Introducing Jennifer Hall; press photo courtesy of Matthew Gregory Hollis.

Concepts of mortality and the temporal nature of the material world are a confounded conundrum of the ages. The arts and humanities attempt to thwart the finite continuum of time that is given for any living being, longing to break through the linear plane of existence and push through to a new state of life without any expiration date. In observing the precious nature of life we hold on to it dearly, wanting all the time in the world and perchance more if possible. Even in all the applications of metaphysics, thoughts of the supernatural, the religious and superstitious; this current iteration of life that we are in is all we know. We yearn to better understand the beyond and in doing so imagine something parallel to these physical spaces that carries forth into the extra innings of an overtime akin to an afterlife like no other.

All of these thoughts, feelings, desires and more can be found on Jennifer's Hall's debut of "Why Cut Time". Influenced by the Chicago artist’s mother and her battles with a chronic illness alongside the upheavals of 2020, Hall continues to creatively search and scour the ends and edges of the earth in pursuit and hope of extending our wing span of life. Meditating on the inherent chaos of the world, the conflicts, clamor and more; the message and movement is to embrace the beauty of life that we share for as long as humanly possibly. "Time" marches on with care and consideration for the fragility of the human experience, reaching out beyond the existential echo chamber for something more in confrontation with the temporal inertia of all matter. Following up the “SFA” single, Hall ponders the greatest questions of the world while seeking for new unveiled answers from the great beyond blending magical realism with bold pop tones of sobering realities.

Accompanied by a visual from Andrew Lothian, Noam Wallenberg and Almendra Lopez; Jennifer Hall traverses the waters of Chicago in the horizon of a perpetual sunset or an infinite dawn. The artist and all of their outstanding inquiries are brought to the places where the bodies of earth and water meet in a congress indicative of life's elemental foundations. With the glow of the sun shining about on the reflective rippled surfaces of the waves, Jennifer Hall's heartfelt meditations ring out between between the places that connect heaven and earth in a preservation prayer for more time. For Hall and humanity at large, time is all we have. Time is everything. Time is fleeting. Time is a rare commodity, but what if our time together in this construct called life could possibly be expanded or extended in some way?

Jennifer Hall

Jennifer Hall offered some candid insights about the inspirations that informed “Why Cut Time”:

I grew up thinking a lot about mortality and death. My mom was chronically ill for the entirety of my life and suffered greatly. There was always the part of me that was waiting to get a call or to be informed that she had passed away. That really caused me to think a lot about death and the threat of death and how deeply painful it is to lose somebody so early on in life and in theirs. I think these experiences informed how I viewed and thought about the 2020 protests. During that time, with COVID also raging, I was thinking about how quickly time passes on its own and how time feels like it’s going quicker and quicker as I age. All of this made me think about the tragedy of when someone passes away prematurely and unnecessarily. This song became a home for all of these different feelings.
The oversimplified feeling of the song is that everyone dies and time is already so fleeting, why cut short what we already have so little of?

Jennifer Hall’s “Why Cut Time” is out now.

PREMIERE | Jennifer Hall, "Why Cut Time"