We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Jai Ingersoll. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Jai below.

Jai, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today When did you first know you wanted to pursue a creative/artistic path professionally?

Sensuous Enemy is a twenty year old darkwave electronic band led by myself, Jai Ingersoll along with Joh Freriks, programmer/guitarist and Bob Hensley programmer/drummer. I have have been a musician, composer, pianist and performing artist for most of my life and wanted to express my life experiences through music and the arts, Starting at age seven, I took piano and singing lessons for ten years and learned to love music with all my heart and soul. I started out doing music in Chicago, Illinois and I have performed in a variety of genres of music production including but not limited to theatre, broadway plays, orchestras, solos, choirs, bands, and so much more as a performing artist. I have traveled the world performing music but nothing fills me more than performing for my own community in Madison, Wisconsin. Music is my first love and comforts, protects and heals my inner child!

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

Growing up in America and being surrounded by rock and electronic music, I knew that music was the one way I could express myself and say what I needed to say through music. I dreamed of doing music in some capacity my entire life but never quite knew how it was going to happen. When I moved to Madison, Wisconsin in 2000 I found a beautiful community of musicians and artists that filled my soul with so much love and possibility. I met like minded people who were talented and willing to work with me to give me the chance to fulfill my dreams. Over that past 20 years I have had the privilege of working with so may extraordinary individuals who had the same dream I did. We formed a band called Sensuous Enemy and began writing, composing and performing music from our hearts. To date we’ve recorded and published six albums and dozens of singles and remixes. A few years ago we signed with the electronic industrial label Distortion Productions and we now have a few releases with them. One of the owners, by the name of Jim Semonik, created a project called Electronic Saviors, Industrial Music to Cure Cancer, and we are honored to be a part of that continuing effort.
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Recently, I wanted to do something more so I started a new production company called Blu J Productions, to support women and trans people in music and the LGBTQIA+ and BIPOC communities. I started working with a flow performance company out of Milwaukee, Wisconsin called Petrichor Flow to create a safe space, where performers, DJs and musicians could come together to make something magical happen. We started an annual music and flow arts festival at the Crucible Madison nightclub in 2020 and brought in many women and trans people to perform. This year we also started a bi annual band event called Vixens on Fire bringing in women fronted bands to support women and trans people in music and the arts.

Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?

As a woman, it was extremely difficult breaking into an industry that was dominated by men. Many women were not recognized for their talents and gifts and were rarely seen as equal to men. They didn’t receive the same pay or status and many times were not positioned to headline events. I didn’t have the confidence to step up when I first started that I do now and it took me a long time to fight for what I wanted and believed in. I wish I would have stepped up and put myself out there more without fear of rejection from my peers. Now that I am older, what I want women to know is that they are worthy of equality and to advocate for themselves in ways I could not do so before. My purpose now is to support and elevate women and trans people in music and the arts to help them achieve their goals much faster than I could.

In your view, what can society to do to best support artists, creatives and a thriving creative ecosystem?

One way society can support women and trans people as artists and creatives in the performance and music industry is to cross promote their music and arts via social media and attend events they are participating in. I’ve worked hard to build relationships with those who may not get the chance to perform and to give them an opportunity to put themselves out there in a safe and comfortable environment.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.sensuousenemy.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sensuousenemy/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SE_Electronic_Band
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/sensuousenemy
• Soundcloud: https://www.soundcloud.com/sensuousenemy
• Other: https://www.distortionprod.com/sensuous-enemy
  https://www.sensuousenemy.bandcamp.com
  https://www.reverbnation.com/sensuousenemy
  https://www.blujproductionsllc.com

Image Credits

Darrel Budic, D&G Photography, Ambient Imaging