Jared Leto and Spotify Come Together in NYC to Jam in Honor of Thirty Seconds to Mars’ New Album
You may know multi-hyphenate Jared Leto as the front man of Thirty Seconds to Mars or from his starring roles in WeCrashed and Dallas Buyers Club. Tuesday night, guests at the Spotify-hosted “An Evening with Jared Leto” got to know him as all that and the host of a Spotify Jam session.
Jared joined Dustee Jenkins, Spotify’s Chief Public Affairs Officer, along with luminaries like angel investor and personality Hannah Bronfman, entertainment host and entrepreneur Zanna Roberts Rassi, former Hearst Chief Content Officer Joanna Coles, actress Willa Fitzgerald, and celebrity chef Kwame Onuwachi, as well as creators like Chris Olsen, Haley Kalil, Antoni Bumba, Victoria Brito, and Edvin Thompson at Zero Bond in New York City for cocktails, light bites, and conversation.The focal point of the evening was to hear Jared talk about the new Thirty Seconds to Mars album, It’s The End of the World But It’s a Beautiful Day.
Attendees also got to experience Spotify’s newest group listening feature, Jam. Jared led the way by starting a listening session including tracks like “Heroes” by David Bowie, “The Chain” by Fleetwood Mac, and “Stairway to Heaven” by Led Zeppelin. Then, guests were invited to add their own songs, which included picks like “Virgo’s Groove” by Beyonce, “Closer to the Edge” by Thirty Seconds to Mars, “Dreaming” by Smallpools, and “Persuasive (with SZA)” by Doechii.
For the Record had a chance to ask Jared some questions about his recent music and inspirations.
Reflecting on 20+ years of Thirty Seconds to Mars, what are some of the biggest lessons you’ve learned from your time with the band?
First, that it’s okay to care, but you don’t always have to worry about things. You don’t always have to carry things as a burden.
And the other thing that I’ve learned is it’s a beautiful thing to have collaboration, and to have help, and to not have to be solely responsible for everything. There was a time early on with the band where it was very important for me to have the responsibility around writing and producing, when the creation of the album was very precious to me, very sacred. And that’s a beautiful thing. But there is another beautiful thing too, and that’s sharing that process with people, being surprised and delighted by other people’s inspirations, other people’s choices, how they challenge you and push you to a new place.
And that’s what’s nice about sticking around as well, is you actually have an opportunity to learn some of these things. And I have to say, it’s much nicer getting on stage for, you know, the 20th time in a particular city, to go to Paris for the 100th time, than it is even for the first time. The first time was beautiful and special. But coming back for the 100th time, that’s incredible.
How has your creative process changed over that time? What’s remained the same?
My creative process always changes, because an album is just a reflection of the experiences that you’ve had as an individual. When you’re an artist, it’s about reflecting on those experiences or channeling those experiences and making a piece of art. And of course, every year, every decade, every few days, your experiences change, your choices change, so your music inevitably changes.
My brother’s been a big part of this new album as a writer and producer as well. So that’s been a beautiful thing—to get his creative input and to be caught up in all the work that he’s doing. So Shannon has really shined here.
Also, so many people are discovering our old music right now. You know, it’s a fascinating time to have catalog music. It’s incredible to have people rediscover your music like it’s something new. And the nice thing is, you know, we’re playing a lot of old songs on tour now and some of these songs we haven’t played in so long. It’s like playing a brand-new song—that’s great. I mean, what an amazing day.
Thirty Seconds to Mars has long been known for sound experimentation and progression. Can you speak to some of the biggest influences on the band’s sound over time?
My brother and I have always been interested in more than just rock music, and it’s always been there. From the very beginning, we liked a lot of different kinds of music and we had a pretty wide variety of influences and artists that we respected and admired who taught us about music and songwriting. We loved Depeche Mode, The Cure, Nine Inch Nails, and Nirvana and Radiohead. We loved Pink Floyd and U2. And, you know, Zeppelin was one of our favorite bands as a kid. My brother loved heavy metal, but he also loved jazz. He loved R&B and he loved a lot of pop. When we were kids my brother and I loved Metallica, but we also loved Bob Marley’s Legend and Greatest Hits album. It’s one of the best collections of songs ever. So we have a pretty wide variety of music. And I think as we continue to evolve, we’re really not afraid to explore new territory.
A lot of this album came to life during the isolation we all felt over the last few years. It really recentered me and allowed me to appreciate the beauty in everyday connection. I’m really proud of what we were able to create with It’s the End of the World but It’s a Beautiful Day and how it captures the way in which we experienced this moment in time.
That being said, we always reserve the right to steal from ourselves as much as we want. I’ve actually been toying with the idea of going back in and visiting some of our history and making an album that’s reflective of that and of the future, but more of a rock opera, maybe a concept album, something that is definitively genre specific, almost as a gentle love you/fuck you/goodbye, maybe.
Stream Thirty Seconds to Mars’ latest album.
