Jade Ell
Jade Ell revisits her past with the re-release of Methods of a Hostage Negotiator, reflecting on songwriting, personal journeys, creative resilience, and the stories shaping her next musical chapter.
1. Methods of a Hostage Negotiator was originally released in 2005 alongside the Danish feature film Den Store Dag. Looking back more than two decades later, what does this album represent to you today, and what made you feel that now was the right time to bring it back?
I wanted to make sure to bring back all the photos in the photo album – before continuing adding new ones.. This album was made at a very ’powerful’ time in my life – moving countries – traveling the world attending numerous writing camps – and also it implied my very first cut the that reached to Billboard #1.. My own album – didn’t get full focus – and because of various label reasons – it was taken down from the digital platsforms – so I wanted to bring it back. It’s part of my story as a writer and artist. It’s also cool to have added some unreleased songs – that were written during that time – that still carry messages that are just as current to this day.
2. You began the re-release journey by creating a new version of “Bittersweet Dreams,” a song about the complicated relationship with the music business. How has your perspective on that relationship changed since you first wrote the song, and does its message feel different to you today?
Oh, the music business is still very much a bittersweet ride – with its ups and downs – that stir up the waves – that all creativity feed from in the end… Funny thing – I don’t know where we’d be without the striving and longing to ’make it’. (Whatever that means..)
The secret is to maintain the energy and inspiration for creating – wanting to be in that ’zone’.
3. “Space Girl” opens the album with a reflective and somewhat melancholic mood. You describe it as being written for the little girl you want to take by the hand and encourage to keep dreaming. What inspired that idea, and what would you say to your younger self today?
I still carry that little child very much inside of me…She has seen the world from different angles – and the longing to find herself – caused me to move abroad for a longer period of time – a way to almost ’invent myself again’. The luggage (read history) has had a complicated impact on my ’wheels’.. Dreaming has made it possible – where dreaming didn’t seem to be an option.
4. Piano and cello are central to the sound of “Space Girl,” with cellist Emeli Jeremias contributing to the recording. What attracted you to this combination of instruments, and how important is the emotional connection between musicians when creating a song like this?
Me and Emeli have been touring Europe as a duo – and these venues always had grand – or an upright piano. So my songs found their sounds in an arrangement of piano&cello – and ’Space Girl’ was written during that time.
5. Your career has taken you from your own artist projects and live performances to songwriting for major international artists and dance projects, with songs reaching millions of listeners. How has working behind the scenes as a songwriter influenced the way you approach your own music?
It always comes down to what you want the song to make you feel – and where in a set you can put it in… If a song works live – it will linger on – and people will easier relate to it.
6. With the re-release of Methods of a Hostage Negotiator looking back at your past, and Letters For Laura planned as a follow-up to Ellen – Mourning This Morning, you seem to be exploring different chapters of your personal history through music. What can listeners expect from this next chapter of Jade Ell?
I sort of use the colors/instruments – the story requires.. As the story of Laura takes place in the beginning of 1900 – it makes sense to add banjo, mandolin – but still keep some modern touch – as it is through the perspective for today’s glasses…if that makes sense?
As on my ’Ellen’ album – I will also include sounds of letters and things I have found in boxes – to add to the soundscape..