The image of Bennett steeling herself on a dingy East London street is in stark contrast to the star hitmaker who now goes by Jin Jin and has millions of sales and an Ivor Novello nomination to her name. The Music Creative Award is her latest accolade, and she’s chuffed to bits. “Being recognised for being behind the scenes is great,” she says. “Obviously, the artist is at the forefront, but it’s so important for people to understand that there’s a whole team of people making it happen.”
Bennett, who has never had a manager, has driven hits by an ever-increasing array of acts including principal partner Jess Glynne, Raye, Jax Jones, Jonas Blue and Sigala. She runs her own publishing company, Ragamuffin Music, and recently founded Jinsing Management, through which she plans to nurture future stars. Cable Street feels like a lifetime ago.
“I met loads of people on the grime scene, Wiley, Skepta… I was so excited, it was a totally different world,” says Bennett, who soaked up every second. “What I learned most was work ethic. They would turn up at the studio every day, no matter what,” she says. “I saw the way they independently put music out, there was always a project to be working on. The work they were putting in was getting results. I learned the basics of the industry, sessions and songwriting.”
Bennett has two people to thank for the hook up that would spark a dream career: her mum for suggesting she work with Roll Deep after hearing them on BBC Radio 1Xtra, and university friend Lesley who was doing work experience with their management company and made the connection.
After experimenting with fronting her own songs and delivering pop hooks as a featured artist, Bennett decided to remain behind the scenes as a writer. Now, she had to find her style.
“It was a bit tricky at first. People would meet me and see that I was a black female and expect straight-up urban music,” she says. “I had different influences, from reggae to the Spice Girls… I wasn’t straight-up urban or whatever.” Now, Bennett reflects on some music industry pigeonholing. “Society and the industry make you think you have to fit into a certain box. At first I just tried stuff I loved, that I was listening to on the radio. I think I was trying to put myself in a box, I had a bit of a time of it figuring it out,” she says.
Bennett stuck to what she loved, and continues to channel her varied influences into hits that straddle pop and dance. “I’m from Manchester, so obviously I’m into house, my parents used to go to The Haçienda,” she says. “The house music my parents played me is all coming back. That’s why I find it natural to work with Jax Jones, Martin Solveig or Jonas Blue. On You Don’t Know Me with Jax Jones, we sampled an old school house record [M.A.N.D.Y. and Booka Shade’s Body Language] that my parents used to listen to. I totally knew the original from when I was really young!”
A to-date sales total of 1,293,469, according to the Official Charts Company, suggests Bennett knows what she’s doing. Her enthusiasm buzzes through everything she says, and it’s easy to appreciate how she might build a connection with the acts she writes alongside. Bennett believes this keenness sets her apart.
“I try not to see each session as work,” she says. “I always try and get repeat sessions with people I work with so I can build a relationship with them. If it goes well, I suggest another session, you’d think it would be obvious, but not everybody thinks like that.”
Sometimes, Bennett has to be persistent. “Labels want variety and for the artists to work with as many people as possible, but I’m like, ‘Hey guys, shall we
musicweek.com
Jin and tonic: Jin Jin (right) with Jess Glynne
get in again? It went well the first time!’” she says, breaking into laughter.
“Society and the music industry make you think you have to fit into a
certain box” JIN JIN
“I always push for more time. If you just do one day, it can feel like you’re being auditioned, or the artist might be having a bad day.”
Glynne, who Bennett met after giving a masterclass at the aspiring singer’s school, perfectly encapsulates the songwriter’s approach. Their careers developed in tandem, and they forged their way in the music business at the same time, propelled by hits including Hold My Hand (1,445,947 sales). She’s adopted a similar approach with Raye, working initially on You Don’t Know Me and subsequently on Decline and Friends, plus Madison Beer’s Home With You and Check for Kojo Funds.
Bennett works with Raye in Fraser T Smith’s studio, and she references his studio engineer Manon Grandjean to support her point that the gender equality balance is tipping in the right direction. “I’m sure sometimes Fraser is outnumbered in sessions. There are a lot more female execs too, it’s a nice feeling to know that there’s a balance.” Bennett, who’s been receiving concerned calls from Jess Glynne checking up on her after a bout of flu, has recently returned from an all-female songwriting camp organised by YouTube. “It was a nice feeling, you don’t want to exclude men, but it was the first time I’d been in a room with all females, engineers, writers, everyone,” she says. Bennett believes there’s lots of value in songwriting camps, and talks glowingly of sending a young producer she’s mentoring on his first trip recently. “It went really well and he met loads of writers, he was so happy. That’s what you need at the beginning, to be thrown in.” Bennett plans to spend a large part of her own future helping shape that of the next generation, and unearthing “raw talent” excites her.
“The industry is so overwhelming, I didn’t know where to start. At the beginning you don’t know anybody. I want to be that start off place for people, for advice, helping them develop and finding their style.” The future starts here…
12.11.18 Music Week | 27
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