The group joan (Alan Benjamin Thomas and Steven Rutherford) chatted about their new music.
On their single “heartbodymindsoul,” joan remarked, “We basically took the first six months of this year to just write every day and throw things at the wall and see what sticks – no agenda, no project in mind, just writing.”
“This song was one of the first songs we wrote in that batch and it just fell in our laps. We had a demo day one that had most of the final elements in it. It was just one of those perfect writing days, where everything is flowing,” they said.
Regarding their music and songwriting inspirations, joan said, “Late last year we bought a house in Little Rock (where we live), and we converted it into a studio. We meticulously and intentionally designed it to be a space that’s inspirational and functional. It has been such a well of creativity for us this year.”
On their future plans, they shared, “We just toured Australia, we’re about to leave to go on a full US tour with our friends MisterWives, and we’re gonna release our best music in the coming months with probably a lot of touring next year. We’re very excited about the next year.”
On October 7th, joan will join MisterWives on their nationwide “Just For One Night” headlining tour, which begins in Fort Worth, Texas.
They opened up about being a band in the digital age. “It feels really complex honestly,” they said.
“”It feels like there’s unlimited potential, but at the same time, it feels arresting and completely debilitating. It can feel hopeful and hopeless at the same time. It’s a wild time to be doing music,” they elaborated.
“For us, we just keep our heads down and creating the best art we can while being authentic to who we are, and that’s what we’ll keep doing,” they elaborated.
They spoke about the origin of their band name. “On our first day writing together, we found out that both of our great grandmothers were named joan,” they revealed.
For young and aspiring actors, they said, “Start now! Work hard, make the best work you can make and try to be better every day. Aim for consistency, aim for a slow and steady growth, not a viral moment.”
They listed New Jeans, Lizzy McAlpine, and the late Prince as their dream collaboration choices in music.
On their definition of the word success, they said, “Success to us has always been to be able to do music full time. We get to wake up every day, go to the studio, and do what we’ve always wanted to do our whole lives. With that aim, we are successful.”
For their fans, they said about their new music, “The music we’re releasing and working on is very different and new in a lot of ways but in a lot of ways goes back to our roots from the ‘Portra’ days.”
“It’s our favorite music we’ve made in a long time, can’t wait for you to hear it,” they concluded.
“heartbodymindsoul” is available on digital service providers by clicking here.
To learn more about joan, follow them on Instagram.
