Ross Jennings (singer)

Ross Jennings
Jennings at Euroblast Festival 2015
Background information
Birth name	Ross William Jennings
Born	(1984-02-07) 7 February 1984 (age 40) Salisbury, Wiltshire, England
Genres	Progressive metal, progressive rock, alternative country, progressive pop, pop rock
Years active	2004–present
Labels	Sensory, Inside Out, Frontiers, Graphite
Member of	Haken Novena D'Virgilio, Morse & Jennings
Formerly of	Redados
Website	rossjennings.co.uk

Ross William Jennings (born 7 February 1984) is an English progressive metal singer, most known for being a founding member and the lead vocalist of the bands Haken and Novena.^[1] As of 2023, he has released seven albums with Haken (Aquarius, Visions, The Mountain, Affinity, Vector, Virus, and Fauna),^[2] one with Novena (Eleventh Hour),^[3] three with Redados (Too Tired for Sleep, One Way Conversations and Turbo Torture: Train Like Dogs...Ride Like Gods)^[4] and one solo album (A Shadow of My Future Self).^[5][6]

Early life

Jennings was born on 7 February 1984 in Salisbury, Wiltshire, and moved to Sutton, London at an early age.^[7] His first experience with music was being taken to classical concerts which sparked little passion in him. He slowly grew to enjoy other genres alongside the music his father would play, mainly Pink Floyd and Crosby, Stills & Nash. This would prompt him to take short guitar lessons at age eight. At age sixteen, he became rhythm guitarist in a local band called Lost Child where he would play covers of popular bands at the time like Radiohead at bars in Croydon. He began singing as a hobby at karaoke bars and is completely self-taught.^[8]

Career

Redados

Redados was a project formed by Jennings along with Roland Townson and Neil Bond in 2005.^[9] The trio would meet up every week in a converted chicken battery barn to jam and record.^[4] The band would later release two studio albums under the titles of Too Tired for Sleep (2009) and One Way Conversations (2010). The band would go on to perform live turbo training events with their music.^[10] In light of their local success, the band would release their third album, Turbo Torture: Train Like Dogs...Ride Like Gods (2012), in the form of a full workout routine.^[11]

Haken

Main article: Haken (band)

Haken was formed by Jennings along with school friends Matthew Marshall, and Richard Henshall in 2004. Jennings originally played guitar in the band along with Marshall and Henshall but parted ways with the two to continue his studies at university. He would rejoin the band in 2007 as they couldn't find the singer they wanted for their first demo and asked Jennings to return as solely a vocalist.^[8] The sextet put together a self-titled, two-song demo in 2007,^[12] followed by an upgraded six-song demo in 2008 called "Enter the 5th Dimension."^[13] Jennings would go on to pen the stories and lyrics for the band's first two albums, Aquarius and Visions by himself.^[14]

In 2017, Jennings would go on to perform with Haken and Mike Portnoy performing Dream Theater's Twelve-step Suite as well as other Portnoy-era Dream Theater songs.

Novena

Novena was originally formed by Harrison White, Matt "Moat" Lowe, Dan Thornton and Cameron Spence after meeting at University in 2013. The quartet then went on to acquire Jennings and Gaia Mason as their vocalists. With this final 6-piece line-up, the band went on to release Secondary Genesis in 2016 and signed with Frontiers Records to release Eleventh Hour in 2020 as well as Live from Home and The Stopped Clock in 2021.^[3]

A Shadow of My Future Self

Main article: A Shadow of My Future Self

On 3 October 2020, Jennings announced on Instagram that he is working on a solo album.^[15] He signed with Graphite Records and later announced it to be called A Shadow of my Future Self in June 2021 with the release of the album's first single, "Words We Can't Unsay"^[16] The album released on 19 November 2021. Unlike his more well-known Progressive music, Jennings' solo record follows a much more mainstream approach with Jennings directly citing Styx, Coldplay and Porcupine Tree as references.^[17][18] Subsequent singles "Grounded," "Violet," "Feelings," "Catcher in the Rye," and "Rocket Science" were released monthly until the albums release.^[19]

In January 2021, Jennings released Acoustic Shadows (Live at AfterLive Music), a recording of a paid livestream he did in July 2020 to promote the album, without warning as a paid downloadable file on his website.^[20] The album was added to streaming services that same week.^[21][22]

On 31 December 2021, Jennings announced on Instagram page that a follow-up album was in the works, alongside a seventh Haken album.^[23]

D'Virgilio, Morse & Jennings

The idea for D'Virgilio, Morse & Jennings was initially brainstormed in late 2020 by Neal Morse, who wanted to write an album of mellower songs, compared to that of his other works with Transatlantic and Spock's Beard. He went on to enlist former Spock's Beard bandmate Nick D'Virgilio to provide harmonic vocals and drums. Jennings was later invited to join after interviewing Mike Portnoy on The Absolute Universe. He was initially invited to just provide vocals, but contributed guitar and songwriting after Morse became aware of Jennings' guitar skill and then upcoming solo album.^[24]

In September 2021, it was announced that D'Virgilio, Morse and Jennings were writing an album together called Troika, scheduled to be released in 2022.^[25] The album's first single "Julia" was released 3 December 2021.^[26] This was followed by the singles "Everything I Am" on 11 January 2022 and "You Set My Soul On Fire" on 8 February 2022.^[27][28]

Collaborations and other works

In 2018, Jennings provided vocals on the song "Reveal" on the album Illusion of Choice by Yossi Sassi.^[29]

Jennings' Haken bandmate Richard Henshall released The Cocoon on 9 August 2019 which Jennings provided vocals for the album's single "Twisted Shadows".^[30]

On 30 July 2020, Jennings joined Derrick Schneider in a cover of the song "Faithfully" by Journey in which he provided vocals. He was also joined by Vikram Shankar, who provided keyboards and piano on A Shadow of My Future Self.

On 19 December 2020, Jennings worked with Simen Sandnes, Filippo Rosati, Arzene, Bringsli, Thrailkill and Jogan J. Bakken, together under the name of "Simen Sandnes and Friends with Benefits" in a cover of Mariah Carey's "All I Want for Christmas Is You."^[31] Sandnes would later go on to perform drums on A Shadow of My Future Self. Jennings would return the following year with Simen Sandnes and Friends with Benefits, providing vocals for their cover of Christmas carol "O Holy Night."^[32]

In 2021, Jennings provided vocals on the song "Daggers and Cloak" on the album Subjects by Scale the Summit.^[29]

In December 2021, Jennings was announced to be providing vocals on the album Revel in Time by Star One.^[33] On 17 December 2021 the song "Prescient" was released featuring Jennings on vocals.^[34]

On 24 January 2022, the song "Here Be Dragons" was released by Arzene, co-written and performed by Jennings.^[35]

On 4 August 2022, Finnish progressive metal artist Enigmatic Entrance announced that Jennings would feature their then upcoming song "Time & Tide".^[36]

On 12 March 2023, Jennings would again collaborate with Yossi Sassi on the song "Armaros Fall" on their album Prediluvian.^[37]

Personal life

Jennings married his wife Yulia on 30 July 2010 and on 1 May 2021 announced that he became a father to a boy named Leo, with a second child arriving in January 2023.^[38][39][40] Outside of music, Jennings is a freelance photographer. He uses a Nikon camera.^[41][8]

Discography

Jennings performing in 2015

Solo

• A Shadow of My Future Self (2021)

With Redados

• Too Tired for Sleep (2009)
• One Way Conversations (2010)
• Turbo Torture: Train Like Dogs...Ride Like Gods (2012)

With Haken

• Demo (2007)
• Enter the 5th Dimension (2008)
• Aquarius (2010)
• Visions (2011)
• The Mountain (2013)
• Restoration EP (2014)
• Affinity (2016)
• L-1VE (2018)
• Vector (2018)
• Virus (2020)
• Fauna (2023)

With Novena

• Secondary Genesis (2016)
• Eleventh Hour (2020)
• Live from Home (2021)
• The Stopped Clock (2021)

With D'Virgilio, Morse & Jennings

• Troika (2022)
• Sophomore (2023)

Guest performances

• "Reveal" on Illusion of Choice, by Yossi Sassi (2018)
• "Twisted Shadows" on The Cocoon, by Richard Henshall (2019)
• "Daggers and Cloak" on Subjects, by Scale the Summit (2021)
• "Prescient" on Revel in Time, by Star One (2022)
• "Here be Dragons," by Arzene (2022)
• "Time & Tide" by Eniggmatic Entrance (2022)
• "Armaros Fall" on Prediluvian by Yossi Sassi (2023)

References

1. Hatton, Thomas (16 July 2021). "Interview with Ross Jennings (Haken, Novena) about new solo record". Proglodytes. Retrieved 18 November 2021.
2. "HAKEN - Music". Haken. Retrieved 6 October 2020.
3. "Novena". Spotify. Retrieved 6 October 2020.
4. "REDADOS". REDADOS. Retrieved 17 November 2021.
5. Mclennan, Sean (17 August 2021). "News: Haken's Ross Jennings Releases New Video Single". New Noise Magazine. Retrieved 18 November 2021.
6. "Ross Jennings discography - RYM/Sonemic". Rate Your Music. Retrieved 17 November 2021.
7. "About". Ross Jennings - Official Website. Retrieved 4 January 2022.
8. A Conversation with Ross Jennings | The Daily Doug (Episode 298), retrieved 4 January 2022
9. "The Band". 6 June 2014. Archived from the original on 6 June 2014. Retrieved 3 January 2022.
10. "The Great Rock Workout". 6 June 2014. Archived from the original on 6 June 2014. Retrieved 3 January 2022.
11. "Turbo Torture: Train Like Dogs...Ride Like Gods (Exclusive Bandcamp Extended Edition), by REDADOS". REDADOS. Retrieved 17 November 2021.
12. "Haken (2) - Souls / Snow". Discogs. Retrieved 6 October 2020.
13. "Enter The 5th Dimension, by HAKEN". HAKEN. Retrieved 6 October 2020.
14. Mind, The Prog (14 April 2016). "An Interview with Ross Jennings". The PROG Mind. Retrieved 11 February 2022.
15. "Instagram post by ＲＯＳＳ ＪＥＮＮＩＮＧＳ • Oct 3, 2020 at 4:06pm UTC". Instagram. Archived from the original on 25 December 2021. Retrieved 6 October 2020.
16. "Ross Jennings | Graphite Records". Retrieved 17 November 2021.
17. BraveWords. "Between A Rock And A Prog Place: HAKEN's ROSS JENNINGS – "I'm Not Listening To An Awful Lot Of Modern Prog Bands These Days To Be Honest"". bravewords.com. Retrieved 17 November 2021.
18. Ewing, Jerry (17 September 2021). "Ross Jennings gets animated in new video for Feelings". loudersound. Retrieved 17 November 2021.
19. "MIKE PORTNOY'S SHATTERED FORTRESS (US/UK/MEX) |" (in Swedish). Retrieved 4 January 2022.
20. "Ross Jennings - Ross Jennings - 'Acoustic Shadows (Live at AfterLive Music)'". Ross Jennings. Retrieved 26 January 2022.
21. Acoustic Shadows (Live at AfterLive Music), 28 January 2022, retrieved 28 January 2022
22. @rosswjennings (28 January 2022). "Register" (Tweet). Retrieved 30 August 2023 – via Twitter.
23. "ＲＯＳＳ ＪＥＮＮＩＮＧＳ (@rossjenningsofficial) on Instagram | Ghostarchive". ghostarchive.org. Retrieved 4 January 2022.
24. D'Virgilio, Morse & Jennings - The Troika Interview Part 1, retrieved 21 January 2022
25. Prog (15 September 2021). "D'Virgilio, Morse & Jennings team up for 2022 album release". loudersound. Retrieved 19 November 2021.
26. D'Virgilio, Morse & Jennings - Julia (OFFICIAL VIDEO), retrieved 14 December 2021
27. Ewingpublished, Jerry (11 January 2022). "D'Virgilio, Morse & Jennings release video for uplifting new single Everything I Am". loudersound. Retrieved 15 January 2022.
28. Ewingpublished, Jerry (8 February 2022). "D'Virgilio, Morse & Jennings release video for gentle new single You Set My Soul On Fire". loudersound. Retrieved 11 February 2022.
29. "Ross Jennings". Spotify. Retrieved 21 November 2021.
30. then, Dream Theater Since; Curiosity, He Has Developed a Strong Musical; Taste, Is Now a Music-Lover with Eclectic; To, Always Eager to Share His Experience with Anyone Willing (25 August 2019). "Richard Henshall - The Cocoon". The Progspace. Retrieved 21 November 2021.
31. Simen Sandnes and Friends with Benefits - All I Want for Christmas is You, retrieved 21 November 2021
32. Simen Sandnes and Friends with Benefits - Oh Holy Night, retrieved 23 December 2021
33. @rosswjennings (4 December 2021). "Register" (Tweet). Retrieved 30 August 2023 – via Twitter.
34. Star One – Prescient (ft Micheal Mills, Ross Jennings), retrieved 19 January 2022
35. "ＲＯＳＳ ＪＥＮＮＩＮＧＳ (@rossjenningsofficial) on Instagram | Ghostarchive". ghostarchive.org. Retrieved 19 January 2022.
36. "Archiving Instagram profile". ghostarchive.org. Retrieved 19 August 2022.
37. BraveWords. "Former ORPHANED LAND Guitarist YOSSI SASSI Releases New Prediluvian Album; "Armaros Fall" Video Featuring HAKEN Vocalist ROSS JENNINGS Streaming". bravewords.com. Retrieved 13 March 2023.
38. "Archiving Instagram profile". ghostarchive.org. Retrieved 4 January 2022.
39. "Archiving Instagram profile". ghostarchive.org. Retrieved 4 January 2022.
40. "ＲＯＳＳ ＪＥＮＮＩＮＧＳ (@rossjenningsofficial) on Instagram | Ghostarchive". ghostarchive.org. Retrieved 13 March 2023.
41. "ＲＯＳＳ ＪＥＮＮＩＮＧＳ (@rossjenningsofficial) on Instagram | Ghostarchive". ghostarchive.org. Retrieved 4 January 2022.