Why a country town Chinese restaurant is the star of Jess Ribeiro's music video (2024)

Jess Ribeiro's fourth studio album couldn't sound more different to her first three.

Shaped by the sense of isolation, loss and desire the singer-songwriter felt when she was the only guest at a hotel in regional Victoria in the early days of the pandemic, Summer of Love is raw, gentle and unstructured in the best of ways. It's not a high production record — Ribeiro didn't want it to be.

We had a little Chit Chat with the Naarm/Melbourne artist around the release of her latest hypnotic, experimental album, which she will be performing live in her hometown this week, before heading to Beechworth and Castlemaine.

What was your number one most listened to song last year?

Oh gosh, do you know what it is? It was Prince, 'Love… Thy Will Be Done'. I was listening to that version of the song specifically, because the Martika version just isn't as good.

I'd just got back from overseas and this terrible tragedy had taken place at one of the schools I was working at and the lyrics, to me, are very profound and brought me encouragement and vitality in a terrible moment in time in the school community.

My second top song was 'CUFF IT' by Beyoncé, which is a bit different…

How many books have you read so far this year? And can you tell us about them?

What have I finished reading already this year? I like reading bits and pieces of things all over the place … I do feel like I've finished something this year, but I can't remember what it is.

At the moment I'm reading three different books — that I can recall.

At the same time?!

Yeah… is that OK?

I mean, yes, but how do you remember what's going on in each of them?

Well, one is entertaining and it's quite simple to read and the other two are a little more dense, so I'll read a little bit and then I just have to spend some time digesting them.

One of the dense ones is Descent to the Goddess: A Way of Initiation for Women, and the other one is Leaving my Father's House: A Journey to Conscious Femininity — and that is by Marion Woodman, who is a famous Jungian. (She's not alive anymore.)

And the third one is Half Deaf, Completely Mad: The Chaotic Genius of Australia's Most Legendary Producer Tony Cohen. That's the easy read and it's quite entertaining, you know.

What's your favourite item of clothing at the moment?

Oh my god, at the moment? Well, OK, I bought this yellow vintage top by Valentino recently in Ghent in Belgium, when I was on tour in Europe.

What can people expect from your latest album, Summer of Love?

You can expect an original, wonky piece of music.

Why 'wonky'?

Someone I know sent me a message saying, "Jess, I love your wonky album" and I was just like, "That's a really good description. I love my wonky album too".

I had a bit of music fatigue going into it. My energy levels felt different and I was world-weary and tired and sad from everything that was happening, and that impacted what I was creating.

What I wanted to say with it is that there's a lot of suffering going on in the world, and it's really important for us to keep cultivating wonder and awe among the moments of everyday difficulty and harrowing tragedy all around us.

There are still these beautiful moments that exist, and we see them in nature, and between people, and they keep us going and they keep us warm and that's really important because it's really f*****g hard to be here amidst the chaos.

The result is an album that's imperfect from a production perspective, and I like that about it, because I didn't want to create a high production record. There's less reverb on my voice and I didn't do as much conventional editing as what may have been done on my previous albums, and it's less structured in its formation. It's definitely a wonky listen.

What's the last photo you took and can we see it?

It was taken yesterday at 9:19am.

I just want you to know that the newspaper that is underneath it … I sent this photo to my friend saying, "I'm back at the best retro supermarket in town, you get a free donut with every coffee", and she said, "Oh my god, this is amazing. I love that you're having a donut for breakfast and you're reading the sports section, you weirdo". But I wasn't really reading the sports section — I was looking for the astrology page. I just want you to know that.

What's the last screenshot you took?

It was today at 7:41am.

It was an affirmation Rick Rubin put up on his Instagram and it was: "Create an environment where you are free to express what you're afraid to express." It spoke to me because I have a lot of fears and I think it's really important to find your people in places where you can express your anger or your fear, your true thoughts.

What's your favourite object?

[With a moment's hesitation, Ribeiro reveals a small wooden object she had already been holding.]

It's another thing I got on tour — a little whale I found in Slovenia in this little second-hand shop. I'd been dreaming a lot about the ocean and all of the animals in the sea, so when I saw this I was like, "Yes, this is my talisman!" and I carry it everywhere with me because I just … I don't know, I just need to.

Are you watching anything good right now?

The other day I started watching this documentary series about Black female artists called How it Feels to be Free — it follows Lena Horne and Nina Simone and all these other women and it looks at how they came to find their voices and how they were activists.

How does your connection to your Chinese heritage show up in the record?

As a child, I spent a lot of time in Chinese restaurants in the small town I grew up in because that was the place where my father could go to speak Cantonese with other people. In the kitchens of these restaurants — so, we would go there to socialise.

There's a country town Chinese restaurant that we featured in the music video for Everything is Now.

I came upon this restaurant during COVID lockdowns, because I left the city at one point and moved to regional Victoria and it was a really nostalgic experience for me. I felt like I had stepped back into my childhood from 30 years ago and I really wanted to share that because I love those restaurants. They're so visceral.

What is your favourite dish to cook at home?

My default is congee, because it's easy and you can eat it for lunch and breakfast and dinner and there are so many different ways to prepare it. It's so comforting and restorative, especially if you're run-down. As a child, I didn't appreciate it, and now I do.

How are you feeling about the Summer of Love tour?

I'm pretty excited but I'm a bit worried about the weather in Victoria, because it's really cold. [When we speak, Ribeiro is wearing her winter coat while inside her house]. So, I really hope people come because it's so cold.

And I promise I'll never do a winter tour again.

Jess Ribeiro's Summer of Love Tour continues until July 6.

Quotes lightly edited for clarity and brevity.