Lonely days require a certain kind of soundtrack, a hushed soft-spoken melody that is not staccato but one that leafs around the air in your room in a form of quiet and empathetic understanding. It is in moments such as these when we realize the true power that music holds in its ability to get into one’s thickest skin and make themselves face to face with naked, bare emotions. Listening to musician Jōviky evokes the same feeling.
The artist makes his return from his consecutive releases from earlier in the year such as Matadors, Hurricane Petty and Thicc Thighs and updates his discography with his latest track Lonely Phone. The three-minute number is the hip-hop musician’s brainchild of Rhythm and Blues, Soul and alternative pop, offering a unique perspective to these genres with his thematic depths into otherwise socially overlooked topics such as loneliness, chronic solitude and isolation. Jōviky’s track is like listening to your favourite lullaby, but one that grows old with you through time and sings back your worries to yourself through words that you cannot say yourself.
Impassioned, empathetic and almost fraternal, I believe this is what Roberta Flack meant when she spoke of young men killing people softly with their words and their song.
We reached out to the artist for his inputs on the track. Here is how that went:
Congratulations on your new track! How would you describe the track to a new listener?
Thank you. I’m really proud of this song. I would describe “Lonely Phone” as a non-linear story about loneliness and the things people will do to feel any sort of relief from those lonely feelings. These days our phones are more than just communication devices. The phone is really a portal into the rest of the world and when you pick up your phone and no one is checking for you, it exponentially amplifies the loneliness you’re already feeling. That is what this song is about.
You’ve released quite many singles this year alone. Do you think the journey has seen some musical evolution or any other methods/tricks that you have picked along the way? Do you approach your music-making process differently now? If so, how?
This music journey is something very new for me. I just started making music in 2019 and I only began releasing songs in May of 2020. So my output is really a result of just exploring my creativity as well as trying to define my sound as a new artist. I approach music from a fine-art perspective, so my process is really about finding the best way to convey an idea or emotion through the music. I’m looking forward to refining my sound and focusing on finding my true audience that fully appreciates my approach to music.
We noticed that Lonely Phone is an indie dream pop/rhythm and blues bred lo-fi number. How would you describe the vibe of the track?
Lonely Phone has a pensive, melancholy emo vibe. I don’t necessarily want the audience to feel sad when they listen, but to know they aren’t the only one that feels this way when that phone loneliness hits.
How did Lonely Phone come to be? What were some inspirations behind it?
Lonely Phone is a collaboration between myself and Chicago based ambient/downtempo producer Aster Reed. I discovered Aster’s music on Soundcloud and reached out to them about collaboration. I ended up writing to Aster’s track “Always Forever” and the song came out so good we had to put it out. The song is inspired by the huge emotional toll 2020 put on me. I needed to purge those feelings of sadness, to begin the healing process.
Who are your greatest musical influences, and how many of these influences make their way into your discography?
There are too many to name but here are a few; Radiohead, Quincy Jones, Diddy, Kanye, De La Soul, Mazzy Star, GZA, Nirvana, Rick Rubin, Jon Brion, Andre 3000, Danger Mouse, Prince, Pharrell, Mos Def, Dilla, Beck and Mac Miller.
One thing to note is that most of my musical influences are mavericks and innovators of music and culture in the way that they mesh genres and find new ways to translate emotion through music. That is what I strive to do with my music— to create new soundscapes and meld genres in new and interesting ways but most importantly to make people feel/see music through new emotional lenses.
Seven singles now under your belt, when can fans expect a full-length EP or an album from Joviky?
I’ve actually already released a six song EP entitled “91 Movement” available on all streaming services. In addition to that, I released my first mixtape “A Mixtape by Jōviky | Vol. 1” in March of this year, that project is only available on my Bandcamp page! I don’t know when I’ll be doing a full blown album. My current goal is to build up my listener base with more singles throughout the rest of 2021.
That being said, my music has evolved so much since then, I’m excited for people to hear what I’ve been working on lately, it’s a whole new vibe! As far as other music projects, I have a full length instrumental/beat project coming at the end of the year and a Dance EP dropping very soon!
Be sure to check out the track here:
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Discovered via http://musosoup.com
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