“Touring is a fantastic distraction, but I clearly had deep-seated issues I had ignored for years.” With ‘Brave’ as the opening track, it sets the stage for a fresh start, while the closing song, ‘Paris’—a reflective exploration of confidence and sexuality—indicates she achieved that goal. “I believe that’s one of my best songs ever because I fully committed to it,” she states confidently. “During the recording, I entered a state of flow and allowed whatever needed to emerge to come forth.” Not a lament in any sense—“it carries a ‘fuck it’ vibe”—‘Paris’ reflects on a romance Joy had with a woman and the loss experienced when it ended; not for that person, but for her momentary freedom to be “openly gay.” It includes one of her most remarkable verses: “Kinda wanted you to be my girlfriend / Didn’t wanna deal with Catholic guilt anymore / When it comes to pride / I’d raise my heart to a girl or guy,” she delivers in a soft tone, similar to earlier. “And then it shifts to ‘But I believed I was a sinner’, accompanied by church-like vocals in that section. When I shared it with a friend, she gasped. I thought to myself, ‘wow, maybe that part is a bit wild’.” Joy’s background includes Irish Catholic roots from her father and Bangladeshi Muslim traditions from her mother. She wasn’t raised strictly, but her father thought it was important for her to understand the Catholic church from a young age. “Sure. Alright!” she chuckles lightly. “I appreciate the iconography, don’t get me wrong. All that gold? Wild!” However, she soon began to question, “Are gay people accepted here?”
“You reach about age 12 and start to wonder, ‘am I a sinner for thinking that girl in my class is cute?’ But there’s no one to discuss it with because you’re in church. There’s this unspoken fear of, ‘if I speak up, will I go to hell?’” She pauses. “That was terrifying. The idea of hell looming over you… No child should have to face that. So, when I sing ‘didn’t want to deal with Catholic guilt’, it feels incredibly powerful. It’s quite remarkable that I reached such a realization.” Ironically, her father introduced her to Van Morrison, a significant influence on the song’s vocal style. “[He] is one of my greatest vocal inspirations because he has this style where instead of saying ‘the lion’, he says ‘the la-da-da-da’ and just lets it out. My dad would say, ‘he’s letting go’. I feel like on ‘Paris’, I let go.”
After what seems like a tumultuous period, Joy appears grounded. She had a therapy session that morning and is scheduled to work with dance producer Jakwob next for ideas for her third album. She hasn’t yet organized the ‘Juniper’ tour, set to take her to major venues across the UK in November (including the iconic Brixton Academy, just a short distance from the cozy loft where we are meeting), but she’s brainstorming ideas. “I don’t think I’m going to create extravagant sets… I don’t have that ‘white collar crime’ budget like Sault had at All Points East!” she jokes. “The ambition is ‘sensory overload’.” She continues, “All venues smell like piss and beer, which I oddly appreciate, but I want triggers everywhere: visuals, sounds, smells. My ex is a perfumer, so I was planning to ask for his help. Juniper smells incredible.” This lovely transition raises the question: why call the album ‘Juniper’?
“It’s such an appealing word to me. I love [the film] Juno. The way ‘Juno’ sounds captivates me. When I first heard ‘Juniper’, I was like ‘what the heck does this mean?!’ Then I researched the plant. It’s native to Ireland and many other areas; it can thrive anywhere without needing much water. It’s sort of like a weed—a beautiful weed that’s used to make gin and other delightful things. It’s aromatic. It’s included in numerous products. It’s like a cooler way of saying resilient.”
Joy is the type of vibrant person you could engage in conversation with for hours—outgoing, warm, and thoughtful—but she has to leave; Jakwob is waiting. A fellow Tarantino fan, she reflects on their latest discussion. “He told me, ‘you remind me of the last scene in Kill Bill’, when [The Bride] is in the car with her daughter and they’re driving the Pussy Wagon off into the distance. He said, ‘you don’t know where you’re going, but you’ve made it through to the other side’. Honestly, I
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