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| Birth Name(s) : Jemma Griffiths |
Date of Birth: May 18, 1975 |
| Status:
Single
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Partner:
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| Profession:
Musician |
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Full Jem Biography
Jemma Griffiths (born May 18, 1975 in Penarth, Wales), better known as Jem, is a Welsh singer-songwriter known for her eclectic musical stylings. Her debut album, Finally Woken, includes elements of rock ballads, New Wave-styled electronica and trip-hop. Her throaty, mellow voice is similar in quality to Imogen Heap, Beth Orton, Sophie Barker and to a lesser extent Dido.
Along with electronic producer Guy Sigsworth (Björk, Frou Frou), she wrote the song "Nothing Fails", which was later reworked by Madonna and appeared on her 2003 American Life album.
Jem was born in Penarth, Wales, a small town near Cardiff. Her siblings are Chloe, Justin and Georgia; Justin and Georgia are vocals of the band The Weapons.
Although she began singing and writing songs at age thirteen in Swansea, Wales, she decided to head into law and attended Sussex University. However, she spent less time and energy on studies and focused on being a DJ agent, although she did eventually receive a degree in law. There in Brighton, she spent a lot of time promoting club nights, and helped set-up and run the specialist breaks label Marine Parade. She has said she "went to class as little as could without being kicked out".
In November 1999, she assembled a mobile studio where she further developed her songwriting and music production skills. During this period, she completed four demos that would eventually set up her career in the music industry.
From there, she moved to London where she collaborated with Guy Sigsworth, and then to Brooklyn to work with Ge-Ology (Mos Def, Talib Kweli). In autumn 2002 she met Yoad Nevo, who became her co-producer.
Jem's solo career began in earnest in 2002, when a demo version of the song "Finally Woken" was played on Los Angeles station KCRW. The track became one of the most listener-requested songs at the station, landing her in their top 5 played artists, and all prior to any record label being attached. As a result, Bruce Flohr was so impressed with her demos that he offered Jem a record deal onto Dave Matthews' ATO record label.
She was subsequently signed to the label ATO and released the moderately successful EP It All Starts Here in autumn 2003, followed by the album Finally Woken in March 2004.
Jem performed live at KCRW Radio in 2002 and 2004; WOXY in 2004; Popworld, Glastonbury, Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival, Sasquatch! Music Festival, V Festival, and Top of the Pops in 2005.
As of October 2006, Jem was working on her next album with producers Jeff Bass and Lester Mendez. It was to be released in early 2007, but is now more likely to be relesed sometime in 2008; its current status is unknown.
Jem's influences span many genres of music. She describes her inspirations as a "strange mix of soul, hip hop, reggae, dance music, film soundtracks, classical music and cheesy love songs", from Stevie Wonder to the soundtrack of the Braveheart movie. |
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