Djo: The Extended and Curved Path

      **Cover Feature**

      **Djo: The Long And Winding Road**

      When your days are spent acting and your nights are dedicated to performing, it’s easy to become disoriented in that in-between space. Add a significant breakup, a life without stability, and unprecedented attention online, and the confusion deepens. However, on his third project as Djo, Joe Keery is both reflecting on his past and progressing forward.

      Joe Keery understands the complexities of living in between two worlds. For some, he’s primarily recognized as Steve ‘The Hair’ Harrington from the cult classic Netflix series Stranger Things. Others know him as the creator of ‘End of Beginning’ - a sleeper hit capturing the poignant nostalgia of returning to a formerly significant place, which became the sixth most streamed song worldwide in 2024, accumulating 1.5 billion streams (and counting). He grew up in Massachusetts, eventually relocating to LA and now residing in New York. His college years were spent in Chicago, while his family still calls Boston home; his acting career has taken him temporarily to Atlanta, Italy, and Canada, and his music has led him to tour in the USA, Australia, and New Zealand.

      “I’ve lived out of a suitcase for three, four years,” he admits, shrugging from across the mahogany table. “Honestly, I don’t really have a home.” A self-identified nomad, well-accustomed to moving from hotel to hotel; it’s no surprise that as we begin today’s shoot, he casually starts with some ironing in our Shepherd’s Bush suite. After an hour spent navigating lifts, locations, and traffic lights, joking about jaywalking before actually doing it (what you see on this issue’s cover is a result of that), we eventually sit down for a discussion. “Alright,” Joe exhales, “now for the good part.” This may seem like an unexpected comment from someone so accustomed to the camera’s gaze, yet it reflects an artist who is genuinely engaged rather than merely going through the motions; while he remains friendly at every interaction, he lights up when talking about his music. Is it, we speculate, simply nice to discuss something unrelated to Hawkins, Indiana? “Yeah, definitely,” he replies with a soft smile. “And it’s something I created - discussing that is fun. I’ve been working on it for two years, and it's finally about to be released.”

      He is not alone in looking forward to the arrival of the “something” in question. His third album as Djo (the ‘d’ is silent), titled ‘The Crux’, fittingly encapsulates years spent balancing musical endeavors with a growing acting career and escalating public interest. After amicably departing from his former band - Chicago’s psych-rock group Post Animal - in 2019, Joe released his debut solo album ‘Twenty Twenty’ that same year. Working around film shoots, he followed it with 2022’s ‘DECIDE’, a synth-driven album noted for its digitized instrumentation and home production. But it wasn't until the mysterious power of TikTok propelled ‘End of Beginning’ into the spotlight that Djo became a prominent figure in music. “I had some fans who were listening before and they were amazing,” he recalls, reflecting on the moment he realized a change had occurred. “But there's a threshold with the internet - at a certain point, it’s hard to gauge how many people are really part of this. The real eye-opener was playing live and seeing 50,000 people from all over sing this song. That was the moment I thought, ‘Oh, wow, a lot of people know this song. It's not just something I made for myself anymore.’”

      With the eagerly awaited final season of Stranger Things set to premiere in autumn 2025, the year is shaping up to be significant for Joe, as he finds himself under more scrutiny than ever before.

      “It’s cool to involve so many people I know and love in these songs that are fundamentally about loving them.”

      While ‘The Crux’ can be seen as a breakup album, it emerged from a time when both Joe’s professional and personal life were undergoing dramatic changes. “Crux literally means cross, so it signifies that crossing point,” he explains, pondering how the album’s loose concept - an unnamed hotel where stays are fleeting and people are transient - helped clarify or frame its tracks. “I didn’t consciously think about it from the beginning, but it seemed like a fitting way to ground the story of my personal journey. A significant theme of the album is that I am one among many. The perspective comes from me, but it encompasses numerous characters who are all passing through.”

      When you find yourself straddling two distinct worlds, each growing increasingly significant, how do you maintain your balance? For Joe, the answer lies in returning to his origins. By embracing themes of nostalgia, reflection, and community