Talking to: Joe T Johnson
Joe T Johnson is no stranger to success on the music scene, both in Bristol, where he is based, and nationally, being a member of 6-Music-recommended, Glastonbury-playing five piece ska-funk band Hush Mozey. Now though, Joe is forging his own path as a solo singer songwriter, giving him more space to explore and showcase his lyrical ability and folk-indie roots.
We spoke to Joe in mid June, emerging blinking from three months of lock-down, preparing to return to his day job in an artist's supplies shop, but with a brand new EP under his belt ready to be released later this year. Whether you view it as drip-feeding or teasing, he released his first single in February and that has been it so far, even though he is sitting on a clutch of new music, leaving his listeners waiting in anticipation for what’s coming next.
Can you tell me a bit about where you are from and what got you into music?
I grew up in St Ives, down in Cornwall, that was my base for the first years of my life. Then I moved to Bristol when I was 18. I remember seeing the Beatles and Rolling Stones on TV when I was young, and that is what got me into music. I loved the haircuts, I loved the feel, that was my first memory of being aware of music.
When you moved up to Bristol, was that for university?
Yes, I studied music at BIMM. I graduated a few years ago in 2016, so the struggle is real!
So, Hush Mozey. Tell me a bit about what you were doing in Hush Mozey, and what pushed you to want to work on solo music as well.
Hush Mozey is a 5 piece band, it is mostly ska-funk type stuff, so I guess that is why I am doing my solo music as well. My solo stuff is not really party music, it is more sit-down-and-listen-to-the-album stuff, more getting into the lyrics, whilst Hush Mozey is more dancey, more of a club / party band. In Hush Mozey I was writing songs, writing lyrics, but I am into writing for myself rather than everybody else. I love the arrangements, the structures, the instrumentation (of my solo work). I want to say loads in my songs, get them off my chest, get them out there.
What sort of music are you listening to at the moment?
I am into French music at the moment, like Franz Gall, and Serge Gainsbourg; he is one of the pioneers. I am enjoying lots of 60s french music; there is plenty of new territory to discover there.
How is your single 10 Pounds doing?
It came out in February, it’s been doing pretty well, it’s had a really good response around the Bristol area, I kind of wanted to see how far I could get with just one song released. It has had a few national radio plays, like 6 music, and a few on local radio. I know when it came up on Spotify it had ‘explicit’ next to the title, so quite a few people wouldn’t touch it because of the lyrics; “I found £10 lying in the middle of the road, so guess what I did with it? I stuck it up my nose”. So I have done a radio edit now!
I have been working on an EP, I will be releasing five songs later this year, and it is sounding pretty good. It’s along the same vein as my single, acoustic, and is talking about urban England, the stories you find when you are growing up there.
10 pounds talks about a relationship framed around the politics of Brexit. Do you think it is important for musicians to be political? Especially at the moment, with the world turned upside down?
I think everyone has the right to educate themselves and they have the right to express themselves politically. I think it’s generally important stuff to say, but it’s also important to educate yourself before you delve into heavy topics. But I also feel a record can reflect the times without being political, it can still make an impact. Artists like the Clash, The Libertines even, aren't necessarily political, but they sum up the frustrations of a certain time, and I think that is what makes a good record.
Your EP that is coming out later this year; have you delved into the political stuff that has happened recently with that?
No, it's not really political in any way. It's more talking about general aspects of life; more of a reflection of this time, so in that sense I feel like it’s an honest record, and is perfect for right now.
Is that lyrically, based on your own personal experiences? Or do you take other people’s experiences and place those in your music?
A bit of both really. I have recently started writing in a kind of reporter’s style, like I am writing an article for a newspaper; to reflect and report what you see. In the past it was more personal experience, but I feel like moving away from that now I am getting older.
What have you been doing since your single came out? I presume you were doing some live gigging before lock-down, but what is a musician’s life looking like at the moment?
I have been enjoying recording in the studio, I am enjoying that very much. Basically, we (Hush Mozey) should have been in Germany touring right now but obviously that all fell through. We have all just been taking a break, so I have just been writing, recording, finishing my EP, and getting ready to hit hard once gigs start up again.
But lock-down, I could do another two months I reckon… it was a break everyone needed really, away from the capitalist grind.
Have you been doing any live streams?
Yeah, I have been doing a few bits and bobs, but without live music venues it’s all a bit shit, isn’t it really?
Have you got a recording studio set up at home? Have you been doing everything solo, like production and mixing, or have you been working on that with other people?
I have a setup at home, basically I have got an old vintage amp, a guitar, microphone, a couple of electric guitars. I have been working with this drummer called Connor Hamilton; he has been doing the drum beats for my tracks, sending them over, then I kind of do my thing over the top of it. Then I have been sending tracks over to a producer called Lewis Bradshaw, then he puts on the finishing touches, pulls it all together and sends it back. Then we send it over to a guy who does all the mastering, he has worked with the Rolling Stones, The Libertines, people like that, so he knows what he is doing. All I do is write and perform the songs really, I am not a producer, so I would rather pass that on to someone else.
What’s coming up next?
I plan to do some gigs in London with a guy called Danny Starr, who is actually the son of Ringo Starr. The next single from the EP is going to be called Friends, and that will be put out in the next couple of months. Apart from that I will be just trying to get some more gigs, but it is all exciting.
10 Pounds is out now. © Original artwork by Longwell Records.