Melina Mae Duterte, better known by her stage name Jay Som, is an American, Los Angeles-based, DIY and bedroom-pop singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and producer. Her second albumEverybody Works was released on Polyvinyl Records in March 2017, which was preceded by Turn Into, an LP of demos that first gained her attention as a singer-songwriter.
Early life
Duterte was born in Walnut Creek, California, United States, and grew up in the middle class suburb in the East Bay. She is the daughter of Filipino immigrants, and cites her parents' immigrant background and cultural customs as major influences. Duterte grew up playing the trumpet and guitar, and began writing and recording music at the age of 12. She originally intended to attend a conservatory program for jazz but instead decided to focus on songwriting. After enrolling in community college and studying music production and recording, she began recording in her bedroom studio and self-released music under the moniker Jay Som, which was created from an online baby name generator and means "Victory Moon".
Career
In November 2015, Duterte released nine tracks on her Bandcamp page under the name Untitled. They began to receive attention online despite the fact that they were intended to be demos, and were eventually re-released twice as Turn Into, first under Topshelf Records and then Polyvinyl Records in 2016. Following Turn Into, Duterte opened for Peter Bjorn and John, Mitski and Japanese Breakfast. Everybody Works, Duterte's first proper album as Jay Som, was released March 10, 2017 under Polyvinyl and Double Denim Records. It was preceded by the song "1 Billion Dogs" in February. Duterte has said that the album's sound was influenced by Tame Impala, Yo La Tengo, the Pixies and Carly Rae Jepsen'sE•MO•TION.Everybody Works landed on Best of 2017 lists from Pitchfork, NPR, Stereogum, Rolling Stone, Entertainment Weekly, Billboard and others. In January 2018, Duterte released "Pirouette" and "O.K., Meet Me Underwater," singles that were recorded during the same sessions as Everybody Works but did not end up on the final track list. In June 2018, Duterte toured with The National in Dublin, Ireland. They also recently toured with the Alternative Rock band Paramore, and was their opening act for the second half of Tour 5. In September 2018, Duterte released a split EPNothing's Changed with Singer/Songwriter Justus Proffit. Consisting of 5 tracks, all recorded in her home recording studio - where she also recorded Everybody Works. The follow-up to Everybody Works, Anak Ko, was released on August 23, 2019 via Polyvinyl.
Duterte performs all the music on her records herself and records in her own makeshift studio in her bedroom. She describes her musical style as "headphone music". Joe Coscarelli of The New York Times has described it as "D.I.Y. bedroom pop" and noted its intimate, lo-fi aesthetic. Pitchfork has described Jay Som as being intimate, and having the "crushing vulnerability" of Phil Elverum, and the "gloriously slick sound' of Carly Rae Jepsen. Liz Pelly of Time Out has described Jay Som's sound as "mesmerizing and multidimensional dream pop that favors reality over escapism, drawing from classic pop and funk". Pelly also described Duterte's singing as "low and languid". Duterte has stated that Phil Elverum's music has had a profound impact on her music. Karaoke, Yo La Tengo, and My Bloody Valentine have influenced Duterte's vocal style.
