JESSICA GREENFIELD

Jessica Greenfield é unha cantautora e multinstrumentista nacida en Londres, que leva máis de vinte anos traballando na escena musical do Reino Unido. Dende 2017, forma parte dos Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds, onde canta e toca o teclado e a pandeireta.  Tamén é unha música por dereito propio, pois ten a súa propia banda, The Kondoors, e é membro do grupo Wonder 45.

A familia de Jessica é unha familia musical, e criouse rodeada de música. O seu pai é músico e profesor de guitarra, e grazas a el veu que era posible gañar a vida deste xeito. A música foi o que lle deu confianza nela mesma. Debido a que foi unha bebé prematura, de pequena tivo algúns problemas de desenvolvemento e de coordinación, e isto fixo que durante a educación primaria sufrira acoso escolar. Despois comezou a estudar a educación secundaria nun internado. O seu pai comproulle un montón de CDs moi ecléctico, no que había moitas cancións de rock. Descubriu que quería adicarse a cantar cando tiña quince anos, durante unhas vacacións de verán, nas que empezou a cantar mentres o seu pai tocaba a guitarra. De volta no internado, postulouse para participar no concerto de fin de curso da escola, e conseguiuno. Empezou a ser coñecida como a cantante da escola, e seguiu participando no concerto durante dous ou tres anos máis, ata que rematou os estudos. Isto fíxolle sentirse apoderada, deuse conta de que podía facer algo ben, e deulle unha voz.

Ao rematar a secundaria, estivo a punto de comezar un curso de artes escénicas, pero deuse conta de que non quería estudar unha carreira necesariamente. Sabía que quería ser música, pero tamén sabía que non tiña por que ser doado. Cando tiña dezaoito anos, empezou a cantar en grupos de versións para gañar algo de diñeiro en eventos coma vodas ou sesións para persoas, e seguiu facendo isto durante anos. Era un traballo moi mal pagado, pero ela tiña unha meta e persistiu incansablemente, a pesar de múltiples reveses. Ademais disto, tivo empregos de camareira e dependenta. Aínda que en ocasións podía ser desmoralizador, e moita xente subestimaba o que facía, para ela foi unha importante aprendizaxe, pois fortaleceu a súa voz, e aprendeu a ser flexible e a interpretar unha ampla variedade de músicas, diante dunha persoa ou miles delas, e con músicos que en ocasións nin sequera coñecía. Tamén atopou o seu propio son e o seu estilo, e descubriu que tipo de música lle gustaba realmente.

Nestes eventos, empezou a coñecer a moitos músicos, que empezaron a pasar o seu nome e número de teléfono. Isto foi incrementando a súa visibilidade cada vez máis, e empezou a actuar en concertos de perfil máis alto. Ela sempre pensaba que tiña que seguir esforzándose e que tiña algo máis que dar. Así foi como empezou a traballar con moitos artistas icónicos, coma Paul Weller, Rod Stewart, Take That, Anastasia, Steve Van Zandt (E Street Band), Richie Sambora, Melanie C, Manfred Mann, Rudimental, Artful Dodger, The Herbaliser, e Roy Ayers. 

Durante un tour con John Illsley, dos Dire Straits, coñeceu a Paul Stacey, guitarrista e produtor, do que se fixo amiga, e foi el quen co-produciu o primeiro álbum da súa banda The Kondoors, “Glorious”. Paul Stacey tamén é amigo de Noel Gallagher, e traballou con el, e con Oasis. Un día, Paul díxolle a Jessica que Noel estaba buscando a unha cantante que tamén tocara o teclado, e que el lle pasara o seu número. Ela non o podía crer. Así, uniuse á banda no "Stranded On The Earth World Tour", que apoiou o álbum "Who Built The Moon?".

Jessica está logrando as ambicións que tivo durante anos. Particularmente, ter a súa propia banda é o que a impulsa a seguir, aínda que traballar con tantos artistas é unha fonte de inspiración e motivación. Desta experiencia aprendeu que é importante ter gratitude, ser humilde, non ser unha diva, ser positiva, amable, ter os pés na terra, ter sentido do humor, non ter medo, estar preparada, ser profesional e desfrutar do que fas. Musicalmente, de Noel Gallagher admira a súa atención ao detalle e o seu perfeccionismo durante os ensaios, e tamén a simplicidade á hora de escribir cancións.

Jess afirma que ser unha muller na industria da música é máis doado agora, pois son moito máis respectadas. Foi moi interesante para ela unirse á banda de Noel, porque Oasis era unha banda masculina. Inicialmente, estaba un pouco preocupada, pero pensa que se traballas duro, es amable coa xente, e cres en ti mesma e no que estás facendo, non hai motivo polo que non che poidan pagar o mesmo e respectarte como a calquera outro.

Durante este tempo, desfrutou de tocar en grandes recintos ante un público apaixonado, e da compaña do resto da banda, que son persoas estupendas que a aceptaron de verdade; e todo en xeral foi excelente, e trátase de algo que ata hai pouco non imaxinaba que chegaría a facer.

No transcurso da época na que cantaba en grupos de versións, coñeceu ao seu marido, Gavin Conder. Empezaron a cantar xuntos para gañar algo de diñeiro as fins de semana. Nove anos despois, mentres ambos se adicaban a outros proxectos musicais por separado, ela escribiu unha canción cun amigo, e o seu manager suxeriu que soaría xenial se a cantara con Gavin. Isto prendeu unha pequena chispa e empezaron a centrarse niso como algo que podían facer ben. Finalmente formaron un dúo musical indie soul, The Kondoors. O seu primeiro álbum, “Glorious”, co-producido por Paul Stacey, foi gravado, entre outros lugares, no icónico Monnow Valley Studio en Gales, onde gravaron Oasis e moitas outras bandas. Publicado en 2021 no selo discográfico Fabyl Records, “Glorious” ten un son clásico e atemporal, cheo de sentimento.

Ademais de todo isto, Jessica traballou cunha organización benéfica musical, “Finding Rhythms”, que proporciona cursos colaborativos de creación musical a persoas marxinadas e desfavorecidas en prisións, contribuíndo na creación de cancións en varias institucións, algunhas delas de máxima seguridade; ademais liderou un proxecto de gravación na prisión de Grendon HMP, que é a única do Reino Unido na que se proporciona terapia. Aínda que ao principio se sentía un pouco intimidada, aproximouse a estas persoas sen xulgalas, con respecto, escoitándoas e dándolles espazo para ser creativos nun entorno seguro. Alí, puido comprobar o nivel de talento e de creatividade desperdiciado entre estes homes e mulleres, e como o proceso de creación e o poder da música pode unir ás persoas, e restaurarlles a confianza en si mesmas e a esperanza.

Jess ten unha filla de catro anos, Ava, que naceu durante o segundo confinamento por Covid-19. Para unha persoa que traballa no sector creativo, e en particular como intérprete, a maternidade foi unha experiencia tan dura e abafante para ela que pensou que acabaría tendo un colapso nervioso, sufrindo unha depresión post parto que durou meses. Estaba desesperada porque era esgotador tratar de compaxinar todo o traballo, e quería establecer unha rutina e recuperar a vida que tiña antes. Pero deuse conta de que debera ter sido más amable con ela mesma, deixarse levar, tomarse un tempo para sentar e pedir axuda. Agora séntese moito más confiada e sa, e foi capaz de compatibilizar unha xira coa lactancia materna, tocando cos NGHFB en Gastonbury en xuño de 2022.

O 2 de xuño de 2023 NGHFB publicaron o álbum "Council Skies", no que Jess aportou coros en 10  cancións. Durante 2023 e 2024, Jessica estivo de xira cos NGHFB en moitas localidades en varios países: Reino Unido, Xapón, Corea do Sur, México, Francia, Suíza, Italia, Alemania, os Países Baixos, Bélxica, Irlanda, os Estados Unidos e Canadá.

A outra banda de Jess, Wonder 45, é un grupo de soul e funk baseado nos arredores de Londres, que se formou como un proxecto de gravación instrumental do produtor e escritor Holley Gray, en colaboración co guitarrista Ross Ewart, o batería Chris Nickolls e o teclista Steve Pringle. A banda rematou de configurarse cando Jess e o seu marido Gavin engadiron as súas voces, dando vida ás cancións. A súa música está elaborada coa máxima atención ao detalle, en combinación con composicións auténticas e sinceras, e actuacións cheas de sentimento.

Entre 2022 e 2024, a banda lanzou unha serie de singles, que foron transmitidos internacionalmente, e tiveron moito apoio nas radios no Reino Unido. "Cry" engadiuse á lista de reprodución New Music da BBC Radio 2 a principios de 2024. A banda actuou por primeira vez en directo no 606 Club en Londres en xaneiro de 2024, e posteriormente en varias localidades no Reino Unido e en Francia. O seu LP debut, "Wonderland", lanzouse o 31 de maio de 2024. 

Durante este tempo, Jess tamén colaborou con outros artistas e foi nominada como compositora aos Production Music Awards en 2022.

En xullo de 2025, ao comezo da xira de reunión de Oasis, anunciouse oficialmente que Jessica se incorporaría como membro de xira, aportando coros.

Recentemente Jessica pronunciouse en relación á dificultade de conciliar a maternidade con ser unha música que xira. En concreto, ela retrasou dez anos o seu embarazo, xa que estaba preocupada acerca de como sería capaz de compaxinar todo. Afortunadamente, conta co apoio do seu marido e dos seus pais. A banda de Noel Gallagher e o seu manager de xira tamén foron comprensivos, e fixeron que a súa familia se sentise benvida. Ademais diso, dende que é nai chegáronlle mellores oportunidades, e séntese máis cómoda e segura de sí mesma. Xa non está disposta a aceptar que lle falen despectivamente, a comprometerse a facer traballos que non son adecuados para ela, a traballar con xente coa que non se leva moi ben, ou a adoptar un estilo musical que non lle gusta moito.

Non obstante, a Jess gustaríalle que os músicos non tiveran medo a ser pais, e que houbera un sistema de apoio aos músicos que queren ter fillos; por exemplo un sistema para coidar aos nenos durante as xiras, ou unha prestación para pagar a unha persoa que os coide. Sempre lle resulta duro deixar á súa filla na casa, pero por outra banda sente que traballou moi duro para estar na súa posición, e non quere renunciar a ela.

Tamén falou da industria da música, en relación a que hai anos, as persoas que procedían das vivendas sociais tiñan oportunidades de entrar, pero nos últimos tempos foise convertendo nunha profesión reservada á xente que ten unha familia rica, ou que xa ten contactos na industria. A xente organízase en camarillas nas que é moi difícil integrarse.

En canto á situación das mulleres na industria, falou da sexualización que se fai delas, da discriminación e do acoso, e do medo que teñen de falar por medo a perder traballos. En concreto, fixo referencia a unha situación que viviu cando tiña 18 anos, cando un manager empezou a invitala a saír, a mercarlle comida e roupa, a darlle cartos e a dicirlle que conseguiría oportunidades para ela, co fin de abusar dela. Este manager presentoulle a un compositor que tentou facer o mesmo. Daquela, ela pensou que lle axudaría, e non quixo falar porque pensaba que ninguén a crería, pero esta experiencia fixo que aprendese a desenvolver filtros para protexerse e diferenciar ás persoas.

Jessica sabe que estar na industria da música é un logro incrible. Pero explicou que o estilo de vida dunha música que xira pode ser moi perigoso para a saúde mental, pois constantemente se alterna entre o estímulo dos concertos, e a dureza de volver á rutina diaria, como unha montaña rusa entre o alimento do ego e a depresión. É necesario dar sempre o mellor de sí mesmo, e se tes fillos o equilibrio é moi difícil. Isto está oculto, e é moi difícil admitir o que sucede na era das redes sociais, na que a xente sente a necesidade de alardear todo o tempo sobre o boa que é a súa vida. 

O que máis lle axudou a ela cando tivo a depresión posparto foi a terapia, pedir axuda, e compoñer para atoparse a ela mesma de novo.

Texto actualizado: 06/08/2025

Jessica Greenfield is a London-born singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist who has been working in the UK music scene for over twenty years. Since 2017, she has been part of Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds, where she sings and plays the keyboard and the tambourine. She is also a musician in her own right, as she has her own band, The Kondoors, and she is a member of the group Wonder 45.

Jessica's family is a musical family, and she grew up surrounded by music. Her father is a musician and guitar teacher, and thanks to him she saw that it was possible to earn a living in this way. Music was the thing that gave her confidence in herself. Because she was a premature baby, she had some developmental and coordination problems as a child, and this meant that she was bullied during primary school. She then began to study secondary education at a boarding school. Her father bought her a very eclectic bunch of CDs, in which there were many rock songs. She discovered that she wanted to sing when she was fifteen years old, during a summer vacation, in which she began to sing while her father played the guitar. Back at the boarding school, she applied to participate in the school's end-of-year concert, and got it. She began to be known as the school singer, and continued to participate in the concert for two or three more years, until she finished her studies. This made her feel empowered, she realized she was good at something, and it gave her a voice.

After high school, she was about to start a performing arts course, but she realized she didn't necessarily want to study at the university. She knew she wanted to be a musician, but she also knew it wouldn't be necessarily easy. When she was eighteen, she started singing in cover bands to earn some money at events like weddings or sessions for people, and she continued to do this for years. It was a very poorly paid job, but she had a goal and persisted tirelessly, despite multiple setbacks. In addition to this, she had jobs as a waitress and a shop assistant. Although it could be demoralizing at times, and many people underestimated what she did, it was an important learning experience for her, because it strengthened her voice, and she learned to be flexible and to perform a wide variety of music, in front of one person or thousands of them, and with musicians that sometimes she didn't even know. She also found her own sound and style, and  she discovered what kind of music she really liked.

In these events, she began to meet many musicians, who began to pass her name and phone number around. This increased her visibility more and more, and she began to perform in higher profile concerts. She always thought that she had to keep trying and that she had something more to give. This is how she started working with many iconic artists, such as Paul Weller, Rod Stewart, Take That, Anastasia, Steve Van Zandt (E Street Band), Richie Sambora, Melanie C, Manfred Mann, Rudimental, Artful Dodger, The Herbaliser, and Roy Ayers.

During a tour with John Illsley, of Dire Straits, she met Paul Stacey, guitarist and producer, whom she became friends with, and it was he who co-produced the first album of her band The Kondoors, "Glorious". Paul Stacey is also a friend of Noel Gallagher, and he has worked with him, and with Oasis. One day, Paul told Jessica that Noel was looking for a singer who also played the keyboard, and that he had given him her number. She couldn't believe it. Thus, she joined the band on the "Stranded On The Earth World Tour", which supported the album "Who Built The Moon?".

Jessica is achieving the ambitions she has had for years. Particularly having her own band is what keeps her going, although working with so many artists is a source of inspiration and motivation. From this experience she learned that it is important to be grateful, to be humble, not to be a diva, to be positive, to be kind, to have your feet on the ground, to have a sense of humor, to not be afraid, to be prepared, to be professional and to enjoy what you do. Musically, she admires Noel Gallagher's attention to detail and perfectionism during rehearsals, and also his simplicity when writing songs.

Jess claims that being a woman in the music industry is easier now, as they are much more respected. It was very interesting for her to join Noel's band, because Oasis was a male band. Initially, she was a little worried, but she thinks that if you work hard, you are nice to people, and you believe in yourself and in what you're doing, there's no reason why you can't get the same pay and have the same respect as anyone else.

Throughout this time, she enjoyed playing in large venues in front of passionate audiences, and also the company of the rest of the band, who are great people who really accepted her; and everything in general was excellent, and it is something that until recently she did not imagine that she would get to do.

During the time in which she sang in cover groups, she met her husband, Gavin Conder. They started singing together to earn some money on the weekends. Nine years later, while they were both pursuing separate musical projects, she wrote a song with a friend, and her manager suggested that it would sound great if she sang it it with Gavin. This ignited a little spark and they started to focus on it as something they could do well. They eventually formed an indie soul music duo, The Kondoors. Their first album, "Glorious", co-produced by Paul Stacey, was recorded, among other places, at the iconic Monnow Valley Studio in Wales, where Oasis and many other bands have recorded. Released in 2021 on the record label Fabyl Records, "Glorious" has a classic and timeless sound, full of emotion.

In addition to all this, Jessica worked with a music charity, "Finding Rhythms", which provides collaborative music-making courses to marginalized and disadvantaged people in prisons, contributing to the creation of songs in several institutions, some of them maximum security prisons; she also led a recording project at Grendon HMP prison, which is the only prison in the UK where therapy is provided. Although she felt a little intimidated at first, she approached these people non-judgmentally, respectfully, listening to them and giving them space to be creative in a safe environment. There, she was able to witness the wasted level of talent and creativity among these men and women, and how the process of creation and the power of music can bring people together, and restore their self-confidence and hope.

Jess has a four-year-old daughter, Ava, who was born during the second Covid-19 lockdown. For a person who works in the creative sector, and in particular as a performer, motherhood was such a hard and overwhelming experience for her that she thought she would end up having a nervous breakdown, suffering from postpartum depression that lasted for months. She was desperate because it was exhausting trying to juggle all the work, and she wanted to establish a routine and get back to the life she had before. But she realized that she should have been kinder to herself, let herself go, take some time to sit down and ask for help. She now feels much more confident and healthy, and she has been able to make a tour compatible with breastfeeding, playing the NGHFB in Gastonbury in June 2022.

On June 2, 2023, NGHFB released the album "Council Skies", in which Jess provided backing vocals on 10 songs. During 2023 and 2024, Jessica toured with NGHFB in many locations in various countries: UK, Japan, South Korea, Mexico, France, Switzerland, Italy, Germany, Netherlands, Belgium, Ireland, USA and Canada .

Jess' other band, Wonder 45, is a soul and funk group based on the suburbs of London, formed as an instrumental recording project of producer and writer Holley Gray, in collaboration with guitarist Ross Ewart, drummer Chris Nickolls and keyboardist Steve Pringle. The band finished setting up when Jess and her husband Gavin added their vocals, bringing the songs to life. Their music is crafted with the utmost attention to detail, combined with authentic and heartfelt compositions and soulful performances.

Between 2022 and 2024, the band released a series of singles, which were aired internationally, and received significant radio play in the UK. "Cry" was added to BBC Radio 2's New Music playlist in early 2024. The band performed their first live show at the 606 Club in London in January 2024, followed by a number of gigs in the UK and France. Their debut LP, "Wonderland", was released on 31 May 2024.

During this time, Jess also collaborated with other artists and was nominated as a songwriter for the Production Music Awards in 2022.

In July 2025, at the start of Oasis' reunion tour, it was officially announced that Jessica would join as a touring member, contributing backing vocals.

Jessica recently spoke about the difficulty of reconciling motherhood with being a touring musician. Specifically, she delayed her pregnancy for ten years, as she was worried about how she would be able to combine everything. Fortunately, she has the support of her husband and parents. Noel Gallagher's band and tour manager were also understanding, and they made her family feel welcome. In addition to that, since becoming a mother, better opportunities have come to her, and she feels more comfortable and  confident. She is no longer willing to accept being talked down to, to commit to jobs that aren't right for her, to work with people she doesn't get along with, or to adopt a style of music she doesn't really like.

However, Jess wishes musicians weren't afraid to be parents, and that there was a support system for musicians who want to have children; for example a childcare system during tours, or an allowance to pay for a person who looks after them. She always finds it hard to leave his daughter at home, but on the other hand she feels that she has worked too hard to be in her position, and she doesn't want to give it up.

She also spoke about the music industry, in relation to the fact that years ago, people who came from a council state had opportunities to enter, but in recent times it has become a profession reserved for people who have a rich family, or who already have contacts in the industry. People organize into cliques that are very difficult to break into.

Regarding the situation of women in the industry, she talked about their sexualization, discrimination and harassment, and how they are afraid to speak out for fear of losing their jobs. Specifically, she referred to a situation she experienced when she was 18 years old, when a manager started taking her out, buying her food and clothes, giving her money and telling her that he would get opportunities for her, in order to abuse her. This manager introduced her to a songwriter who tried to do the same. At the time, she thought he would help her, and she didn't want to talk because she thought no one would believe her, but this experience made her learn to develop filters to protect herself and tell people apart.

Jessica knows that being in the music industry is an incredible achievement. But she explained that the lifestyle of a touring musician can be very dangerous for mental health, because you constantly alternate between the stimulation of the concerts, and the hardness of returning to the daily routine, like a roller coaster between fueling the ego and depression. It is necessary to always give the best of yourself, and if you have children the balance is very difficult. This is all hidden, and it's very hard to admit what happens in the age of social media, where people feel the need to brag all the time about how good their life is.

What helped her most when she had postpartum depression was therapy, to ask for help, and songwritting to find herself again.

Updated text: 06/08/2025