The East End is where Joesef calls home. He makes music from another age. Motown grooves, hip hop beats and jazz guitar layered under an attention-grabbing, ethereal voice.
Now it appears Joesef is the second artist to sell out King Tut’s Wah Wah Hut before releasing any music online (the first was Lewis Capaldi). In fact, there have been very few mentions of his name on the internet. That’s set to change.
Limbo is Joesef’s first single, released today. We are listening to a recording now and it is delicate, catchy and soulful.
The style of this impressive first track doesn’t give much away about Joesef’s influences. “My taste would give anyone whiplash. Give me the aux cable at a party and it will be The Cure followed by Spice Girls” he tells Glasgowist.
Limbo is part of a collection of tunes he wrote in the midst of his first breakup. Joesef says: “I kinda went off the rails when it ended and my head was up my arse for quite a while. So this was me trying to process the situation we were in, separated, but still together all the time shagging and talking. Limbo is the grey area in-between being in love, and not being able to let it go.”
The track was written and produced in his flat. “I write totally autobiographically,” hexplains. “Everything you hear has happened to me directly, so maybe my honesty will separate me from the pack a bit. I don’t think I have a tune that’s not me pulling out my own guts and wearing them like a scarf”.
Joesef plays King Tuts Wah Wah Hut, Glasgow on Saturday 2nd March