When Music Meets Poetry: Conversation with Jorja Roe

Jorja Roe is a 20-year-old singer-songwriter from South London, who embraces the style of indie/alt pop. We are elated to have caught a glimpse of Jorja’s latest single, ‘Love Should Hurt’, while it was still in the works.

Like many musicians, Jorja’s love for music began from her roots – her family. She grew up listening to the radio alongside her parents’ favourites, which include tunes from the 80s and the 90s: Chaka Khan, Barbra Streisand, Joan Armatrading, and ABBA. Although Jorja began singing at a young age, she kept it to herself as a shy kid. The beginning of her passion for music actually stormed from a mere poetry assignment in primary school, which is where she began to understand her potential as an artist. The unprecedented praise that followed her piece is essentially what motivated her to embark this journey — the one that led to this day.

Jorja’s creative process is quite intriguing. It begins with an idea struck in thin air. She writes down words and phrases that get stuck in her head – thoughts and ideas that aren't initially intended to be used for a song. But eventually, she hacks at it until it becomes music. Jorja likes to write about her personal experiences, but she uses them as more of an inspiration rather than to illustrate raw content. She loves to create something exemplary out of seemingly insignificant interactions. As of late, Jorja has been focusing on poetry and employing it in the realm of both music and lyrics. “It’s fun to be someone else but only for a little while. I also think my music is about me trying to reach out and be heard. I’ve always felt slightly invisible so music was the only way I could really be seen.”

Jorja’s biggest inspiration when it comes to music are women songwriters. As a mixed-race woman herself, Jorja connects with Mariah Carey, who she believes isn’t always seen as a writer because of how majestic her voice is. She loves that there is someone just like her that she can look up to and see them flourish within the industry. She also finds Kate Bush and her intricate albums admirable (like the Red Shoes Album), who is an inspiration for her talented writing and production skills – something Jorja hopes to get better at to further her writing.

However, the first artist she ever gravitated towards was Taylor Swift. “There’s just something about her ability to write about any emotion, any problem, articulate it and make you feel seen.”

This is what sets Jorja apart from other rising artists in the scene. She reaches her audience through her lyrics and the lines of her poetry. She believes that there are unseen layers to language we don’t usually delve into – those that allow her to describe how she’s truly feeling. Her writing also reveals the journey of self-exploration and her attempt to figure herself and others out. But she also uses the outlet as escapism – becoming someone else and looking at the world through a different lens.

“It’s fun to be someone else but only for a little while. I also think my music is about me trying to reach out and be heard. I’ve always felt slightly invisible so music was the only way I could really be seen.”

Taking inspiration from Pride and Prejudice, Jorja Roe took particular notice of Elizabeth Bennet, the most prominent character within the novel. 

“I had just read the book and was rewatching the 2005 movie and Elizabeth Bennet, played by Keira Knightly, said something about the rooms being taciturn and I just loved the word and it just stuck and I had to write a song with the word and about Lizzy and Darcy.” 

This was her inspiration for her latest single, ‘Love Should Hurt’. 

The first step to her production process was figuring out what sounds and influences she wanted to incorporate in her song, which she did, with the help of her producer – Q Torra. 

Jorja says, “My producer Q (QTorra) had great ideas and [it] almost felt like he was thinking the same as I did, which made for such an easy process when creating the song from the bones upwards.”

For Jorja Roe, music is the most fulfilling thing she can do best. “There’s nothing else I’m better at or that gives me more joy. Music really allows me to discover new parts of myself and my emotions and lets me say how I’m really feeling.” 

Give “Love Should Hurt” a listen — let Jorja find yourself escaping into a world that only exists within the poetic lines feathered by the literary classic Pride and Prejudice. There, you’ll see, perhaps feel, how music meets poetry.

Available on Apple Music, YouTube, Spotify, SoundCloud, and TIDAL.