In Conversation With: Joseph
From the hauntingly hallowed ‘Eyes to the Sky’ to the rekindling urgency of ‘Fighter’; Joseph have come a long way since their inception in 2013. Natalie Closner Schepman, Meegan Closner, and Allison Closner are the kind of musicians whose specifically crafted alchemy is only truly found in those who hold the unshakeable bond of kin. Navigating the road of sisterhood can at times be complicated – and Joseph know this all too well.
After the success of their second album ‘I’m Alone, No You’re Not’, a conflict of interest began to grow within the trio. Luckily for the fans, the sisters were able to align their priorities in order to focus on the music, and out of the wreckage came the magically valiant new album ‘Good Luck, Kid’. The eponymous track was the first to come out of their writing sessions, but it was ‘Fighter’ that had to be the lead single as Natalie explains: “we were looking at this album and what it means […] we thought that it would be a good re-introduction because we took so much time off [and] we wanted to let everybody know some of the story of what happened.”
Their second album ‘I’m Alone, No You’re Not’ was essentially written just with an acoustic guitar and their distinctly adaptable vocals, and this laid out the foundations for a body of work that was wholly intrinsic to experiencing Joseph in their best light. One of the most upbeat songs on that album came in the form of ‘SOS (Overboard)’ which now feels like it was a kind of foresight into where the band’s sound would eventually expand into. “That was the first time we looked at each other and were like ‘is this a pop song, a true pop song?’ It was really exciting and we have just embraced the fact that we love pop music, and it isn’t so far as having tons of synthesised sounds, but we really love pop music, so that was a little bit of an eye-opening window into what was to come, for sure.”
So, what was it that solidified this further foray into the pop sound? “It started by touring our last album with a band” Natalie explains. “It was just this whole other level of dynamics that we had, you know? We wanted to make songs where we could have bigger, louder parts and smaller soft parts so that the live show would be really exciting.” Choosing the right producer was also vital to realising their vision. Christian ‘Leggy’ Langdon – who Natalie calls a ‘mad scientist’ – helped create an atmosphere for the band to explore different soundscapes and moods. What Allie enjoyed most about working with him was his ability to catch a moment, and know when to move on, rather than letting the sisters pour their guts into the wrong take.
“It’s really important to us that we are working with somebody that not only is getting good sounds but more specifically is like open to the magic of the moment and willing to just be like ‘that was the first take and we got it!’ simply because they could feel it – even if it wasn’t the most perfect vocally.” Capturing the moment is something that Joseph have always been able to perfect within their songs, and a lot of this comes down to working out which song suits each other’s vocals, best. On ‘Good Luck, Kid’ the sisters each take the lead four songs but this isn’t pure coincidence. They trialled demos and listened to them over and over, to see whose tone could perfectly capture the mood.
Allie tells me that she sang the demo of ‘Without You’ but felt like something wasn’t right. After discussing it with Meegan, they decided that Natalie needed to be the one to take the lead. “A lot of the other ones fell into place as we were making them because it would end up being whoever’s story it was, or whoever resonated with it the most” but Natalie adds that it wasn’t always an easy process, as with ‘In My Head’ both Allie and Meegan resonated with the song. In that case, it was Allie who emphasised her need to “carry that torch” and the song became hers.
With everything coming from personal perspectives, it was difficult for Joseph to cut their options from 24 songs down to 13, because they all loved each track for different reasons. Considering ‘Shivers’, ‘Room For You’ and ‘Enough In Your Eyes’ almost didn’t make it on the album, you can be sure that there are some epic Joseph arrangements floating around in the musical ether. But fear not! The songs will hopefully not be lost forever – throughout my time with them, Natalie and Allie often go back to the thought of releasing the songs as a B-Side or as a filler before their next project.
Being able to tell a story and take you on a concise journey was the main reason behind having to cut so many songs. Natalie tells me that the sequencing on ‘Good Luck, Kid’ was meticulously curated: “it’s kind of the story of hoping for something, being let down by it and [then] walking up and away from that disappointment into freedom. It’s kind of like a reverse bell because the worse part, the most disappointing part, is ‘Revolving Door’. That’s like the moment of betrayal, and the rest of the songs are you learning how to listen to your own voice and stepping out of that, into your own freedom” – and that is a perfect summation on the bumpy ride of ‘Good Luck, Kid’.
Whether discussing the things you have to tell yourself to calm your crippling experiences of anxiety; realising you have to leave your safe space in order to escape stale circumstances; or exploring whether your insecurities are reflected in those around you, things do end up getting quite serious. At times Joseph have to fight the tears on stage, so it’s important for them to retain an element of humour while performing, and often they have no idea whether or not it will actually work. Natalie and Allie laugh fondly as they recall that they’ve had a few moments where a joke has fallen flat on the audience, and “it’s like crickets.” As we are sat in their dressing room just a few hours ahead of their performance at Bush Hall, Natalie isn’t worried about tonight as “London’s usually an amazing crowd” and I can definitely say that the crowd were laughing along to their little quips throughout their set, on the night.
The response to the new album has been wonderful according to Natalie, and it seems as though the trio are already contemplating what is to come next. Allie is mindful of tapping into the origins for the next project, with the UK fans in mind: “I definitely think we need to do a softer album, because especially for all the people that were there early on, and you know we haven’t had a [full] band out here at all yet and everyone still sees the trio thing. I think it’s really special and we’ve had a lot of people ask about it.” It looks as though the future is an open door for Joseph, and given that the album is about “feeling like you’re all of a sudden slammed with responsibility, and chaos, and the craziness of everything” let’s hope that their next releases are filled with an understanding and acclimation to the tumultuous ride that is life – and if that doesn’t work out, it’s time to burn that white flag!
Feature by Tyler Damara Kelly