Joy. Alone On The Moon

Multi-disciplinary artist JOY. has delivered another otherworldly track accompanied by stunning vocals with brand-new single 'Alone On The Moon', via Believe.

JOY. has announced that the new single, which received a first play on triple j's Good Nights, is the second instalment from her forthcoming EP Portal out April 29, which will also include hit 'Out Of Love'. 

'Alone On The Moon' touches on the concept of being with someone, but still feeling like you're so far away. The idea of feeling alone and being detached from yourself can be quite heavy, and the track is written from the perspective of observation of that passing mood, floating above rather than fully delving into that space.

JOY. reflects, "'Alone on the Moon' is a special song to me. It was just one of those songs that came about so naturally. It was written during a period where I felt quite isolated [Sydney lockdown] and introspective. I couldn't get the phrase "alone on the moon" out of my head. I liked the way it metaphorically described such a distinct moment in time that is quite universal to everyone. The idea of feeling disconnected from what you know, and somewhat who you were. It represents the concept of feeling so far away while still being present, whether that is in a relationship or in daily life experiences. 

The phrase alone on the moon was an itch in my brain. I liked how it explained the feeling I was experiencing at the time. I made a few voice memos of it. The following few days at home I was going through some moving boxes, experiencing some nostalgia and came across my old guitar loop pedal. One of my favourite things to do when I was feeling unsteady or ungrounded was always sit on the floor and make ambient type meditation loops, in an effort to calm my mind. So, I started jamming a little guitar loop and then started singing the lyric alone on the moon, that had been in my head for the course of the week prior. Over the course of the next few months, I workshopped the song idea into so many different versions, both here in Australia and in America. The last step was finally combining all the sonics explorations, I added grungier guitar parts, bass, live drums, and some dreamy Juno synth parts. It eventually all came together, and still sits over the bed of that initial guitar loop from that voice memo."

To celebrate the release of the new single JOY. will be hitting the road and heading along the east coast throughout March. This is the first time JOY. will be sharing her new music to an audience, so fans can expect to hear brand-new material as well as crowd favourites.

2021's release 'Out Of Love' showed us that the wait was well and truly worth it, with the single receiving major praise from media outlets, added to full rotation at triple j, sitting in the most played tracks for months as well as hitting the Top 200 Shazam Charts.

Describing the EP, JOY. says, "Portal is the EP I wish I had written as my first. Sonically I wanted to go back to my roots, playing guitar, piano, making ambient loops and somehow incorporate more live instrumentation elements back into my music. My aim for 'Portal' was to try and get back to the limitless feeling I had when I began playing music and writing. I wanted to find a bit more of that freedom in creating and incorporate it back into my process. It was all about playing and writing what felt right to me, I wanted to make music for the love of it and not follow specific instructions or structures. 

It's reminiscent of such a distinct moment in time for me. I usually work quite isolated and in my own realm so 2021 throughout lockdown I continued that, but in a way that was much more defined, and out of necessity not so much choice. I wrote new things every day, played tonnes of guitar and began piecing it all together. I was listening to a lot more grounded, grungy music, music with a lot of live instruments, more distorted sounds so I guess that influenced how 'Portal' was mapped out. 

I wanted 'Portal' to feel like a journey from front to back, familiar themes but varying in textures. Something people could listen to as a body of work - not a collection of disparate tracks. Entering the 'portal' with the opener 'Down' and exiting it 30 mins later at the end of 'House', hopefully having been able to connect with some emotion or sound throughout. A place of feeling and time they can always come back to."

JOY. the artist, like the emotion is for everyone. Her music doesn't fit squarely into any genre, melding modern sounds with classic techniques to create something contemporary and timeless at the same time. A combination of ambience and pop, intending to take people on a somewhat spiritual journey through listening. Where she had previously written predominantly within her production software, JOY. has gone back to her roots by writing on keys and guitar, giving her music the most organic and classic sound to date.