Author and lyricist Douglas Ray Jaffe chatted about the Douglas Ray Jaffe Project.
Douglas Ray Jaffe is an author, poet, and modern-day philosopher whose words challenge conventional thinking and offer profound insights into the human experience.
His work delves deep into themes of existence, consciousness, and the intricate connections that bind us all.
“Who Is Douglas Ray” is available via Amazon Books.
What is the Douglas Ray Jaffe Project?
This is a collection of my writings as songs in a variety of forms: opera, songs, spoken word, movies to give voice to those writings.
Everything is designed for their ultimate cause matching my own… to deepen the understanding of human expression.
What inspired you to turn your writings into music?
My grandfather had a library loaded with literature; poets, philosopher’s, mystics and the classic writings as far as 500 years ago. He spoke to me how careful they were in choosing their words.
Fast forward to my teenage years and hearing songs on the radio with themes of pain and love and life itself. It was the music that touched the hearts, minds, and souls of the listener.
The marriage of music and lyrics provides the medium to reach the unseen and unknown to let listeners know they’re not alone.
What are some of your favorite topics for your musings?
I think we’re all leaves, hanging on different branches from a big tree that is the universe.
I find myself writing all about the leaves, the branches and the tree! I harmonize with the stranger and unusual circumstances we face surviving this business of living.
Everyone goes up and down their own emotional ladder. It seems that each day is a rung of its own. My songs are asking, ”Where are we and what is our life? I believe every step on our journey is a song.
What role, if any, does faith play in your artistry?
I believe in the source of ancient light. The creator of all souls. It’s important to acknowledge the hope that faith gives us. As far as religion, it’s the freedom of all religion that interests me.
Faith helps create more variations of sounds and words. I realize through faith; my music and lyrics are to arouse and heal the soul.
Each song is uniquely different, even in genre. How do you and your producer decide on a musical direction for each song?
I am building an eclectic catalog of music that crosses genres. I choose singers who take chances singing outside the box.
To reach different people on the playground. I like singers who push the envelope on new formations. Taking risks gives confidence to creativity. Each singer twists and shapes my words with their voices.
Unraveling the many layers of the listener’s mind. The three songs is this first release are “Gullibility,” “For Rachel,” and “One More.” Each is a very distinct treatment and production.
Can we expect a new book anytime soon?
I am forming a new book in the back of my head . My eyes can see it. It’s about what our ancestors went thru so maybe a younger generation can be free, the places and faces of their stories of
Survival in this world. By the end of the year, I will have a special EP on me singing my own songs in the raw, whispering, aching voice that sounds like an ancient voice … songs from a cave.
How did you choose the singers for the first three songs released under the Douglas Ray Jaffe Project?
Craig Brandwein, my co-writer and producer, knows the singers and which genres they’re best at performing. Each of these three songs has its own audience. I wanted to send three bolts of lightening
at the same time to see what listeners respond to in that sky.
Can you share any memorable responses you’ve received from fans of your writing and lyrics?
They love the songs and say the lyrics are amazing and evocative. The main thing they say is my songs they’re so different than what they’re hearing anywhere else.
They wonder why my songs aren’t on the radio and when will I form a band? They admire my ambition trying to bend the line back into a circle. Circling back in the land of Picasso collages.
We do have ideas for future live shows, but I suspect that most commercial radio will not pick up this music. It is for listeners and outlets that are more experimental, explorative and willing to take a risk on a different kind of art.
We have had interest from music directors for film and television because the songs are just so different and filled with themes of truth and humanity.
The music really is tailor made for film or tv companionship. I did not intend it that way, but the uniqueness has caught the imagination of those involved in visual production.
What do you hope listeners will feel or take away from your music?
I hope they relate to my songs and find my words refreshing. May they feel someone has cut the umbilical cord to previous conceptions of what lyrics look like and how songs must be sung.
Most songs are born in the wind and die in the breeze, but every once in a while comes a songwriter against the odds.
How did you connect with award-winning producer Craig Brandwein?
Sometimes in life we all stumble upon what’s meant to be. Craig and I met at his office and immediately starting working on my songs with different musicians and singers.
We have never stopped. We have a bond that can’t be shaken. As the co-writer and producer, Craig is the captain of my ship.
How does it feel to be an artist in the digital age? What are the advantages and challenges?
It’s not necessarily how I feel about something that is part of our DNA and it’s how we communicate and relate to what’s out there. Like everything else, AI and the digital space is is only creative as you make it .
The challenge is not getting co-dependent on the easiness of forgetting the original intentions of what the foundation of music stands on.
Nothing will ever beat the sounds of live music sung on stages, but this digital age does allow a vehicle for tremendous outreach and accessibility.
To learn more about Douglas Ray Jaffe, check out the official website.
