Indie electronic artist Lesser Jay emerged in 2024 with a string of singles, using his lyricism to voice his observations and views on the world around him. The latest of these releases is ‘King Of Empathy’, voicing his take on the absurd position of American politics.
Lesser Jay delivers this sound through a dark synth sound, allowing him to sing with an almost performative and poetic tone, allowing the tongue-in-cheek narrative to emerge through the shadowy electronic design. The simple, but well-thought-out instrumental arrangement allows for Jay’s melodies to take centre stage, un-shadowed by the music, instead supported by it.
The artist explains why he wrote the new single, "In this song, there are some pretty clear references to Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, who sort of becomes the main character of idol worship. The lyrics are meant to be sarcastic, ‘King of Empathy,’ because it's playing to the inflated ego of someone who is in reality cruel and selfish. As a transgender artist, I feel pulled to respond to the annual onslaught of laws being proposed and passed right now that limit and suppress basic human rights, particularly trans human rights.
In this case, my response takes the form of a pissed-off parody. The goal of the music video is to portray the apocalyptic comedy of watching people like DeSantis, Nikki Haley, Marjorie Taylor Greene, and, of course, Donald Trump, rise to power. Sometimes it's too depressing for me to look at this stuff straight on, so I find ways to let the anger fuel me to create, to laugh at the absurdity, or to do both."
Jay’s background is in composing and arranging contemporary classical music, using his abilities to take unexpected directions with his sound. Lyrically, Jay is full of humour, and plenty of self-deprecation, not taking himself too seriously whilst also helping his audience to feel deeply.
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