VANCE JOY IS A BREATH OF FRESH AIR

BY: CLARA SEELY-KATZ

Vance Joy is one of the few artists around today that has a whimsical ability to capture feelings of love, happiness, and sorrow in music in a way that evokes nature and beauty. Even the sorrows of life are made beautiful by the pen and tongue of Vance Joy.

PHOTOGRAPHER: IRVIN RIVERA, FASHION STYLING: EDWIN ORTEGA, GROOMING: MARLA VAZQUEZ, PHOTO ASST: JESSE ZAPATERO, STYULING ASST: ANDREW BARRIOS

It is as if his music transports its listeners to the little, quiet moments of life in a nostalgic manner that makes all of his albums, including his latest release, In Our Own Sweet Time, feel like a little piece of home. It makes sense since Joy seems to really appreciate home, he likes to take his time making his music and even just living each day. Joy savors his days in the same way that his listeners really savor his sounds.  

I personally have been a Vance Joy listener for a few years now. His music always makes me feel free and connected. His sound is very flowy, acoustic, and full-bodied, full of light and life, and really has this odd calming effect. To listen to Vance Joy provides the same calm and clarity as if one were to sit near a cool stream and listen to it trickle down the rocks below.

Read on to learn more about Vance Joy’s path to becoming an artist, which songs of his are most representational of his music collection, and to learn a little bit more about his new album In Our Own Sweet Time.

Would you say that you feel like you are an optimist, a pessimist, or a realist?

I'd say I'm an optimist mostly.

What are your favorite parts of the music creation process? Are you someone who finds the most joy in lyric writing or composing? Or performing?

I get a charge of energy when I get to perform live for people. There is a lot of joy in that. But joy is there in every aspect of music-making. Piecing together a song is very satisfying.

Your music tends to have a softer tone, whimsical at times. How did you find your own unique voice? What was that process like?

I started with playing covers. When I was 14 or 15 I'd sing my favorite songs at the time and hear my voice and think - it's not "Backstreet Boys"/"choir boy" trained but it sounds good to me and I feel good doing it. The process was really just becoming interested in writing songs and figuring out ways to put them together. I think that tone of my songs is probably a reflection of my vibe as a person. Because our music is a reflection of us.

Who is one artist you have not yet worked with that you would love to collaborate with one day?

Jamie xx or Caribou.

You are about to release a new album amidst a weird and tumultuous time. Can you tell me how it feels to be creative and working during a time of so much stress?

I discovered that songs and creativity are always there ready to go even when you're just sitting at home for months in a lockdown. I found writing to be a great way of spending time during those repetitive days.

Your music videos are always so poetic and seem incredibly thought out. For example, I love the “I’m With You” music video. Are you very hands-on with your music video production? If so, is motif important to you, or are you more focused on creating something just aesthetically pleasing?

Thank you! I have been lucky to work with very talented creators. I like to step back and let people do their thing, but I have to like the concept and storyline off the bat. I like to have something deeper happening in the clip, some emotional power, even if the clip is generally lighthearted and fun. I go back to the directors who take the songs to greater heights. Motif and Aesthetics are both important to me.

I think a lot can be discerned from how someone presents themselves on social media. Can you tell me about your relationship with social media? If it is a positive or negative experience?

I'm pretty addicted to scrolling Instagram. My experience is mostly positive. But I also check my follower numbers and when they go down I have to remind myself to disconnect self-worth from ratings!

Do you ever feel like your fan’s opinions influence the work you create?

The way they respond to my music usually confirms how I feel about a song. If there's a song I really feel proud of and strongly about it has, to date, connected with my fans more than other ones. I think of how they will respond because I know that they have the strongest truth and authenticity radar. 

Being an artist, especially a singer/songwriter, means you will have people who will look to you for comfort or answers. How do you feel knowing that and being someone who is known?

I'm happy with my level of known-ness. I hope that through my music people find comfort and connection. The songs do it better than I can talking off the cuff.

Do you ever feel imposter syndrome?

I haven't really felt it in music. I might have felt out of place in social settings when not on the wavelength of the people around me. I was an imposter at jobs where I was pretending to work at a desk and furrowing my brow at my computer screen to look busy. But that was more like I was playing the role - I wasn't down on myself about it.

If/when you feel uninspired or like you are lacking ambition or creativity, what do you do to get back into that place?

I feel like it might help to just keep going. Maybe you write some mediocre songs but eventually, you'll make something decent again. Also, I really don't always recognize a special song when it happens so I feel that we're not always in the best position to judge the quality of our work at the time we make it. That can come with time and feedback from others. 

Would you say your songwriting is driven most by love, happiness, sadness, pain, or a combination of everything?

Definitely everything. But love and joy mostly. They are the constants under everything, the other stuff is more surface level.

If you had to pick three of your songs that together you felt represented you thoroughly, what would they be and why?

Mess is Mine, Riptide, Don't Fade - there are other ones I feel really proud of, but these felt great to make like I was in touch with something special.

If everything had not worked out the way it did if things had not aligned and you for some reason weren’t able to get your music out there -- what do you think you would be doing?

I would probably have found a job where I had some freedom and the ability to express myself. I enjoyed gardening for that reason. That was my job pre-music.

Where do you feel most at peace in the world?

With my Askim and with my family on the big couch down at my folks' house.

Is music a way for you to connect to the world, or an escape?

Connect.

Who are three artists that are active right now that you are a fan of/maybe draw ideas from?

Dan Wilson, Bruce Springsteen, Oliver Tree

Your new album “In Our Own Sweet Time” is out, what can you tell us about that and what to expect in terms of narrative and sound?

I think it was borne from a chilled-out peaceful place. I was living in Barcelona with my Girlfriend and enjoyed the quiet days we spent. That is why I chose the title, it's about getting there in your own time, letting things simmer. That's the storyline and the sounds are still acoustic mostly but there are synths and electronic elements as well as horns. It's familiar but evolving I think.

If you were a book, what book would you be and why?

I like books that feel well-loved and worn in a bit so maybe one like that.