approach to an acoustic performance, which I thought was really interesting.
“If you go to an acoustic show, you’re there to listen to the storytelling – the acoustic guitar is just there to help move the story forward but it’s just a chord progression,” Kaufman said. That was essentially how he approached this album creatively. “When I wrote this album, the goal was to make the music that you hear just as important as the lyrics that you listen to and then also they ebb and flow and work in tandem with each other,” he said.
Because it is a concept album, this dynamic between the lyrics and the instrumentation really complements the story, and helps to more effectively communicate the story and what the characters are experiencing.
Kaufman and I also spoke about his extensive musical background prior to his journey here at PFW and making this album. To Jacob, experience is everything – a sentiment I think a lot of us, regardless of the field we are in, can relate to. With more than 1,000 performances in his career, he explained how that helped him develop as an artist and as a performer.
“Taking those opportunities, taking the risk, and getting the experience is what turns you into a great musician,” Kaufman said. “It makes future endeavors easier and better.”
From a marketing perspective, Kaufman emphasized his goal of accessibility. “Prog rock in general can get a little crazy and technical, and I wanted to write something that was both musically interesting, and at the same time digestible for the masses,” he said. “I would like to see more interesting music on the radio – I think a lot of us would.”
I really liked this sentiment because Jacob’s music balances complexity with catchy, melodic songwriting in a way that is very accessible. And I too would really love to see a wider variety of music on the radio, or in other words, a prioritization of music that was made for the love of the craft rather than popularity.
Kaufman is a highly skilled musician, and learning about his creative process was a very enjoyable experience. This was a really fascinating interview to do. It offered an in-depth look at his artistic vision, and audiences can experience it firsthand when Heart of Iris performs April 9.