Honey poured over a gravel road, gritty and smooth, sweet and rough, that’s the dichotomy you get when you combine the emotional vocals, beautiful harmonies, and emotive storytelling that defines Jaye Madison's sound. Today, and on the hells of their debut EP, MIRЯOR: Framework out March 31, 2023 (listen HERE), the Nashville-based, Texas-born twins, Jordan Skinner and Madison Skinner, have released their lyric video for “Shadow Man” to help bring awareness to Sexual Assault Awareness month (April). The song serves as a think piece, a commentary about the underlying anxiety, in this case a woman, faces as she is a target, unknowingly, by a shadow man, a lurking predator and the aftermath of what can happen.
The lyric video, directed by Wyatt Kassin of WSK Productions, captures the ominous feeling of the song as the viewer is taken on a journey into a dark reality surrounded by flashes of shadows, smoke, and back alleyways and the eeriness of always looking over your shoulder intercut with information and quotes from people in the news about sexual assault.
MIRЯOR: Framework is the first of three EPs the duo will release this year that make up their debut album. The four-song collection, which also features “Catch 22” (watch the lyric video HERE), is about embracing the in-betweens in life and love and the darkness in yourself that you must overcome. It captures the uncomfortable feelings of waiting, hoping, and questioning yourself along the journey of turning a dream into reality.
“We had the songs ready to go for two years but sat on them,” says Jordan. “It wasn't until we lost our grandmother, Barbara Mitchell Burrow at the end of 2022 that we realized just how short life is and how important it is to run towards your dreams. She believed in us so fiercely and in our final moments with her, she was unable to speak but could write letters with her finger. She spelled out ‘Sing,’ so we move forward, with broken hearts and without our compass but find peace in knowing she got to listen to the album before passing. We dedicate this entire project to her.”
Recorded at Revolver Recordings in Los Angeles with Grammy-Award winning producer and mixer Mikal Blue (OneRepublic, Colbie Caillat, Jason Mraz), Co-producer Dean Dinning and Josh Daubin of Toad the Wet Sprocket, Michael Ward (Guitar) of The Wallflowers, and songwriter Dalton Cyr (Piano and Guitar), the songwriting sisters combine emotional vocals, beautiful harmonies, and emotive storytelling that defines their sound.
Originally from Lumberton, TX, Jaye Madison grew up singing and performing in community theater. They were surrounded by country, folk, blues, and classic rock listening to everything from Elvis, Willie Nelson, Etta James, and The Judds to The Eagles, Heart, Chicago, Janis Joplin, and Fleetwood Mac. But they didn’t even write their first song until they headed to Nashville after they were accepted into the Commercial Voice program at Belmont University. Being surrounded by such talent forced them to either step up or give up and they weren’t about to give up.
The trilogy of EPs follow Jaye Madison on their real-life journey of self-discovery and self-reflection as they navigate life in their 20’s. “Jordan’s writing leans more towards the light side, mine leans towards the dark,” says Madison. “So together those sounds create soulful introspection that feels like a painting of realistic womanhood. Joy, sadness, anger - we cover it all.” They combine their favorite parts of folk, country, and classic rock into their own sound and create the perfect mixture of all the music they grew up with. “We write what we know, and what we know is who we are,” says Jordan.