Jasmine 4.t
You Are The Morning

First single ‘Skin on Skin’ explores the new joy of physical touch. Usually a quick writer, it’s a rare song that grew over time. “I was still married at the time, though we’d taken a six-month break to have no contact and to see other people,” she says. “In that period, I was struggling with PTSD and didn’t think it was a good idea to be starting another relationship.” During this time, a close connection with a friend began to form. “Sticking to the physical boundaries we wanted to have with each other became increasingly difficult. We were spending lots of time together, then falling in love. This song became a celebration of healing and physical catharsis found through unrepressed queer love.” The song captures the instant rush of those feelings, as well as the complex ways that past experiences can be reshaped by the present, now that Jasmine’s ideas of love and connection have changed.

The first UK signee on Saddest Factory Records, the album was produced by Julien Baker, Phoebe Bridgers and Lucy Dacus. Jasmine and her band travelled to L.A. to record at Sound City Studios. It was made across 12 days in a highly collaborative and emotional process, and because Jasmine sees her songs as fluid and ever-changing, the recordings carry that free and spontaneous spirit.

jasmine.4.t is supported by an all-trans band, who’ve helped each other through the stress of touring while trans. Phoenix Rousiamanis contributes piano and strings, with Eden O’Brien on drums and Emily Abbott on bass. With Jasmine’s voice and songwriting at the centre, the record incorporates a wider cast of voices. ‘Best Friend’s House’ features a chorus including her bandmates, Julien Baker, Phoebe Bridgers and Lucy Dacus (“the girls and the boys”), Saddest Factory Records label-mate Claud, Becca Mancari and E.R. Fightmaster. The song carries the communal spirit of the record’s creation.

On the title track, Jasmine’s fingerpicked guitar is paired with strings that bring the breezy lightness of being in safe company. Lyrically, she describes belonging and connection with a brilliant bareness: ‘you still want me around, you make me feel okay’.

‘New Shoes’, the oldest song here, was originally made for Jasmine’s ex-spouse. “It’s a very optimistic song, but it also highlights some of the problems apparent early in our relationship,” she says. She remembers lying on the floor in the studio with her bandmate Eden, as Phoenix recorded the piano part. “In this context, it shows how much of a fallacy soulmate-hood is, but then how real chosen family is.”

On the closing track, ‘Woman’, she is backed by the Trans Chorus of Los Angeles, a cross-generational group of trans singers who, like Jasmine, use their voice as a source of communal power. The song blossoms from solo performance to wider group catharsis. All the while, Jasmine sings unwaveringly about the power of knowing yourself at a core level: “I am, in my soul, a woman”.

For jasmine.4.t, activism and performance are closely linked. “Just giving a trans woman a microphone shouldn’t be taken lightly. I will use that opportunity to talk about the issues we face,” she says. Using her platform, she continues to raise funds and awareness for Trans Mutual Aid Manchester, an organization that she has volunteered for which “has been very active in my friendship group and community, and has helped a lot of us out,” she says. “It feels really good to give back to them.

The writing of You Are The Morning pulled from dark moments to tell its story. Surrounded by friends, the recording process was full of light. Through her performances, activism and artistry, jasmine.4.t is ushering in a new dawn.