Jakr discusses inspiration, the internet, and his new album 'Puppysongs'
By Gabriela Margarone
On his debut album, Puppysongs, singer-songwriter-producer Jake Ringwall, who goes by the moniker Jakr, explores vulnerability and the aches and pains of growing older, but still feeling newborn. While balancing life, college, friends, and music, Ringwall compiled a 9-track album that perfectly encapsulates this feeling. Originally from Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and now studying at the University of Minnesota, I spoke to Ringwall to discuss his new album and inspirations.
A junior in college, 21-year-old Ringwall started putting out music when he was just a sophomore in high school. “I had been writing for a little bit before that and kind of started making pretty juvenile stuff, just like yeah, writing like random songs and stuff. But it wasn't until that sophomore year of high school I actually started to first release my first songs.” He found his inspiration through reading and writing, taking his story writing to the next level. In addition to that, he is classically trained on the piano.
“I honestly will say that for pretty much most of my life, especially in my childhood, I was a really avid reader. I would love to read and stuff and write just, like, fictional stories or whatever. English classes were always my favorite subject growing up in school. So, yeah, I would write little stories and stuff. And then since I was five, I've also been playing piano and stuff, so I was first classically trained on the piano, so that's been a pretty big part of my life. I would do recitals and whatever growing up. And so I had those two kinds of things separate as two really formative interests for me, I guess. And then it wasn't until when I was probably in, like, I would say, like, late middle school or early high school, where I was like, I don't know, I was like, what if I told a story over the music of some sort? And I think that's kind of how I got into songwriting, too. I've always been just, like, a really big music nerd and fan in general. So I would listen to my favorite singers and stuff and be like, okay, that sounds super cool.”
As for artist inspirations, Ringwall turns to “Tumblr” artists and Taylor Swift as the artists who awakened his love for music and songwriting.
“I always say that Taylor Swift is, like, a huge one. Love her! My mom put me on to her during the Fearless era or something. I remember I went with her to Target and she bought the Fearless CD and she's like, I've been hearing a lot about this girl, and then put it on at home, and I was like, oh, my God, what is this? This is incredible. And so ever since that moment, I've been like a huge Swiftie. There's never been, like, any faltering point in my life. I'm always super in awe of her and she's obviously an amazing songwriter. So that was, like, one of the people that were kind of like, oh, my God, this is so cool. Also, growing up I really liked, honestly, those kinds of, like, Tumblr artists back in middle school when I was going through that whole phase, like ‘Badlands’ Halsey and even the first Troye Sivan Album. And I still love the 1975, but those first and second albums flipped some switch in my brain.
We share a moment where we laugh and agree that these bands were life-changing for us in both of our creative endeavors, offering teens and young adults a space to explore themselves. Tumblr offers a space for us to see certain lyrics and artists and feel like our lives are changed forever, as well as gives us a sense of connection to those who share similar interests to us.
“Definitely, in that whole era, I feel like that's when that whole kind of online community started to really flourish. And it's still going on now, just in different ways, I think. But, yeah, I feel like definitely that's when a lot of kids started to come together and there was this really cool kind of sharing of inspiration and ideas and stuff. And so, yeah, I definitely think that's something that influenced me a lot. And it was really cool to kind of see growing up and watching other people with the same interests that I had and the same taste.”
Turning the conversation over to his new album, we discussed the title, Puppysongs, and how that came to be. Noting how much I loved it, we discussed how the title is soft and gentle, much like the songs on the album. “That really means a lot to me that you like the title because that was something I was really proud of when conceptualizing it, I guess. The title of Puppy Songs kind of came [when] I started really writing a bunch of songs in that kind of world for it, right when I came to Minneapolis for the first time and moved here for college. My freshman year up until recently is when I started kind of writing those songs. And there was this, like, one guy that lived in my dorm like, my freshman year. And he said to me one day, he's like, I don't even remember what the conversation is or what we were talking about, but he said he was like, ‘oh, you're just a little puppy.’ And I was just like, okay, what is that?”
After hearing himself be compared to a puppy, Ringwall couldn't get it out of his head and knew he had to place it down somewhere, feeling that it related to his fresh start in college; feeling reborn, renewed, and small in the world.
“I went to my room that night, and I couldn't stop thinking about it. I was like, what does that even mean? And I wrote it down in my journal, and I just kind of had forgotten about it. And then it was like, some other day, like weeks later or something. I was kind of just flipping back through all pages or whatever, and I saw that there. And I was like, you know what? He was kind of, like, spot on with that. Because a lot of the songs on this I wrote when I was feeling kind of, like, very small in a big world, I guess, because it was just a really I think a lot of people in my grade, in school or even just around this age kind of felt like I don't know, it was a really weird and unsteady time. I guess it was, like, coming out of the pandemic. And my senior year of high school got cut short and I just never saw a bunch of my friends again because I was quarantined at home. And then from that, I went straight to college in a new city where I didn't know anybody.”
The term “puppy” resonated with Ringwall and was a perfect metaphor for his life at the moment. I compared it to Snoopy being born and laying in the hay of the barn all alone; small, new, and sleepy but curious.
“I felt like a lot of things in my life were kind of altered, and I kind of latched onto the term puppy because I was like, yeah, I'm feeling kind of curious, but unsteady and not necessarily small in a bad way, but small in the sense more than I'm figuring out that there's so much out there and I'm just a little really tiny part of it.”
School, music, friends, and family is a balance that Ringwall has the talent to make work, especially since his music is created solely by him, in his college dorm (now apartment) with no outside help. I was curious to see how he manages all of this, and how he has the formula to make it possible.
“Yeah, it's not as difficult, I feel like, as I thought it would be, to be honest. But, yeah, every single song on the album, I wrote and produced it and recorded it completely on my own, whether it was in this bedroom in my apartment right now or, like last year, I lived directly across the wall in front of me in that bedroom. I recorded some of the songs literally in my dorm room, like my freshman year when I started writing them, or in my bedroom at home when I was home for winter break or a little bit in the summer or whatever. So everything was recorded in this kind of bedroom space. And so that's a thing that I like about being in control of my own stuff because I can just sit down whenever I want to and just kind of crank out a song if I felt like it. But, yeah, it's weird to balance school and then with making music and social life and stuff like that. But I find that there are certain points where with any one of those things, I can kind of feel like I need to step away from it for a second.”
As for balancing school, homework and classes isn't seen as a chore, but a break from songwriting, or vice versus. Ringwall uses his busy schedule as breaks and inspirations that bleed off into one another.
“I can be doing homework and I'm like, okay, I'm so over this right now, and then sit down and try and start a new song or whatever. Or like, the same thing with that. If I'm writing a song and I'm getting super frustrated, I'm like, let me just go hang out with my friends for a little bit, and then if I just need some alone time, then I'll sit back down at my computer or whatever and try finishing up a project or something, or, like a song or whatever. So it's been kind of cool to see how one influences another, I guess. And I find that my friends and my day-to-day life end up bleeding into my songs, and then the songs, I'll think about them when I'm doing other stuff, so they kind of, like, feed off of each other.”
For Ringwall, being your own producer, writer, and singer, has its benefits, as well as drawbacks. There is a certain solitude when it comes to being your own everything that allows you to fully immerse yourself in what you're doing. The sense of full control is comforting but allows for discomfort when others are involved.
“Yeah, I think it has its benefits and it also has its drawbacks. Doing everything on your own, I guess because, in my day-to-day life, I'm a super extroverted person. But when I find that when I'm making my music, I tend to retract a little bit more into myself. And I don't know, I would love to do more co-writing or work with another producer or something, but I'm honestly just a little bit nervous about that because I feel that it is scary to kind of let someone else into this world that you're building.”
There is a certain vulnerability that comes with Ringwall sharing his music; allowing for his close friends and family to take a peek into his mind can be scary. “Even when I'm sharing, like, something, like, a song that I wrote, regardless of it's, like, a half-finished demo or even the full thing, it takes so much for me to even be able to listen to it in front of another person. My preferred method is just, like, texting it to my friend and, like, setting my phone down and not looking at it. I don't know, it just feels really vulnerable, like, sharing that in front of somebody. I was playing [the album] to my best friends who also are like, my roommates and I was, like, literally so scared. I trust these people with my entire heart. I know they would never hurt me. They're like my favorite people on earth. But I was, like, shaking and I was like, oh, my God. And so I don't know, that scares me to be able to create something with another person next to you or whatever, or, like, working alongside you, but it's something that I really am looking to explore. I think it could be cool because I would think a drawback of it is being exposed to new ideas because I'm only one person and I can only do so much. So I think it's cool to also let others in, but scary.”
Keeping his friends and personal life close to his writing, he finds they are a major inspiration for Puppysongs, which also keeps up with the theme of vulnerability.
“I had the concept for the album, I had the title and I had the title before I had finished all the songs. It was really weird because it was like a two-year or so process, kind of writing and producing and recording all the songs, so there were a lot of ones that came and went. Some songs I really liked, but I didn't feel like I could fit them in, so I kind of, like, scrapped them or like, some songs. I even started writing as two separate songs and then I kind of jammed elements of this half-finished song into another song, so it's cool to see them kind of, like, meld together, which ones made the cut and which ones didn't. It was a really interesting process to kind of see that change over the past two years, but yeah, my headspace into it was kind of I don't know, I write pretty autobiographically. I find it hard to write about a situation or something that I wasn't necessarily involved in, just because when I'm writing about something that's happened to me, it just feels a lot more authentic and I feel like I can find the words to say a lot easier if that makes sense.”
Going deeper into the track being autobiographical, Ringwall describes the track “The Idiot” being his favorite off the album, based on an experience he had with someone in his life.
“My favorite song in the album is probably the last track called ‘The Idiot’. I think that's one of the last ones I worked on. I started it in May of this year, I think, and it kind of just, like it kind of just, like, fell out of me in, like, one go, and I decided not to touch it at all because it felt like it was a really raw moment for me. And I just kind of wanted to leave that feeling that I was having when I wrote it in there. So sometimes I'll go back and tweak lyrics, but oftentimes I find out if, like, a song comes out all at once, that that's the way it feels right to me.
A little bit of the backstory about that. I was, sitting outside, it was like a summer day, like, really warm. And I was, like, sitting outside with one of my really good friends, and we were just laying out in the sun, and she was talking about her relationship with her boyfriend, and I was just kind of, like, thinking about that, and then it was just kind of, like, turning over my head. Whatever. And then that same day, I went to a Justin Bieber concert with my other friend here in Minneapolis. And then, yeah, there was this person that I had kind of, like, on and off again kind of, like, thing with. And it was just a really weird situation because we knew we both, I don't know, had the same feelings for each other, but no one wanted to say anything. And it was just this really awkward thing that kind of fizzled out, but at the same time, it didn't fizzle out. And I don't know, the feelings were always really fresh to me. And I was, like, on the street corner with my friend after seeing Justin Bieber, and I turned around, and the person was, like, right there behind me. And then I just whipped my head back around, and I was like, oh, my God! And I was like, I can't make a reaction because I'm in public. But I literally just felt, like, just, like, screaming or something right there. And I was like, oh, my God, this is so weird. And then I went home that night, and I sat down and I was just, like I don't know, I felt like an idiot. And that's where the title of the song came from. And it wasn't necessarily an idiot in a bad way, but it was just kind of like an idiot way. I don't know. I'm always going to keep feeling things for people and having an open heart and being vulnerable sometimes means getting hit really hard sometimes. So you feel like an idiot when you're kind of at that moment where you're like, oh, that was really embarrassing. I put myself out there, and it didn't work out. And so it's kind of, like, just all that was kind of coming down at once, and I was like, oh, my God, it feels so stupid.”
Despite this situation being less than favorable for Ringwall, he took it as an opportunity to look at how he views himself and the world, and the acceptance of being an “idiot”.
“But then I also felt stupid in a good way, where I'm like, I can keep walking around with being vulnerable and saying what I want to people and telling people how I really feel. And if that comes along with being an idiot, then I'm honestly fine with that, because I get to kind of feel those emotions, and feeling emotions and getting hurt is better than saying nothing at all. I was feeling like an idiot in a not-so-bad way, and I just wrote that. And I knew right then and there, I was like, that has to be the last one because it kind of summed up a lot of the things that I was talking about in the album. And I was like, I feel like it just gave me a sense of contentedness”
Self-described as his first album with intention, Puppysongs is available on all streaming platforms. You can keep up with Jakr on Instagram.