Interview with Joel Poe as we discuss his debut album, Drowkid

Singer Songwriter Joel Poe has a voice that will definitely brighten the saddest of hearts and give much needed hope to a young generation. We recently brought you the news that Joel signed to Standby Records to release his new debut album, Drowkid, set to release on January 13th. This talented young man has soaring vocals that capture a depth of emotion and truly brings peace to the listener. With his new album, Joel hopes to comfort, heal, inspire a generation which he feels is too young to be sad. He has such a great voice and when you take a listen, you can’t help but know that he definitely holds the power to be the inspiration and bright light to many. We had the opportunity to interview Joel and are pleased to bring that to you here:

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Music Junkie Press: HI Joel. First off, congratulations on the signing with Standby Records, they are a great label to work with. How was it when you first heard about the signing?

Joel: I was very happy to be validated as a singer-songwriter and excited for the opportunity of working with them. They’ve been amazingly supportive in every aspect and I’m very thankful for that.

Music Junkie Press: Your new album as you mention is a very personal one, where you not only try to bring hope to others, but deal with your own story of self-harm. I can only imagine, how was the recording process for you and the emotional effect?

Joel: It was undoubtedly very personal- the recording process- . I didn’t want a lot of people to be involved in it since some of the songs have a great emotional meaning for me and the moment of my life they talk about. Therefore we agreed I would take care of recording the album with as much privacy as possible.

I recorded every song without a lot of cutting or takes. I decided I wanted it to feel as real as it could possibly be and and every song is recorded without stopping from the intro all the way to the end. When takes went wrong I just started the song from the beginning and so on until the album was complete.

Music Junkie Press: You have such a great wealth of talent at such a young age, how old were you when you first really got into performing and songwriting?

Joel: I started playing the piano at the age of 5- my grandmother is a pianist-. Music has always been a part of my life and I’ve been performing ever since I was about 10 years old although I started writing my own songs at the age of 14.

Music Junkie Press: What advice would you give to someone who is struggling with obstacles in their life or self-harm or simply staying positive in what could sometimes be a dark world?

Joel: In my opinion it’s not a dark world but the fact that the greater side of our society has reached a point where nothing goes un-judged and the idea of perfection that the media promotes has sickened the younger generation which is a very sad one. The way I urge to fight this is by spending time with friends, forget about all the mean people who judge you for being who you are or looking the way you look. We’re all perfectly flawed and the things that make you insecure about yourself are part of what makes you unique.

I remember watching “Avatar: The Legend Of Korra” . Into the spirit world, a very wise old man – Iroh- speaks to the Avatar Korra when she’s merely a child and says:

“If you look for the light you can often find it; but if you look for the dark that is all you’ll ever see”

This is something to live by. If you focus on the bad that’s all you’ll see. Just try to look for the good things – about you and about everything that surrounds you.

Music Junkie Press: That is great advice and I believe as well that the darkness seems to get the attention, when there has always good times as well. Do you have a particular song writing process?

Joel: Usually I sit at the piano and play a tune that comes to my head for a while. After I get familiar with it I instantly realize where it is coming from and the lyrics start to appear in my head.

Music Junkie Press: How is to hear from others that your music has made such a positive impact on themselves and their lives?

Joel: It’s the best feeling in the world. It gives me hopes, a purpose and the strength to keep going. I get hundreds of messages everyday and I wish I could reply to each and every single one of them but I often try to save a time to read as much as I can and it completely warms my heart how many lovely people feel connected to my message of hope and love.

Music Junkie Press: You have done some amazing covers, if you could collaborate with one artist for a cover of their song, who would it be?

Joel: There are so many artists I admire and would love to work with. Amy Lee form Evanescence and Chris Martin from Coldplay are my top inspirations so I would say them.

Music Junkie Press: Those would be some great collaborations! I hope one day we will hear them. If we could peak into your Ipod, what artist or song might we be most surprised at finding in there?

Joel: I listen to a lot of different artists. If you don’t know me you’d probably be most surprised at “Hair” by Lady Gaga, acoustic performance.

Music Junkie Press: We all need those wake up and Go To songs to get yourself pumped up for live, what is your favorite Go To song that when you listen to it, you can’t help but be energized and refueled?

Joel: Oh so many. I actually have a full playlist for this. One of my favorites to energize me is “This is the life” by a Scottish singer-songwriter Amy Mcdonald.

Also “What You Want” by Evanescence.

Music Junkie Press: I am going to have to check out Amy McDonald, thank you for that. With the release of your new album, will you be heading out on tour?

Joel: Many things play a role on this decision but we’re planning on it for sure. We’ll see !

Music Junkie Press: If you were trapped in an elevator for 8 hours with three other people, who would you hope they would be?

Joel: Ellen Degeneres, J.K. Rowling and Tim Burton just to have time enough to convince them to do something together. It would be so awkwardly genius.

Music Junkie Press: It would be great, you could make a movie from that experience! Lastly, is there anything you would like to share with our audience and your fans?

Joel: Just thank them for all the unconditional love and support. My life wouldn’t be the same without them.

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Make sure to visit his social media sites and stay up to date on his latest news. Don’t forget to pre-order his debut album by visiting http://standbyrecords.merchnow.com. I will leave you with a lyric video of his for his song, Let It Out.

~ Marisol

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