Honest is the best way I can describe 19 year old musician Joe Russell-Brown. Hailing from a small industrial town located in the UK, Joe doesn’t let the confines of his ordinary town squash his aspirations as so many suburban communities do, but rather uses it as inspiration for a collection of songs that emanate nostalgic and youthful sentiments. He calls his music “Dream-Pop-Power-Flop” and he talks with an unpretentious sincerity that makes anyone who crosses his path feel right at home when talking to him. It’s this evident candor that made approaching him so easy. Over the course of several days and multiple emails, Joe found the time to talk to me about his upbringing in Scunthorpe, how he got into music and his latest EP, Post-Youth Depression. I’m so glad I was able to talk to him and before I stall any longer, let’s dive in.
YAA: Can you talk a bit about growing up in the UK?
Joe: “Growing up in the UK, specifically where I’m from, can be quite a grim experience. Some days can be hard and numb but then others can be fairly romantic and bearable. The older I get the more I realize it’s what you make of it.”
YAA: “How have your surroundings affected you as a person and more specifically, as a musician?”
Joe: “My hometown is a little industrial town called Scunthorpe. I’m not sure whether the place itself is that inspiring at all. The people make it. You find in little towns like this there’s no room for pretense, they’re very honest places. So, as far as writings are concerned, I always try to tell it as it is, no matter how it makes me look or how it makes other people look. If I didn’t do that people would see right through it.”
YAA: “Who/what inspired you to pursue music?”
Joe: “I wanted to be a footballer when I was younger, for years. I wasn’t very good though. When I was about 11, my music teacher asked me if I wanted to do drum lessons, it was like, “Why not, let’s see what the fuss is about”. That kind of opened up this door and tapped into something. My cousin introduced me to The Beatles then it kind of went from there.”
YAA: “You released your debut EP, Post-Youth Depression, back on December 1st 2017. Now that it’s out, how do you feel?”
Joe: “I’m quite proud of Post-Youth Depression. I’ve said everything I set out to say. Every lyric has been studied and perfected, there’s not a second on that EP that I haven’t stressed out about and worked on for days, so it’s a miracle really that I’m happy with it all.”
YAA: “Where did you record it?”
Joe: “I record all my songs in a bungalow my Dad built for my Grandma. It’s a great space to work in but also a great space to sit and do absolutely nothing in.”
YAA: “During the production of the EP, you got to work with Pete Maher (produced music for The Rolling Stones, The Killers, U2, Lana Del Rey, The 1975…). What was that like?”
“Yeah, it was cool working with Pete. It was a brief encounter, he did his thing with the tracks, I thanked him and told him that I loved what he did then that was kind of it. He did an amazing job. It was insane to have someone who’s worked with my favorite bands like what I was doing and be involved. Respect to him!”
YAA: How long did the album take to finish?
This EP took a long, long time. It took about a year to finish, which is pretty insane to say there’s only four songs. Being a very anxious person, I had to try all avenues before I could settle on a mix or a lyric and so that was very time consuming. I produced about 50 songs all together, you will never hear the other 46, which is quite sad. I would get down about the progress, I think the problem was I would mistake my anxieties for a lack of confidence which I would then need to justify, so I found myself looking for things to get down about a lot of the time when really I should have been turning the anxieties into a positive energy. Anxieties can be what you make of them.
YAA: “How would you describe your music to somebody who’s never heard it?”
Joe: “I call it Dream-Pop-Power-Flop, no idea what it means but it rolls off the tongue nice.”
YAA: “What inspired the song Post-Youth Depression?”
Joe: “The song Post-Youth Depression came about because I wanted to write an honest, non-generic song about youth. I got sick of hearing really cheesy, over done songs about being young. I just wanted to write one I could relate to and my friends could relate to – it’s nice to see so many other people relating to it too.”
YAA: “Where do you see yourself in 5 years?”
Joe: “I’m not sure where I see myself in 5 years, I don’t really think about the future much. The future scares me. I don’t know where I’ll be tomorrow, never mind in a year’s time or another year after that. As long as I’ve still got my health I could be literally anywhere in 5 years’ time, I’ll let you know when I get there.”
YAA: “If you could collaborate with anybody on a song (dead or alive), who would you work with and why?”
Joe: “Good question. I have a few. I’d love to sit down with David Byrne and talk about music, I imagine his record collection is pretty intense. I’d love Debbie Harry to sing one of my tracks, I would ask for her hand in marriage – she would kindly reject the offer. I would also like to have a cigarette with Bowie. But I guess most of all I’d like to work with a guy called Bill Ryder-Jones – I’ve mentioned him in a few interviews. I’m worried he might think of me as a stalker but I’m so obsessed with his last release ‘West Kirby County Primary’, beautiful songs, genius lyrics, a classic.”
YAA: “Lastly, what’s next for you?”
Joe: “I have another release coming early 2018 I think, there’s no real details yet but there will hopefully be some news very soon.”
Huge thanks to Joe Russell-Brown for sparing some time to share some of his thoughts with me. Interested in his music? Keep up to date with his latest ventures by following him on social media.
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(All photos received besides the thumbnail image are from the artist’s Facebook. NOT our own)
