We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Joe Roberts a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Joe, thanks for joining us today. We’d love to hear about a project that you’ve worked on that’s meant a lot to you.
I’m working on a new collection of songs that’s probably going to be an EP. It’s meaningful for several reasons, including the fact that I rarely put anything out because I’m never happy with the recordings I make. This felt worth doing, though, because all the songs come from an honest place and revolve around the theme of being removed from your home and family — not just physically but in terms of time, too. I moved to the US from England in 2017, and the experience of living away from home is fraught with all kinds of mixed emotions. I wanted to express them through an artistic project and I think I’ve managed to do it with this EP. When you’re an immigrant you feel disconnected from home, but also closer to it in some ways because you gain this perspective of what it meant to you and how it fits into the wider context of the world. Channeling that into music has been really fulfilling and I’m excited to put out the songs.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
I’m a musician, originally from the UK and now living in LA. I moved to New York back in 2017 and started to play solo, singer-songwriter stuff around the city. In 2019, I moved to LA and have been here since.
What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?
Art is really important, even though it’s elusive and hard to define. So I think just making anything is rewarding, especially if you can turn negative experiences into art. Expressing yourself is pretty much the goal, so if you can do that, then that’s its own reward,
How can we best help foster a strong, supportive environment for artists and creatives?
Stop using AI? Or at least find interesting ways to use it that aren’t just creating amalgamations of other people’s work. It’s going to become ubiquitous either way, but hopefully the pushback will be just as widespread.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: @_mythsmusic
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mythsjrmusic
- Other: https://open.spotify.com/artist/6j27ny2BzRcrkcCQvP27re