SAINT VALENTINE : Origin Story Interview by Jenna Rose

New Jersey artist, Saint Valentine, is gearing up for the release of their debut EP, titled "Transjester." The indie folk EP touches on themes of queer identity, self-expression, fantasy, and escapism while staying true to the core of their being. 

Thank you for joining us! Tell us about your current project - what do we need to know? 

Saint Valentine: My current project is my debut EP, Transjester. The first single/title track of the EP was released in January and the second track “The Good” was released in March. It is a body of work that follows the lore of a medieval king that wishes he had been born a jester. The other two parts of the story will be coming out on all music streaming platforms this year :)

I wrote the lyrics, melody, and chord progressions of the entire project. I work with musician Shane Furst (producer, composer) and Luca Yannuzzi (composer) for all other aspects.

Who are your musical and general life influences and in what ways do we hear them come out in this project? 

SV: My biggest musical influences kind of go more on vibe than sound. I have always loved concept albums/music that follows a storyline and it’s a big goal of mine to have multiple bodies of work that collect chapters to a large overarching storyline. So, I'd say Gorillaz, Pink Floyd, and of course David Bowie, are big inspirations. In terms of sound, it changes for every song!

I think fandom culture influenced me and a lot of other queer folk from a young age. I fell in love with the idea of creating a story that connects a large group of somewhat similar but otherwise different people. Creating a niche, community within community, and connecting to other humans. I’ve also always loved words. I was the kid that read dictionaries. So for me, it’s the idea of putting into perfect words a specific part of the magical and wonderful human experience. In turn, connecting people who had no idea such a feeling could be summarized, nor that others felt the same way.

What are the messages and/or themes in this project? What are you hoping that your audience takes away or learns about you through experiencing it? 

SV: The overarching message of Transjester is actually said in the final song of the EP, “Fallen”. It is, “I’ll fall if I can fly freely, I'm ready to be freed.”

Furthermore, it is touched on in the title track, Transjester. “I would’ve liked to be a jester, dying for his protest.”

Transjester is a metaphor for a lot of things, but mostly, it’s a story about freeing yourself. Being exactly who and what you want to be, no matter what. Even if you have to fail, even if being who you want to be causes chaos, destruction, your own downfall, it is worth it above all else. Because why live if you aren’t living freely? Personally, I’d rather die for my sins than die for the sins of other people, or live a long life full of walking on eggshells and people pleasing and never really knowing the joy of outbursts of passion.

Tell us about your musical journey to this project, and to this career in general.

SV: It started because I wanted to write a story. Then I wanted to write a medieval story. Then I wanted to write about a king, and all the sudden I found myself writing about a jester.

At the time, I was 18. Freshly single and out of a toxic relationship where I didn’t feel like I had room to grow or try new things, even if they failed. I felt like I couldn’t be the person I was meant to be/the person I wanted to be, if it was the person my partner didn’t fall in love with when we started dating at 16.

I was also in beauty school. I started performing at 10 but after years of failure and a global pandemic I stopped at 14. For two years I did nothing but hide in my room. I wrote but I never dreamed of showing anyone my songs. I convinced myself performing was a stupid pipe dream. Then suddenly, I was 17 and all of my friends were looking into college and I had no idea what I wanted to do. It had always been performing, so now , what was it going to be since “it” WASN'T performing?

So, I went to beauty school. And I was really good at it, and I pretended that I loved it. But inside, I was actually having an incredibly existential crisis of what exactly I was doing. Is this what life is going to be? Pretending this is what I want to do? Always wishing something else had worked out? Suddenly, this stupid poem I was writing about a king wasn’t just about that. It was an expression of how I wanted a life that seemed completely out of reach. I started to wonder if life was worth living if it was going to be a long life full of misery and not doing what I want to do. But then I graduated beauty school, and less than a month later played my songs live for an audience for the first time. And I never stopped from there. I decided that in putting out this body of work, it only made sense to include one of the songs I wrote in my bedroom as a depressed, closeted, quarantined 14 year old.

I don’t have many past releases to compare to, but I sincerely hope that 10 years from now every single one of my releases sounds starkly different from the one before it. I never want to fit into one genre.

Is there one track that stands out the most to you? 

SV: All the tracks mean the world to me. But Letter to a Friend (the next song to be released) means the most. Like I said above, I wrote this song alone when I was 14. I never thought I'd show it to anyone. It was merely a vent for me, and in all honesty, kind of a suicide note. But now, it’s so full of meaning even beyond that. It’s about how life started to eventually feel okay and normal again, and how even the thought of living a joyous future makes surviving a miserable present worth the fight. It always gets so quiet when I sing it, even when I’m in a busy bar playing music for drunk people who would rather be listening to Jimmy Buffet.

What has been the highlight of your career so far?

SV: The absolute highlight of my career so far was playing in my dream venue, The Bitter End in NYC. It was a 30 minute set apart of a showcase, but it took my connections and hard work and showing up time after time to even get into that room. The goal now is to continue playing small venues like that beautiful joint, to play a full hour long set there, and to start cracking into bigger places as well.

When you are not creating music what do you like to do in your free time?  

SV: I kind of never stop doing something. I’m a part time student and a part time florist in the floral department of a wedding business. I act, and I audition for short films, musicals, and plays. I write, even if it isn’t music specifically, pretty much everyday. I’m directing a production at my college this summer, and I help build sets in my free time for other theatre productions. Other than those things, I read, play video games, watch youtube videos about world history, and hang out with my partner.

If we were introducing you on stage or to an industry professional, what are the most important things you would want your audience to about you as an artist? 

SV: I am a queer and genderfluid person who uses my music to tell stories that hopefully act as a bridge, connecting to my community, and my community with others. I perform every show, no matter how big or small, in full drag, to bring the Saint Valentine fantasy to life :)

For those who would like to follow along and support you in your career, where can they find you? 

Instagram: @saintvalentine.xo

Tiktok: @saintvalentine.xo

Spotify: Saint Valentine on Spotify