Living the American Teen
Our teenage years can be brutal. We spend the early days of our lives oblivious to what lies ahead for us just around the corner and then one day we find ourselves in the midst of wtf. That’s when we realize how much the world either (subjectively) sucks or grand. On both ends of the spectrum, there’s a lot of holy shit involved as we explore our new-found freedoms and changes to our bodies and the way we think. Most of us eventually ride it out and, ready or not, step into adulthood.
Colorado Springs, Colorado pop musician Jubal Thomas makes it apparent that he is acutely aware of the trials of being a teenager as evidenced by his debut album Teenage Euphoria. It’s a labor of love that took years to perfect and Jubal has done surprisingly well. I say “surprisingly” because it’s rare for first-timers to get it right straight out of the gate. But that’s what he did. The nineteen-year-old’s songs are full of empathy, love, and possibilities. It is an optimistic ode to teenage life and shows much promise for Jubal’s future in music.
Your catalog only dates back as far as last year, so you count as one of the numerous musicians I like to call “Covid Babies”. But I’m going to assume that your interest in making music predates the pandemic. What sent you to music?
Actually, your assumptions are correct. I was sent to music at a very young age. It was always something that I have been interested in pursuing in my adulthood. Before I was born, my mother used to play classical and reggae music through headphones while she was pregnant with me. When my parents chose the name ‘Jubal’ they were unfamiliar with the prodigy they created. The name ’Jubal’ is of Hebrew descent, in the Christian bible ‘Jubal’ is the creator of music and the angel of instruments. The name also carries a double meaning, ‘ram horns’. I am a January Capricorn so my name describes me to a tee. I feel like they manifested me.
I started singing before I was able to talk, I feel like this is because I was heavily surrounded by music every day. My mother ‘Maxine’ would take me and my older sister ‘Tresolina’ to her studio sessions almost every night. We’d go to her band rehearsals, live shows, photoshoots, music video shoots. I was heavily inspired by all of the action throughout my childhood and knew I wanted to be involved. Not only was the movement beautiful, the soul of music is something that has never dimmed in my life. I was gifted with musical talent and a voice from my mother. So I only had one choice, I knew I had to become a musician.
When did you wake up and realize that you could actually do it and do it? I mean like, physically put this thing together; lyric by lyric, note by note?
I’d been blessed to see the steps of music-making growing up. How projects come together by the pieces. I witnessed the control of creation and knew it was something I could obtain. I understood how songs were written, how instruments were played, and how beats were made. How to synchronize and blend. I started playing the piano, then saxophone, the cello, and then a drumset all while singing every day. Writing new songs and doing cover songs was always something we were all doing in the house as a family. As well as my dad teaching me about manifestation and the law of attraction. He instilled in me that if I know I can do it I can. And being born into a family like this it’s in your blood, you're born with music inside of you and something you know you can do.
How long would it take after you decided to make music before you started recording?
Recording music is something I always wanted to jump right into. Having the proper amount of time to find your voice and develop your skills beforehand though is vital. I was in 5th grade when I found Garageband. That was when I started composing beats and writing my first real songs.
It wasn’t until 7th grade summer 2017 I had a huge spiritual awakening and really wanted to learn more about auras and witchcraft. I really fell in love with the idea of having my own manifesting songs and albums. But the only thing I had to work with was my phone, GarageBand, and my Apple headphones. I wrote three songs: 'For You’, ‘Broken Heart’ and ‘Hung Me Over’. I made the instrumentals on my phone and then used the headphones to record the songs. I really loved the way the songs came out. To this day I feel the nostalgia of these old songs can never be recreated the same way.
I wrote and recorded the songs pretty quickly and wanted my mother to hear how they sounded. while we were standing in the bathroom. I played her the song “Broken Heart’. She really enjoyed it and was super proud of me for making the song on my phone. Then my phone fell into the toilet. We both lost it and started laughing hysterically. The phone actually never turned back on but my iCloud backed up thankfully. She felt really bad and insisted on just buying me a Mac to make music with instead of buying me a new phone. I was really shocked by this idea but I couldn’t refuse. I was just about to get the best upgrade. She bought me a microphone set and Logic Pro X. I have been making music on the same computer for 6 years ever since. Then I just recently bought a new Mac.
What’s the usual amount of time that you spend in the studio?
It has always been an overnight hours upon hours process for me. For preface, the day my mom bought me my Mac I instantly started working on new material. I stayed up every single night working on my new projects. I was up until the sun most of the time just making the songs. My mom would often not be home at night so I’d be blasting my music from midnight ‘till sunrise. And I couldn’t get enough when I got my monitor speakers. I recorded 3 albums during the same year 2017: “A Lonely World", "Broken Family" and ‘Expedition’ which were my first manifestation albums. These albums are the building blocks to my discography and how I learned to create music as a young teen.
This cycle and schedule that I was on is something I've never shied away from. I go to bed when I see the sun peaking through my window and immediately wake up and start making music. I am very picky with the songs I make so I stay up for hours. Just on certain verses or choruses and even whole beats, I made sure they were exactly what I wanted, which are beats and melodies that make my listeners feel uplifted and powerful. I dedicated sometimes weeks to one song to make sure it was perfect in my ears. Producing is something that can be really tricky or really easy and I tend to make it trickier by pushing myself to make new kinds of beats and sing impossible choruses.
Your debut album is called Teenage Euphoria and starts off with the song American Teen; is this a teen-centric album?
My debut album Teenage Euphoria will be the last album I ever released as a teenager. I felt like this was extra symbolic because this album captures all of my experiences as a teen growing up. The partying, drugs and alcohol, the heartbreak and romance, the self-doubt and energy vampires along the way. The album contains 21 tracks with a song creation timeline stretching from 2017-2023. I felt like including the songs that were written freshly about the euphoria of my teenage experiences, would give the same energy to the listener to help them manifest a similar positive experience. This made the album come together like a puzzle. I went back and listened to all of my abandoned songs and picked all of the ones I felt on their own could be #1 hit singles. This album is aimed at those who like to get down and party, and who like to turn up with their friends. People who blast music speeding down the highway at night time, those who are the main characters in their own lives. Those who want to manifest healthy relationships and success.
Although it's called Teenage Euphoria I feel like its messages can be universal and everybody can find their song that they deeply relate to. This album is full of my production diversity and a collaboration of all my best eras of different genres. Which allows everyone to enjoy the album.
Romance seems to be a big part of your album, not just in subject matter, but in tone. It permeates the album from beginning to end. Are you big on romance?
Romance is something I feel like I deeply associate myself with. When it comes to making manifestation music the idea of having a healthy romantic partner that's long term is seriously looked up to and desired. I want someone who is obsessed with me and won’t cheat don’t you? I typically find the most success for my listeners when creating manifesting music about abundance and relationships because those feelings are easy to embody which is the key to manifesting!
I'm a human cupid, and I like to be a matchmaker. Back in high school, I’d introduced people who'd then get engaged. My fans who message me on Instagram tell me about their success stories with their new romances. It’s a topic on manifestation people always wonder how to successfully accomplish and I'm here to help with that.
Stupid Crush sounds like something personal. Is it?
Stupid Crush is probably one of my favorite songs I've ever made. It is a very personal song and it was about me wanting to manifest a relationship before high school ends. As a gay male, I've never had the opportunity to have a high school sweetheart or relationship during school. I’ve only gone to schools where most guys were not proud of being gay yet and didn't want labels. I felt like I was almost out of time for a romantic experience as a young teen because the school year was up, I graduated, and it was heavyweight. Seeing those around me in and out of relationships constantly but never having had one myself was frightening. I turned that sadness and used it as adversity to create the song. To help others to get into a relationship that I never could. Over some 808s and bright synths, I created the song to help others manifest their specific person or crush to be wrapped around their finger.
How much of Teenage Euphoria reflects your reality?
The whole Teenage Euphoria album is a very personal experience and each song was written either right after each song's experience or a few months after. All of the party songs were inspired by the days I was reckless and enjoying my youth without a care in the world. But using substances and partying to cope with the madness behind the scenes. The love songs I would say really are all experiences from different people throughout the years. I feel like the diverse experiences really brought the album to life. It's really hard for me to write a song I don't have any experience about. Like with my newest single off my next album ‘Monster’. Its lyrics reference anger a lot and the idea of associating magic with something dark and evil like a monster. I know what it's like to get so upset people call you a monster. I also know what it’s like to be called a monster because you practice witchcraft.
I think I would call Teenage Euphoria a solid pop album. What are some of your fav pop albums or songs?
I’m very happy you hear the pop influence throughout the album. I feel like really needed a pop album. My favorites which I was heavily inspired by are ‘Lady Gaga's Chromatica’ . I feel like this album really captures the true essence of what a pop album means in this day of age. This album projected its story so well, and the production of this album as well as the remix album are top tier. Some of my favorite productions of her discography. As well as ‘Malenie Martniez’s K-12’ and ‘Crybaby’ her on-the-edge storytelling through her incredible metaphors is something I've only ever heard her be able to pull off every time. The production of the instrumentals was brilliant. Adding cinematic sounds from the song's stories as well as making a full-length movie was a genius idea. Last on my list is ‘Madison Beers’ debut album ‘Life Support’. Simply the best debut album of all time. This album sonically pieces together almost impossibly. The production is incredible and it’s almost unobtainable. She never misses a song on the album and the concept for the album was executed perfectly, especially through the instrumentals. I also had the opportunity to attend her ‘Life Support’ concert in 2021 as my first concert. I wouldn't have traded it for any other performance. The crew did an amazing setting up and the cinematics from the crowd were unforgettable.
Broken Heart is heartbreaking. The lyrics are sparse which isn’t overly important for this song because, without lyrics at all, it would still feel melancholy. What were you feeling when you wrote this song?
I'm very happy I was able to capture the feeling of a broken heart so clearly even through the instrumental. This song is honestly very sad looking back on the lyrics now. What I was feeling when I wrote this song was love, the kind of love it takes to forgive someone when they break your heart and know it. They hate themselves for it and you try your best to take their love back, which I reference as their heart. But their cracks don't fit your cracks.
I feel like I wanted to convey the feeling of a broken-hearted me being hurt multiple times by someone I was constantly forgiving for not reciprocating the energy but just couldn't anymore. And this person's pain regarding this situation clearly wasn't the same. To be in a relationship there must be flow and mutuality. You can’t give me your love if it’s not mine anymore. My cracks can be fixed by another heart that isn't mine. This song is one I just couldn’t let go of. I knew its potential and am really happy I stuck through with it and re-recorded it.
In My Dreams is a song that sounds like it could have been an eighties new romance song (I don’t know if you’re familiar with the subgenre). It stands out to me for that reason and I’m curious to know whether or not it was intentional.
I wish the creation of this song could be as cool as that but I was heavily inspired by indie pop music I was hearing through my Youtube algorithm and on Tik Tok. In My Dreams changed my life and I'm forever grateful for the song itself. The origin of this song is pretty personal. The original version of Stupid Crush was this indie pop instrumental which is actually the last track of the ‘Teenage Euphoria’ album. I really wanted to make a song very similar because I had already turned Stupid Crush into a pop anthem. In My Dreams is of the same format as Stupid Crush and I call them my sister songs. I love these two and I'm so grateful they are my most popular songs.
With ‘In My Dreams’ I wanted to make something even better though. I wanted it to go way harder. I made sure the drums and snare snapped. I wanted the guitars to sound synthetic and sharp. I threw in more vocal layers and more shouts than usual and ended the song with an instrumental breakdown. I feel like this song was really out of my production comfort zone and it was another successful experiment.
Why do you have a couple of songs sped up? Just tinkering, or is this something that you eventually want to do with more songs?
I feel like having sped-up songs is something that I really only started to do because of TikTok. I grew up listening to sped-up songs on the low but I never thought it would become something that would be super popular. I really enjoy some songs sped up and it almost gives you that feeling of listening for the first time again. Producing a song and speeding it up is almost super satisfying because it erases anything that bugged you in the final mix. I definitely feel like if I continue doing sped-up songs it will be a good thing marketing-wise. Plus the people eat it up.
Why the contrasting deep voice in “colors”? It’s an interesting turn.
‘Colors’ was heavily inspired by my first mushroom trip. I really wanted to make a song that sounded straight from Chromatica and thus Colors was born. The instrumental and voice production choices were all influenced by what the euphoria I felt would have sounded like to me. With the twinkling synths and deep patterned bass. The voice came from a place of EDM culture. Recreating the vocal sounds I would hear from my dad’s ‘Deadmau5’ and ‘Bad Boy Bill’ albums. I grew up hearing a lot of this kind of music and threw my own pop spin on it. I wanted to target people who like listening to music while under substance and a lot of the time case is, the EDM and rave goers. I love the culture and music it's the complete essence of euphoric parties. ‘Colors’ is a song I always knew I was going to have to put on the album. One of my dreams is to hear this song playing at a large festival one day. I double this song as a pride song as well and feel like it would go really hard during the rain at a summer parade.
Do you have any future plans to perform live at some point?
I would love to perform live hopefully very soon for my next project. I am in touch with my mother’s old manager who is able to help me book shows and get me started in the performance industry. This is the next step to it all and I feel like I'm finally ready. My goal is to be an opener on a tour by next year. I would love to open for ‘Ashley Sienna’ or ‘Melanie Martinez’. My ultimate performance dream is a lollapalooza performance. I’ve wanted to perform there since 2017 in the beginning of my manifestation music journey. I think starting somewhere small this year is going to be a good choice for me first. But I do plan on having lots of performances in the near future.
Will you be putting out any more music this year?
I'm really excited to share that I’m releasing a brand new single with my home girl ‘Alektra’ titled ‘Swords and Axes’ in November alongside my sophomore studio album ‘Monarchs of Manifest’ This song is about manifesting abundance and wealth and getting that bread up. This next album is a manifestation album. Designed to lift your vibration and help you attract your desired reality. I wrote this album with affirmative lyrics and incorporated a lot of medieval aesthetics as metaphors. The album has 16 tracks and I couldn't be more happy with each one.
Unlike ‘Teenage Euphoria’ which has no collabs. This album has 7 collabs from 6 different amazing and talented artists, my monarchs. I felt like including many different voices in this body of work makes our voices louder. It complements the title of the album as well. I don't want to spoil too much of the album since it is so early but I will say that this album sonically is very uplifting and also euphoric. I really hope you enjoy the new project and hopefully we can get a “Monarchs of Manifest’ interview update in January!
What’s the one thing that you wish the world knew about you?
I wish the world knew how much of a big deal becoming a successful musician is to me. It's what I put my everything into and what I work for day in and day out. I have no idea what else I would've been doing in my life without music. It's written in my code to be a musician and sing to the world. I want the world to know how much I just want them to sing and rejoice in music and harmony. It’s the universal language we can use to restore peace and balance in a fallen world. But if there is one thing you take away from this, It’s to chase your dreams to your fullest extent. Never let anyone tell you that you cannot do what you believe in. That you are not good enough or that you will never reach your goals. Because you promise yourself that the only thing you are going to do is make it, you are going to get there. That plan is yours, it's meant for you and you can't lose that.
Stream Jubal Thomas at Amazon, Spotify, and Apple. Follow him at Discord, TikTok, Instagram, and Facebook. Check out his videos at YouTube
