“It Means a Lot To Be Able To Be That Person”: Jasmine 4.t on Trans Visibility, Dream Collaborations & Being Inspired by Lucy Dacus

In a world full of filters, authenticity is hard to find – which is another reason why Jasmine.4.t a.k.a Jasmine Cruickshank is so rare. Sharing her experiences as a trans woman through an ethereal blend of indie and folk music paired with her almost diary-style songwriting, it’s not hard to realise why she’s breaking new ground – from being the first U.K artist signed to Phoebe Bridgers’ label, Saddest Factory Records, to racking up over 95,000 monthly listeners on Spotify alone. 

In January, the Manchester-based artist released her debut album, You Are The Morning, which has since earned her a cult following due to its no-holds-barred approach. Creating a community where everyone can belong and feel safe, she was recently crowned the Winner of Developing Non-US Act at SXSW, due to this innate ability to resonate with her listeners – which also includes the likes of Lucy Dacus, Julien Baker, Phoebe Bridgers, Elton John and more.  

We caught up with Jasmine Cruickshank to talk about connecting with others through music, surreal full circle moments, and the advice that keeps her staying true to her craft.

(Image Credit: BBC Radio 6 / Sam Nahirny)

You were the winner for Developing Non-US Act at SXSW. What do you think made you stand out?   

“Good question. I had a lot of people message me on Instagram, saying that my music really resonated with them in a way that they haven’t really experienced before. I think a lot of queer people and especially trans women, A – we’re not particularly represented in the music industry very well. B – we have different life experiences to the general public and often that makes us feel quite isolated. I’m just making songs about my love life, and stuff that I think they’ve resonated with that community around the world. In a way that they’ve really appreciated. It’s been incredible, just the feedback I’ve got. I’ve had a lot of older trans women reach out and say that they wish that they’d had a trans woman, singer, role model to look up to when they were transitioning. It means a lot to be able to be that person.”  

When you released your debut album, you shared people messaging you about it on Instagram and had so many lovely messages. How does it feel to have this community around you? 

“I’ve had like a lot of people say that they’ve met members of the trans community at the shows and they’ve become friends. Just knowing that we’re part of building that for other people as well, it means the world. It’s really cool. I feel like we had that experience making the record. Me and the girls, we only met in the year leading up to flying out to LA to record the record. We just got on so well and we kind of became each other’s family. Being out there together as trans women on tour, it’s scary sometimes. I feel like meeting the trans musicians in LA that we recorded with, and obviously Lucy, Phoebe, and Julien, we felt so cared for in the studio. I think we were all going through a lot at the time as well. I really felt like we were all there for each other. I think that kind of sense of mutual care and community, like really comes through in the record. I think that helped people warm to it.”  

I think it’s incredible how music has this healing power, and knowing that even if one person resonates with it must be such a powerful feeling. 

“There’s this one girl – Pandora. That post that you mentioned, she’s the first slide. She came to one of my shows when I opened for Boygenius two years ago. She said that it was a big part of her own acceptance of herself as a trans woman. She came back to see my album release in-store at Rough Trade, Denmark Street, as an out trans woman and it was just such a beautiful full circle moment for both of us. It makes me so happy.”  

It must be crazy to think of the journey. You opened for Lucy Dacus in 2016, and you’re on tour together again soon.  

“It’s wild from where I started. I’ve been making music since I was a kid. But this kind of project since my debut EP, which was released around when I opened for Lucy in like 2017 or 2018. I can’t remember. Then just meeting Phoebe and Julian through Lucy. Having Phoebe sign me. Flying out to LA with a full band of trans women and recording this wild transitioning. It’s been a wild journey but it’s been such a joyful one. People who have seen my journey have taken a lot of hope from it.” 

With these new collaborators, is there any key advice they’ve given that you’ve kept with you? 

“Me and Lucy were chatting the other day about the importance of being real in your writing. That doesn’t apply to everyone. There are incredible songwriters who write complete fiction. But me, Lucy, Julien, and Phoebe, we all write very personal stuff. It’s very true. I have such big feelings. Writing is how I get them out. Communicate and process them. I’m not really doing it with an audience in mind when I’m writing. I think Lucy’s really encouraged that. 

When I heard Lucy’s song “Best Guess’, which is about Julien – I was like, ‘This is a song’. It ticks all the song craftsmanship boxes. I really wanted to write a song that was in the same way. I’ve been writing a lot off the back of that about my own love life. I think my advice would be just being real and connecting with other musicians.

That is not for everyone. For example, I think about Christine Lee Hudson, who just like creates these incredible worlds that are like made up.” 

It’s really cool how you extend your creativity to all areas of your craft, including your music videos, such as ‘Guy Fawkes Tesco Dissociation’. When you write your music, how do you picture the music video? 

“I never think about the music video when I’m writing. Harv, who directed the videos, is a trans woman and we just got on really well. My manager Jen introduced us and we bounced ideas off each other.  This was well after the song was recorded. 

We had this idea of shooting something in a shop as obviously, it was about dissociating in a shop.”

You’ve had all of these incredible people back you, such as Elton playing you on the radio, and even being featured in a range of print magazines. How has this changed your measure of success?  

“It’s wild. I don’t really have a handle on it. It’s all so new to me. The album just passed 2 million streams on Spotify, which is wild to me. I never would’ve dreamed of this. 

What really freaked me out was when Green Man Festival posted this clue about one of their acts before I was announced. It was the Tesco item number for some sparklers. So niche. Loads of people in the comments were like, ‘Oh my God, it must be Jasmine.4.t.’

I was like, ‘How am I that known?’. That’s really weird. That made me think about being a known person and how strange that is, but also so cool. Because there really aren’t that many trans women who are that visible in the music industry. There are so many incredibly talented trans women who make music, it feels good to be able to take up a bit of space.”

Which other trans women inspire you? 

“My friend Vivian, who’s coming on stage tonight. She was the first trans woman I met when I moved to Manchester. We met at Queer Family Tea. She’s one of my heroes. 

She’s part of Trans Mutual Aid Manchester. She’s volunteered there for a long time. I really looked up to her in my early transition. She helped me. She’s also an incredible guitarist. She plays in the band Ether Mach. I played them on the radio when I did a takeover of Indie Forever on 6 Music.” 

It’s so lovely to hear about people supporting each other. Do you have a dream collaboration who you’d love to work with next?  

“Adrianne Lenker, who’s hoodie I’m currently wearing. I think Songs and Instrumentals is just the greatest album of all time. I did Adrianne’s songwriting course a couple of years ago and it was so inspiring. Hearing them talk about their process and the importance of authenticity is something that’s really important to me as well. I went to see Adrianne Lenker in Manchester last year, and just sobbed the whole way there. That record, in particular, Songs and Instrumentals, was really there for me through all of my worst periods.” 

Featured Image: BBC Radio 6 / Sam Nahirny