Jazzy - April 2025
Words by Isaac Jay Solanki (Slanky®). Photography by Harvey Ryan (Creative Opportunities). Styling by Aoife McGuigan (Creative Opportunities). Hair by Stephanie Nwambu (Callah Crowns). Makeup by Elaine Cruz (MissCruzMakeUp). Graphic Design by Isaac Jay Solanki (Slanky®). BTS Captured by Torie Eloise. BTS Edited by Isaac Jay Solanki (Slanky®). Location: Dublin City Centre. Thanks to Stephanie Duncan-Bosu (BLK DNT CRK).
Sun rising as we sped down the runway at Stansted (sun setting as we sipped Guinness at The Old Stand with Aoife to end the day), Harv and I arrived in Dublin for mid-morning to meet a team already in good spirits. After a quick coffee outside Kaph on Drury St, the city centre began to feel more like summer in Barcelona than Ireland in the opening week of April and when Jazzy joined us at 1, the mood lifted a touch higher. Beaming with contagious energy and a simple sense of happiness that naturally rubs off on anyone she meets, she stepped into the first look with Aoife, touched up her makeup with Elaine and we headed out into the sunny surrounding streets of George’s Street Arcade to start shooting.
With bang on 10 million people having streamed Jazzy’s music via Spotify alone this past month, meaning she now stands top of the pile as the biggest Irish female artist on the streaming platform and with her also being the first Irish woman to top Ireland’s music charts in over 14 years… you would have thought she’d be carrying some kind of pressure around with her; some nerves would be understandable, right? But no, Jazzy carries her passion and drive to succeed in a way that feels so relaxed; an “everything will be alright” type of thing. Having only released her debut single with Belters Only in late 2021 and her debut solo single “Giving Me” in early 2023 (both chart topping in Ireland and top 5 in the UK), it’s been a rapid rise from Tesco’s bakery to the forefront of female dance for the infectious bundle of positivity.
TOP - StitchedByAngel.
Classically trained in violin, the now two-time BRIT-nominated dance sensation actually grew up with the intention of one day being a violin teacher; that was before she found her love for dance music at 18. After recording vocals for a hip-hop band at home while further expanding her musical variety, Belters Only got in touch to pitch a switch up. “Honestly, the whole “Make Me Feel Good” success was a pretty quick process. The lads at Belters Only went to school with my partner and I was a big fan of them at the time too - they reached out and I went to the studio a week later to record the track. The demo is actually what you hear now.” If only the process behind every track was that simple, I added. “It’s funny though, it’s genuinely how a lot of my songs have been made – I think there’s something so beautiful about the first time you bring an idea to life, lay a track down and listen to it back. I’ve made 20 versions of something before reverting back to an original demo; it’s crazy but all part of the process I love.”
JACKET - D E B E K K A, TOP - Myrne Collective, SKIRT - 35 Vintage.
SHIRT - Caólum McCabe, JEANS - Myrne Collective.
Usually, so many artists struggle to overcome the natural pressures that arrive with trying to create a successful follow up to an early track’s viral success… but Jazzy is different. Confidently brushing it all to one side, she has time and time again created music that connects. Music that lifts you - the sort of stuff that effortlessly transcends you to the dance floors of Ibiza. Euphoric, hit after hit after hit - she simply doesn’t miss. “To put it bluntly, I just don’t let it faze me” she explains, commenting on going from a day job to a chart-topping artist in such a short space of time - “a lot of this has obviously happed because of social media, TikTok and Instagram. It’s so easy for people to pile pressure on themselves nowadays (which is what I could have easily let happen after “Make Me Feel Good” went straight to number 1 out here) but I’ve just kept my head down, kept doing what I’ve wanted to do and it seems to have worked. Now, I’m just so happy that every day I get to wake up and call this my job.”
Long gone are the days where female vocalists easily become lost as features on a male-producer-dominated dance track too. “I see it more and more myself now as well” assures Jazzy, “the women in dance music right now are brilliant. There’s still not a tonne of ladies doing in Ireland yet but it’s definitely growing by the day. Every time I open my phone, I see a different female DJ behind the decks, it’s great and I’m so excited to be part of it.” Even within the collaborative tracks, we’re not just talking about Jazzy having her name on them as an established feature either; this is someone who continuously steps up, takes centre stage and owns whatever she does with real intent. “When I’m working with producers now, I like to make sure it ends up in a collaboration; something that doesn’t add to that history. Early on, I kind of made it my business not to fall into that feature-trap too much.” The solo stuff on the other hand, speaks for itself with the pure talent on display in tracks like “Giving Me,” “Feel It” and “NRG.”
TOP - MeganNolanWalsh, SHORTS - Om Diva, BELT - 35 Vintage.
TOP - StitchedByAngel, BOTTOMS - MeganNolanWalsh.
With “Closer To The Floor,” Jazzy once again provides her listeners with a chance to breathe. A chance to forget about whatever troubles they may have for a minute - it’s another hypnotising track that naturally allows people to lose themselves on a dance floor, wherever that may be. “It’s coming out now because I feel like it’s a really good follow on from “No Bad Vibes,” I’m dipping my feet in the afro-house world again. I imagine people on a dance floor somewhere saying to a friend “let's not talk about this right now, let's just dance for a brief minute.”” Starting the track alone before finishing it with Moroccan DJ and producer Ankhoï, Jazzy says “he really levelled it up and I’m so excited or people to hear it in full.”
JUMPER - Myrne Collective, SHORTS - Om Diva, BELT - 35 Vintage.
Reading & Leeds, Tomorrowland, AVA Belfast, Radio 1 Big Weekend and 8 shows at Pacha in Ibiza already announced for the summer ahead… Jazzy is fully thriving in what was once just a childhood dream. “Everything on that list is bucket list material for me. I can’t believe I’m getting to do some of it at all, let alone all of it in one summer.” Of course, with Jazzy being such a hardworking creative individual, the little remaining time she does have throughout 2025 will most likely be spent working towards a new project of some kind. “I’m just going to stick myself in the studio as much as I can really, I don’t know exactly what this next project is going to look like yet but it’s definitely going to be bigger than anything I’ve done before.”
Having already racked up over 500 million streams globally since her debut release less than 3 and a half years ago, Jazzy is still growing her fan base by the day and whilst also continuously learning to adapt as an artist in this modern-day music industry, it’s hard to set a specific end goal but she’s got a few things in mind for the long-term, however quickly that may come around. “I feel like I've done really well at home and in the UK but with this next project, I really want to broaden the horizons and take it all a bit more worldwide. With my GEWAH brand stuff too, I want to do mixes in all different parts of the world, I want to grow the brand and start having parties in different countries.” Every artist’s dream is to one day have their music take them travelling around the globe and I think it’s safe to say Jazzy is well on her way to doing so… and some!
