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J: We're very happy to have our next guest here, the up-and-coming, wonderfully talented, all the way from California, please say hello to August James! Hello, August!

A: Hi! Oh my gosh, this is so exciting...

J: It's so great to finally meet you! Well...

A: Virtually, yeah [August laughs] It's such an honour to be here. Thank you.

J: It's an honour to have you here! Is this your first big interview?

A: Oh, god, yeah. All the other interviews promoting you know, the album and everything were just you know. Small shoots and interviews, just you and this other person. But then, my publicist, Jamie, she called me the other day and she was like you're going on Kimmel and I shit you not— wait, shit, I can't swear on here, can I? I'm sorry—

[Jimmy laughs]

J: Don't worry, we'll bleep it out.

A: Right, I'm sorry. I'm very nervous. Like I was saying. Jamie called me and she said I was going on Kimmel and I literally curled up in ball and did not move for hours. My mind was just... it just shut down.

J: Oh, no! We'll be nice! I promise!

A: Thank you... I'm sweating buckets. TMI but... yeah.

J: Oh, don't worry! Me too! So, August. Your new album! Congratulations!

A: Aw, thank you!

J: A Self-titled album that was just, quoting "a whale of a debut album from a giant young talent." And I agree! It's a fantastic album! I was just listening to it earlier again and I'm really not surprised it debuted at number 154 on the US Billboards 200, and it peaked on so many other charts. The first single, Let's Fall In Love for the Night is still in the top 100 too! And Moral of the Story which was just released as a single even made it to number four last week. That is just amazing!

A: I know! I can't even believe it myself! Most days I wake up and I have to ask my mom to pinch me to make sure I'm actually still alive and awake.

J: Well, you're incredibly talented, so, we're really not surprised you're taking the world by storm. You've always worked in music, correct?

A: Yes! I studied music in college, I've got a degree in music composition. And while I was still in college, I worked as a session musician, so like I'd help other artists with like their backing tracks. And I did play guitar for a small, local band from New York, uh, Owl, for a while. It was cool.

J: That's pretty awesome! What artists did you help out?

A: Uh, too many, actually. Dayglow. Clairo, Girl in Red. I filled in for an Arctic Monkeys song once, never got to meet them though.

J: That's pretty impressive. And of course, more recently... Taylor Swift?

[August laughs sheepishly, twisting a ring around her finger nervously as she nodded.]

A: Yes... I did write a song or two with her.

J: Exile and Betty?

A: Among others, yes...

J: How did that happen? Like it was all done during quarantine right? You and Taylor... she was on here just a short while ago too.

A: Oh! God... yeah, I know

J: I asked about how you wrote the songs...

A: Right, well, it just sort of happened, you know? I think she explained it in her Disney special. We were just on a video call and I was fu—dging around on the piano

J: that was a close one

[They both burst out laughing]

A: Sorry! And anyway, they just kinda wrote themselves. When you're talking to someone like Taylor, she's an inspirational person. Her presence is just...

[August waves her hands in the air trying to find the right word, but she just ends up shrugging her shoulders.]

A: you know?

J: Magical?

A: sure, that's one way to put it.

J: So, how did you two become friends? Are you always just playing songs to each other on FaceTime?

A: Sometimes, yeah, uh... I guess it kinda just started one day early in quarantine. We didn't know each other, actually.

J: So, it's true that you two met on TikTok?

A: Well, through TikTok yeah. It's a— it's a pretty interesting platform. Weird things are always happening. It used to be this place I guess where I'd post the most random things on there when I was bored. Just these meaningless, minute-long songs or even shorter. And one day, I woke up and had duetted one of my videos! Which was insane on its own. And then, we contacted each other

J: wait, so who contacted who first?

[August smirks a little at Jimmy and shifts in her seat]

A: she did, believe it or not. It was just one of those moments, you know, you can't really explain it or even believe it but it just happens. We started texting and we became pretty good friends, and you know, we're both musicians. We started exchanging ideas and sometimes, I'd start something and she'd finish it, or the other way around, and actually there were a lot of mini-songs that are just never gonna come out but for example, with Exile and Betty, she asked if she could have them for her own project, and if I wanted to you know, collaborate with her on more than just the songwriting process but, I was happy to just let her have them. And honestly, I think I was right.

J: Yeah they were amazing, especially with Exile, she sang it with Bon Iver—

[August slaps her knee excitedly, letting out a small squeal]

A: Yeah! That was such a— god, she didn't tell me that was happening and anyone who knows me knows I worship the ground Justin Vernon walks on and then I found out and... it was a great surprise. Let's just keep it at that.

J: Did you cry?

A: I full-on sobbed, Jimmy.

J: Do you have pictures?

A: God, no! Well— No...

J: YOU DO!

A: Yes, but no one's ever going to see them!

J: Alright, fair enough. And then, some other songs also ended up on Evermore, the sister album, didn't they?

A: Yeah, absolutely. Like I said, we worked great together, creatively. We wrote a lot of songs and ideas that she expanded on for the new album. And honestly, Taylor is an amazing artist and a great inspiration and it was an honour to work with her, and help her out, and I mean, to be able to say that an instrumental composition you've written ended up on a Taylor Swift record...

J: It's huge!

A: For sure. I'll always be grateful for that.

J: So, let's talk about your record for a second, now.

A: Of course!

J: How did you come up with the idea of it? If you haven't listened to it yet, the album is just a one hour long medley, with thirteen continuous songs or chapters as I've heard you call them, right?

A: Yes! Exactly, I'd like to think of the whole album as my story. You know, how I came to be the person I am today, how I got to where I am in life right now... and each song is a specific chapter in my life that just defines me as a person. Really, if you wanna know anything about me, just listen to these thirteen songs. You'll know everything you need to know.

J: you basically saved your fans the trouble of stalking and deep-diving into your past.

A: Right, yeah. I'm literally just exposing myself. From moving to New York, to uh, getting a divorce, everything bad that happened after that, there's uh, there's death, and then— well, I'd like to think of it actually as pre-covid and post-covid. The first half is everything that's happened in all the years leading to the peak and then you have the denouement, I guess, and everything falls apart. But then, this past year, in 2020, the pieces just started to pick themselves back up and I think you can get that vibe from the last few songs or so on the album. From "alright" to "HOME". It's me finding myself and figuring out where I stand in life and basically just telling myself that yeah, it'll be alright, you know?

J: I really love that! It's genius. What inspired you?

A: The whole medley thing was always an idea that I've had and something I've wanted to do ever since I'd heard The Dark Side of the Moon by Pink Floyd. That album is just a masterpiece! And there's the medley in Abbey Road. I listened to it religiously in high school. As for the themes of the album, I guess, I've always used music as a form of escapism. It's therapeutic. Getting all of your thoughts and feelings into song has this cathartic, you know, thing about it. And any time something happens to me that like marks itself in me it just kinda worms itself into my songwriting.

J: Well, hey, at least you have an outlet, right?

A: Yeah, exactly! I love it, you know! It's free therapy!

[They both laugh hard]

J: That's really great. Listen, before we go. I have a few theories here. Some fan speculations. The opening song...

[August closes her eyes and scrunches her nose. She knew this was going to happen and she knew exactly where this was going.]

A: Right, yes, I've seen the theories.

J: Who's Dorothea Grey, August?

[August grins sheepishly and claps her hands together]

A: Okay, here's the thing about 'Till Forever Falls Apart.' So, the song is actually about the whole quarantine thing. It's about this deep connection, this deeper kind of love. It doesn't have to be romantic, uh, I guess it can be. But it's more about being there with your best friends, with your chosen family, and falling in love with them. The kind of love that's just so solid and it's so much stronger than romantic love, or infatuation.

I was basically sitting there one night, when the world was just absolutely so chaotic and falling apart, and everything on the news was insane. The covid numbers were just increasing by day, lockdowns were being issued, people were going crazy and I was sitting there at like three a.m. and the world just seemed to stand still for a moment. And I thought about my best friend, Niko. And my older sister, Zoë. And my niece and my nephew. And my parents... and just all these special relationships in my life, that are just so much more important than you know, romance.

At the time, there was this whole anxiety we were all feeling, we didn't know what was going to happen, and I mean, look us today, a whole year later, we're still right here when we thought this whole thing was just gonna be for a couple of weeks. But, I just thought of these people in my life and you know, I know how precious life is. How short our time with someone you love can really be. And I was just thinking that if the world was about to self-combust as it seemed like it was going to back then, I was happy to have at least known these people. To have them in my life. To love them and have them love me, and be there for each other forever, however long that is. You know, till death do us part. I mean, I was married, but it's different... I mean, that line in particular, like, I'll give all my heart to my best friend Niko till death do us part, you know? And I don't have to marry him for that.

But you know, it can also a hundred percent be romantic if you want it to be. Sometimes... you find that one person who's your person if you're lucky enough. And it definitely applies. But also, all you really need is those friends around you. Your family. Those bonds that are forever. I think, even after death.

So, I think it was the perfect introduction to the whole story. You know? That even after everything. I make some friends, lose some friends, meet a man, marry said man, divorce that man, lose my brother, find some way to move on, find someone new, and still, these same people, they're still there. And they'll always be there. And it all comes full circle with the last track, HOME. They're my home, basically.

So, going back to uhm, Dorothea... I didn't forget! Don't worry! Uhm, I'm not going to reveal her identity. I think that's her story. If she wants to reveal herself, then by all means... but... I met Dorothea at a time where I was at my lowest. And I think... she was going through a lot herself. And we found something in each other.

We related to one another on some deep level. And I think, for sure, the song was definitely inspired by her presence in my life as well. I went to her house the same morning that I'd written that song, I had pulled an all-nighter and I played it for her and we sang it together and it was instant chemistry and we knew that it was going to be a duet that we both had to sing together. It was going to be Dorothea or no one, to be honest. And thankfully, she agreed and we recorded it and everything and yeah... It was this thing with her where I knew that she'd have my back forever and I'd have hers and... I love her.

She'll always be a special person in my life, even if we haven't known each other for that long... We kinda made a bet, and agreed that she'd use a pseudonym so there's that. If you wanna keep on trying and guessing who she is, please do! I love reading all the fan theories on twitter. But yeah... that's my answer.

J: Wow, see, the thing is, I think we can all relate to that. Right now, I'm thinking of my wife and my children and my childhood best friend and yeah... it's something we all feel, I think. That's beautiful. I'm just... wow. Speechless.

A: Yeah, that's the thing I was going for. Trying to write songs anyone can relate to, even if it is my own personal story.

J: And I think you did that perfectly! So, just one final question, Dorothea is not Taylor, right?

[August bursts out laughing, shaking her head at Jimmy and then she shrugs dramatically.]

A: I can neither confirm nor deny it. You should have asked Taylor when she was here a few weeks ago.

J: I did! She said the same thing!

A: I've trained her well, then!

J: So, it's not her?

A: Jimmy, I really won't tell you.

J: Hm, well, then, the fans and I will keep on working on it until we figure it out or get you to crack and tell us.

A: Alright, good luck with that.

J: Okay! We'll be back after the break to listen to August here perform her own song, Moral of the Story off her debut self-titled album. August James, everyone! Thank you so much for being here!

A: Thank you for having me! This was amazing.

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comments

omggg she's so soft i wanna squish her

AUGUST IS LITERALLY THE BEST ALBUM!!! She's so fricken talented

I'm crying, August is genuinely so humble, she was blushing the whole time 😭

someone protect this woman at all cost

aight but... we all know that Dorothea is Taylor right...?

okay but the whole explanation of the song... WHO'S CUTTING ONIONS

she deserves the world!!! she's such a musical genius. Her voice is amazing and she wrote 13 amazing songs... she's gonna take this world by storm. I know it

I'm so glad I accidentally clicked on this video. I was not disappointed

OKAY BUT SHE'S SO BEAUTIFUL

august and dorothea (taylor) are in love. In this essay—

omg i'm so proud of her!!! i can say i've been an official august stan since i saw her perform live in new york three years ago at a small bar and look at her now... i'm so proud

ight but the fact that she talked about taylor and writing songs with her more than she talked about her own album that shes promoting? lmaoooo gay ass