Stereoboard Speak To Joseph Coward About His New Single & New Signing To O Genesis Label (Interview)
Friday, 11 November 2011
Written by Chris 'PJ' Martin
Joseph Coward. A previously unknown commodity from Brentwood in Essex. He now has the accolade of a new and already well-respected label behind him in the form of O Genesis Recordings, while also being one of the most down-to-earth guys you'll ever come across. He has experienced the fortunes and misfortunes of growing up, and now at 19 is finally experiencing some hard-earned exposure. We talk to him about his new single, signing to O Genesis, and his own thoughts on the music industry and his home town.
So, we’re here with Joseph Coward. Which do you prefer: Jo? Joe? Joseph? JC?
Joseph is fine, a few people call me JC...
How is everything going, life wise and music wise?
I've been busy writing recently, trying to finish as many song ideas as possible. I'm looking forward to playing in Wales next month, a friend of mine runs an event called Rope based in Wrexham and he's invited me to play on the 9th of December with Hatcham Social. All the details are on Facebook, Twitter...
I’m not going to bullshit and pretend I’ve heard of your music ever since you played your first note, but ever since I have heard of you (it’s been about 3 or 4 months now), let’s just say I’m very glad I have heard of you. Is it a warm feeling picking up new fans from all over?
I'm glad that you're glad... it's a difficult thing to gauge but every so often I'll receive a message from someone who's bought my record or seen me appear live, which is nice.
What got my interest was when Tim Burgess started the O Genesis project and your name came up first. Have a lot of people came across you this way?
I think so, Tim's support has been invaluable to me in that respect, as has the effort by the whole O Genesis team. A lot of the people who listen to my songs now are apparently a Charlatans fan which makes for an interesting crossover…
A question you may get a lot, but how did Tim and Nick find/come across you?
Completely by accident, as it happens. Around the time I first met Nik Void, I was running a monthly event called Construction House, which I'd use as a platform to book bands that I admired, as well as myself because nobody else would book me to play; I didn't have many friends in London at the time. Still don't, actually. Anyway, I'd been a fan of Factory Floor for a year or so and I wanted to book them to appear at an event of mine so I could play on the same bill as them. I sent Nik a message to ask if this would be possible, she politely declined but asked me if I was in a band. I sent her the EP I had recently released on my own imprint, JCR, and she wrote back to me the day afterwards saying that she thought the songs were great and asked if I would be interested in working on a single with the label. She now manages me and I've kept a close working relationship with her and Tim ever since.
Was it a simple sign on the dotted line for you or was it more of a complex process?
We made the agreement very quickly, it wasn't at all complicated; we were mostly just interested in getting the songs recorded and mixed, we could talk about everything else later. The thing that I've enjoyed about working with Tim and Jim Spencer so far is that their primary concern in the studio is getting the best out of the artist, for the benefit of the artist. I feel very much as if they're working on my behalf, which I think can only be a good thing.
How has your music changed since being signed – or maybe it might not have changed at all?
My writing style is always developing and shifting, I don't think starting with a label has made any real difference; the only thing that I think has changed is the amount of work that I now get done. Now that I've got an outlet for the songs that I write, I can apply myself to my work much more easily. Even as recently as last year there were times when I thought I couldn't carry on writing because I didn't seem to be getting anywhere, but now that I'm slowly starting to release records, I'm feeling much more productive.
Let’s go to some past tracks now. ‘Jesus Christ’. I haven’t listened to your new release yet, but this is my favourite of yours so far. It’s very cold if that makes sense. The instrumentals are very discrete yet also very open. And the lyrics of course are announced in a top-notch fashion. Firstly, what is the song about?
Jesus Christ is a metaphor for people's commitment to relationships... The other words that surface throughout the song are part of the kind of verbal soup that comes with song writing, maybe a result of my synapses firing strangely or something.
And secondly, my description may be totally incorrect! So how would you describe it?
I'd written the song in August of last year, I can't remember too much about the process but I knew that I wanted it to give a similar impression as the lyrics and vocal delivery of songs like 'Idioteque' by Radiohead and 'Losing My Religion' by R.E.M, as well as being as honest as I could within four minutes. It wasn't until a couple of days before the recording that drummer Darryl Woollaston and I finished how we were going to lay it out in the studio. The composition changed a lot from the version I had to the version that Darryl and I ended up with, but I found his input fascinating and it turned out to be vital to the song. I think the single has been successful because it not only sounds exactly as it should but, to me, it perfectly captures a moment in time.
I read on The Quietus that you left home at 17. If you don’t mind me asking, why was this?
I just got bored, I think. Everything exciting seemed to be happening in the city, I didn't have en education or a job to worry about so I just thought: "why not?" and left. I've always been impulsive, often to the detriment of my living situation or whatever, but the two years I spent in London were important to me, and I mostly had fun.
Being from Essex, is it often annoying to see the same name - branded on that ITV2 show, The Only Way is Essex that for some reason every mainstream minion watches – or does it simply not bother you?
I've never seen the programme and it doesn't feel like it has anything to do with me, but I do feel irritated by the idea that it's acceptable to make people feel stupid or uncultured because they come from a certain place. They actually film the show just up the road from where I live; I'm sure the people who star in and make the programme are very nice but they're hardly doing people from Essex any favours.
What are your views on the modern music industry? How does it need to change – if you think it needs to (you may be a big fan of JLS for all I know)!
Alternative music feels fenced off in a way that it hasn't previously been. Partly because, for alternative artists, there's no way into the mainstream's consciousness. If we had a programme like Top Of The Pops or The Word again then a group or artist who'd sold enough singles to get into the top forty could get on television and make an impression with millions of people. Chart music wasn't particularly impressive when I was growing up but at least there was a format that could be subverted; you'd have someone on like S Club 7 who'd be followed by the Manic Street Preachers coming on, wearing IRA masks. Now it feels as though music companies are controlling what the general public has access to, which doesn't seem fair to me.
Can you see yourself slotting into it well?
I'd enjoy more exposure but whether or not I'd fit in with the rest of the industry is another thing. I think I could. I don't know though, whenever I'm being filmed or I know that people are paying me any attention, I get an impulse to do something mad or stupid, so I don't know if I'm serious enough for that sort of thing. Who knows? We'll see where I am a few years down the line. I feel like I've got time to make up my mind.
I see a lot of bands and artists asked about their influences musically. But what I was wondering, what are your influences outside the music world?
Mostly books. Morrissey wrote "there's more to life than books, but not much more", and I'm inclined to agree. I also watch too much TV, so I think ideas from popular culture are probably worming their way into my writing without me necessarily meaning them to.
New single talk time. It’s a bit more upbeat that some of your other records. Was this the aim?
No, I just had about ten potential singles written and this was the one that was chosen. I like the idea that "If You Want To Get Going, Get Talking (To Me)" is quite sharply contrasted with "Jesus Christ" but it wasn't done deliberately. I'm still exploring all the facets of my musicality, I'll hopefully be able to exploit all of them before I'm done.
What is the song about?
It's about deciding to take opportunities or not, making something of your life or choosing not to. We're all dead a long time.
What are you perhaps hoping to achieve from this release?
To reach a wider audience. I want as many people to listen to my music as possible.
What’s the release date – if you have one?
I'm sure there is one, I've got no idea what it is. I think it's due out at the beginning of December. Keep checking the O Genesis website, they're quite good about posting updates there, and on Twitter too.
Is an album coming?
I've got an album written and provisionally recorded, I'll just have to see if anybody's brave enough to commission it. Hopefully it'll surface over the next 18 months or so.
What can fans of your music expect from Joseph Coward in the next year?
I think I'm going to focus on appearing live a bit more. I'm going to look into touring, it sounds like it might be fun.
I do this with every band/artist I interview. If you had to describe yourself in three words what would they be?
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