Taking her cues from original, forward-thinking artists such as Kate Bush, David Bowie and Tom Waits, the music of Jodie May is uncontrived and eclectic. Having spent much of her musical life sticking uncompromisingly to her convictions, May began songwriting at an early age and after graduating from the Paul McCartney institute of performing arts, headed to LA to embark on a career in music. On her return to the UK she landed her first major record deal with Sony music in the early noughties. Signed on the strength of her vocals and songwriting, she was taken under the wings of the infamous A&R, Muff Winwood. Ultimately May was at odds with the mainstream pop direction the label wanted to take, eventually walking away from her management and record deals with her credibility intact – the story of which she is currently documenting through her serialised blog How not to be a rock star.

May took time out patiently carving out an original, non-derivative style and sound, and it wasn’t long before she teamed up with legendary British Producer Jon Kelly (Kate Bush / Paul McCartney). Kelly assembled a set of world-class musicians including Deacon Blue bassist Ewan Vernal to record her new collection of songs, and in Autumn 2010 The Tattoo EP was released independently through AWAL on iTunes.

Unfortunately at the time of its release May suffered a debilitating back injury which meant she would be unable to perform live for 18 months, and as a result she was unable to support the release in the way she had intended. This was a particularly bleak period for May who spent the following five years on a heady cocktail of prescription painkillers, retiring from making music altogether. Meanwhile her music was still reaching the masses through TV placements, such as hit TV show ‘Charmed’ on Netflix.

Thankfully May found her way back to music and began writing for other artists, scoring a number one record in South Korea with the track ‘Falling’ by American Idol finalist John Park. Keen to get back in the saddle May is now back in the studio with producer Jon Kelly, having spent the last three years writing for her next release. Almost close to completion the album features Rex Horan (Laura Marlin) of the highly acclaimed Neil Cowley Trio on Double Bass, Marc Bonne (The Radios) on Drums and husband / multi-instrumentalist Andy Platts (Mamas Gun / Young Gun Silver Fox) on guitar and additional production. The album is due for release later this year.