Jasmine Jethwa’s journey to singing begins in a melting pot of Western and Indian culture, influenced by the personal stories of her London upbringing and with a mesmerising, natural command for melody and harmonies. Born and raised in South London, Jasmine wasn’t always set on being a musician. As a child, she used to visit her Grandad who worked his way up from humble beginnings in North Shields to becoming a successful scenic painter, creating backdrops and sets for countless theatre shows and Ballets across London and the world. After watching these performances of sinuous dancers in front of a backdrop of beautiful scenery, Jasmine fell head over heels for dance. She began determinedly training for 18 hours a week from a young age, learning contemporary, jazz, ballet, tap & modern. “I was always writing music on the side on my worn-out old keyboard,” she laughs, “But I never thought I was that great, to be honest. I can read music a little bit and play keys enough to write melody but, but it’s more just the melodies and the writing that I feel like I’m good at... So I liked music, but I thought: dance is what I’m gonna do.” However, as Jasmine went on to study dance full-time in college, she found herself falling out of love with movement and instead more drawn to what had merely been her hobby on the side, looking longingly at the music studios across the hallway. Eventually, She trusted her gut and left that school to focus on music. “I definitely like a drive and rhythm to my songs,” she says when discussing whether her dance background plays any part in the type of music she makes now, “I want to feel like I can move to it or be moved by it emotionally.”
