INTERVIEW | JOEL L‑S TALK TO US ABOUT LATEST TRACK ‘PERSUASION’

By Rishma • On Interviews ,

Who are the band mem­bers and what do they play?

Joel L‑S: vocals and lyr­ics. Mat­thew Jac­obs: production.

How and where did they get together?

Mat­t’s young­er broth­er is best friends with Joel, so they knew each oth­er long before they made ‘Per­sua­sion’. Only when Joel was liv­ing with Mat­t’s broth­er at uni­ver­sity did they first start mak­ing music togeth­er, har­ness­ing their shared love of Neo-Soul grooves to inspire their first track.

What are the band’s main influences?

Joel L‑S’ work has found inspir­a­tion from MC’s who rep­res­ent hon­esty: Noname, Com­mon, Loyle Carner, Guru, Kano, JME… His flow and cadence carry him across a vari­ety of Hip Hop genres, but most com­monly he finds him­self some­where between 90’s sampled pro­duc­tion or Jazz infused instrumentals.

Have you played any not­able gigs, fest­ivals or oth­er events? Like­wise radio or TV appearances?

Matt is a young tal­ent in con­tem­por­ary Jazz com­pos­i­tion. As a pian­ist for both the Nation­al Youth Jazz Orches­tra and the Jazz Plus Ensemble, Matt has per­formed at a vari­ety of pres­ti­gi­ous con­certs. Unfor­tu­nately, Joel has no such impress­ive cre­den­tials, how­ever, he has per­formed reg­u­larly in York dur­ing his past three years at Uni­ver­sity and has achieved radio play on the city’s loc­al radio station.

Are there any oth­er inter­est­ing or amus­ing hap­pen­ings – no mat­ter how small – that the band have been involved with that would be of interest to those who like your music?

The first verse was ori­gin­ally per­formed accapella when Joel did the song at gigs. Because he was usu­ally per­form­ing to crowds for indie, folk and acous­tic acts, Joel found that the emo­tion in Per­suais­on’s lyr­ics allowed people to con­nect with his unique rap style in a way that they had not been able to with oth­er Hip Hop artists. Thus, when Joel was look­ing for the track­’s pro­duc­tion he was search­ing for an instru­ment­al with enough space to high­light his lyr­ics. When Matt sent Joel that restrained beat, the lat­ter knew that it was finally time to dust off the lyr­ics that he had writ­ten over a year pre­vi­ously; he had finally found the per­fect instrumental.

Do you have any favour­able quotes from pre­vi­ous reviews of the band that you’d be happy to share?

“If Joel L‑S were a beer he would be a stout” “I found myself able to relate to Joel’s rap­ping in a way that I nev­er have with most Hip Hop artists.”

Where was the single/EP/album recor­ded and who was involved in its production?

‘Per­sua­sion’ was recor­ded by ourselves in our bed­rooms because we fin­ished it around the middle of Coronavir­us lock­down in the UK.

Is there a par­tic­u­lar eth­os behind the single/EP/album or any par­tic­u­lar music styles or events that inspired it?

The lyr­ics for the first verse were cre­ated after Joel had spurned one of his few love interests dur­ing the first year of uni­ver­sity. If you have ever felt like you are unlov­able then Joel hopes that you might relate to the track. 

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Rishma

Edit­or / PR Con­sult­ant at No Bounds
Rishma Dhali­w­al has extens­ive exper­i­ence study­ing and work­ing in the music and media industry. Hav­ing writ­ten a thes­is on how Hip Hop acts as a social move­ment, she has spent years research­ing and con­nect­ing with artists who use the art form as a tool for bring­ing a voice to the voiceless.

About Rishma

Rishma Dhaliwal has extensive experience studying and working in the music and media industry. Having written a thesis on how Hip Hop acts as a social movement, she has spent years researching and connecting with artists who use the art form as a tool for bringing a voice to the voiceless.