IN CONVERSATION WITH JACK & JACK

interview by JANA LETONJA

Jack & Jack are ready to set to kick off their 17-date Symbiosis European tour this March and April. This powerhouse duo, lifelong best friends Jack Gilinsky and Jack Johnson, are no strangers to the spotlight. After taking a three-year creative hiatus, they’ve returned as independent artists with a renewed vision and fresh momentum. With their Symbiosis tour and new music reflecting their growth as artists, Jack & Jack are poised for their biggest chapter yet. 

After a three-year creative hiatus, you have returned with a fresh vision. What motivated you both to come back to music, and how has your artistic direction evolved over the years? 

Jack G.: The motivation for the music has kind of remained the same. We just want to make the best music possible, push ourselves to our limits, and enjoy the process. 

Jack J.: Make music and make sure it's authentic to us, which I think we were getting away from years ago. I love all the music, but ‘Symbiosis’ is very different. This next chapter is us spearheading everything and making sure nothing gets released that we aren't 100% confident in, fully believe in, and isn't a beautiful song. 

How has your artistic direction evolved over the years? 

Jack J.: I think our artistic direction has evolved in a variety of ways. Both of us being on solo music journeys, where we contractually couldn't make music together for years, really helped us find our individuality. That’ll be showcased throughout this project. We like incorporating more real instruments in our music, stuff that translates better live. The vision is all these components seamlessly coming together as a unified whole. 

Having a break from the industry, do you feel more pressure or freedom when creating new music now that you're independent? 

Jack G.: Way more freedom. I don’t feel any pressure because there’s nobody to please other than ourselves. Of course, we want to please our fans, but nobody is holding us to a certain standard outside of ourselves. Any pressure just comes from us, holding ourselves to making great music. We’re free as birds and can go in any direction we want. We can pivot. There’s not a ton of money resting on one song, the success of a video.. 

Jack J.: ..not a huge investor behind the whole thing. It’s us, our vision, we’re funding it. To piggyback off what G was saying, being able to control our own narrative and put money where we see fit, whether it’s making content for a song or letting it breathe, is huge. Not having anyone to please or benchmark metrics to hit, like "Oh, your song didn’t stream 5 million times in the first month," and now we’re on the chopping block at the label. That stuff is so bad for an artist. Getting caught up in the numbers game can be toxic, and we’ve fully removed ourselves from that. All we want is to put out a song that, even if just one person connects with deeply, makes us happy. 

Jack G.: Definitely made us more free. 

What defines your sound today? How has your music matured, and what aspects of your personal growth are reflected in your new releases? 

Jack G.: Our music has naturally matured with us. The more you do anything, the better you get at it. When you listen to this whole project in retrospect, in September or October when it comes out, you’ll see the progression, even if you’re completely removed from the music industry. You’ll hear the difference from 2014 to now and every step along the way. 

Jack J.: Absolutely. We’ve been trying to incorporate more real instruments into our music, which helps translate the songs better live. Now that we’re back doing shows, that’s a really important aspect. We never like to put our sound in a box. The cohesion of a project comes down to our voices and tones. We never want to make a project that sticks to just one sound or one sonic vision. We love so many different genres, it’s hard to put a label on us. I guess you’d call us pop, but we have influences from soul, R&B, even EDM and electronic music. We never want to pigeonhole ourselves into one sound. The sound is always evolving, but it’s always Jack & Jack. 

As lifelong best friends, how do you balance your friendship and music career? How has your bond evolved throughout your journey in the industry? 

Jack G.: It’s all one and the same. Whether we’re on a podcast, doing this interview, or in the studio, at the end of the day, we’re just friends. That’s the vibe we give in everything we do. There’s no work relationship versus friend relationship, we’re just having a good time. 

Jack J.: Yeah, we have fun while working. Even if I’m driving down to G’s, or we’re filming a music video with Manu and Roberto, it always feels like we’re just hanging out because we love what we do. Work and personal life have always been one. It doesn’t feel different now than it did back then, except now we’re making exactly what we want to make, which makes it even more fun. 

Your new single ‘Losing You’ drops on February 28. Can you tell us about the inspiration behind the song and the video concept? 

Jack G.: We wrote it with a couple of guys, and we all pulled from different past relationships. Even though it’s not something we’re going through now, everyone has experienced this feeling at some point, realizing it’s easier to move on than to keep going down a certain road. The video matches that stripped-down feeling. The song never really drops into a big beat or production, and that was intentional. It’s laid-back, raw, and a little lo-fi. 

Jack J.: We shot the video in nature, because the song feels introspective, like you’d go to a cliffside and think about a relationship. Even though you love someone, it might be easier to let them go, but it’s still fresh. It felt right to shoot it in nature because of that somber, introspective vibe. We wanted a simple yet effective visual. 

The Symbiosis European tour kicks off in March. What can fans expect from the shows? How do you plan to bring your new music to life on stage? 

Jack G.: That’s something we even think about in the studio, how the music will translate live. Any great song should translate well live. We’re excited to play the new music, but also the old songs because so many of our fans have been with us since the beginning. It’s fun to give them that nostalgia, hearing songs they grew up with. It’s also exciting to see how quickly they learn the new lyrics. That always baffles me. 

Jack J.: Yeah, we’re playing old music and new music, so no matter when you became a fan, there’ll be something for you. 

This tour is a big moment. How do you feel about connecting with fans in person again? Any cities you're especially excited about? 

Jack G.: Paris. France has always been one of our best markets. The fans there go crazy at shows. 

Jack J.: Honestly, every city. But Barcelona too, because we have a song called ‘Barcelona’ that we have to play there. And Dublin, because we have a song with a line about Dublin. 

Jack G.: We have a lot of songs referencing places in Europe, so it’s fun to sing them in the actual cities. 

You've had massive moments in the industry — MTV VMAs, Macy’s Parade. What’s been the most surreal moment in your career? 

Jack J.: The most surreal moment, at least for me, was performing at Wembley Stadium. It was our first time playing a stadium, and seeing a sea of 80.000 people all singing our song was unreal. I think it was Top 10 on the radio in the UK at the time, so it was a big song. Just seeing a stadium that massive, and everyone knowing the words, was pretty wild. And then, you know, jumping off Jonas Blue's DJ deck, G did a backflip, and I was just like, what are we doing right now? It was such a surreal moment. 

Jack G.: I was thinking the same thing even before Johnson answered. If there’s any specific moment in our career that stands out, that’s definitely the one. But beyond that, the overarching theme of our career, the fact that we get to do what we love, is kind of surreal. The fact that we’ve turned it into a career and are still doing it 11, 12 years later is pretty amazing. 

What's next for you after the Symbiosis tour release and losing you? Are there any new projects, collaborations you're excited to explore in the near future? 

Jack J.: So, ‘Losing You’ is going to be the first single off ‘Symbiosis’, which we're planning to release in late Q3 or early Q4 of 2025. That’s the beauty of being independent, we can play it by ear and roll with the punches as songs come out. 

We want to do another US tour, and we definitely want to get to Latin America, Japan, Australia, all the places we’ve been missing over the years. Really, all of Asia. We just want to get back into tour mode, playing shows for you guys, because that’s truly our happy place, being on stage. As cliché as it sounds, that’s where you forget about everything else and just live in the moment with the crowd. There’s no better, more beautiful feeling than a live show, a Jack & Jack show, at least for me. 

Jack G.: Project-wise, we're just going to keep working on ‘Symbiosis’, making sure it’s wrapped up and feels really good. That’s the great thing about being independent, we can take our time, roll things out naturally, and live in the moment. As things come up, we can pivot immediately. What we think we’re doing six months from now might end up being completely different, and that’s the beauty of it. We’re just taking everything as it comes, making music, and putting out new projects, no doubt. 

As you continue to grow as artists, what goals do you have for your future in the music industry, and how do you envision your next chapter in this evolving music landscape? 

Jack G.: I see us touring nonstop. I also see us releasing nonstop, just keeping a steady flow of music and live shows, being at award shows, and playing big festivals. 

Jack J.: And hosting things too. With our dynamic, there’s so much we can do. In the past, we’ve taken big breaks or gone completely silent on our fans, but we’ve made a real commitment to stay consistent. We never want our fans to go through another drought of Jack & Jack content, music, or anything else. We’re fully committed to that. So we hope people see us in a lot of different places beyond just the music too. 

Jack G.: We’re also really passionate about acting, joking around, and having fun on camera, so anything that ties into that is definitely a goal. But music is the priority right now. We just want to stay consistent, on social media, on DSPs, and on stage. Keeping the momentum going, staying active, and making sure we're always delivering for our fans. 

Jack J.: Yeah, just feeding people new stuff every week, every month. That’s the goal.  

CREDITS:

photography MANUEL LAGOTETA