#Pscyho/Tropic

[sightsoundmusic]

EXCLUSIVE: Joshua Powell Talks Indianapolis, Stoner Jams & David Lynch

Written by Luke Jaggers

Over the past month we here at Sight & Sound have been obsessed with a singer/songwriter by the name of Joshua Powell. He sent us over his 2019 release entitled Psycho/Tropic and we’ve been enamored with it. We wanted to reach out and get an exclusive look into his life with the band and what he’s looking to accomplish in 2019. We hope you enjoy this interview and his album as much as we did.

In Jaye’s video about your album, you were compared to artists such as Bon Iver, Ben Howard and Sufjan Stevens. I personally hear some From Indian Lakes as well, but my questions are what do you think of those comparisons and also what influences you?

Joshua: I'm cool with those comparisons, especially with Vernon and Stevens because those two have indelibly influenced me. The fact that both of their careers are rooted in lyric-heavy folk tropes that were compounded upon and extrapolated across their discographies. I've followed a similar trajectory and am no stranger to their work. I've only heard a half dozen tunes from the other two artists you mentioned. I don't love 'em, but I like 'em as a friend. My art intake is real heavy and broad, so each record sort sort of has its own council of influences. The ones that have made the longest and deepest marks are Bon Iver, Kanye West, Neil Young, and David Lynch.

That’s interesting that you note David Lynch as an influence. Specifically because a lot of bands don’t look towards other mediums of art to influence their music. Especially after listening to your album I can definitely hear those influences to other pop culture. Is that something you think about deliberately when making your music?

J: Absolutely. I was drifting toward disenfranchisement with music as a medium because of its inherently bifurcated medium of consumption. With music, you make recordings, or you perform live. I was spending a lot of time with other non-musical artists who, it seemed to me, had a much more inspiring, cosmic, holistic view of art. My friend Emily talked to me over a diner breakfast about the body of a dead bat she found for like half an hour. I was enraptured. Turns out it was too small to taxidermy, but the ARTIST (vs the musician I s'pose) sees art everywhere. That's much more sustainable an MO if you ask me. So yes, I'm looking at a lot of cinematic surrealism and horror, reading a lot of classics and philosophy, going to galleries--the creative principles are super transitive if you have an open spiritual ear I think.

With a project that’s so expansive as Psycho/Tropic the production really shines all over the album. Who recorded your album and what was the recording process like for you?

J: Thanks! I think so too! Jonathan Class produced, as he always has for me with only a few exceptions. We worked at Varsity Recording Co. in Anderson, IN, where both of our music careers germinated. I worked with my brothers Jacob (drums) and Adam (guitar), my bandmates with the longest tenure. Their fingerprints are all over the arrangements. Working with Jon is always a total dream because he interprets my visions really accurately. And he becomes the extra band member in the studio. We're also all total goobers and hanging out was effortless. We took our time with it more than we ever have, and that extra care I think really translated into the end product.

Speaking of Indiana, seems like right now we’re seeing a lot of talent get picked up from here and getting noticed. Do you think Indiana is a good place for musicians to create?

J: *laughs* I know, right?! We're coming out of the woodwork! Someone from Wisconsin said the same thing to me the other day! The short answer is hell yes. I believe the Midwest is having it's meta-modern renaissance, and Indy's jockeying to be its palpitating heart, man. If you have an idea, you can make it here. Every month the culture gets weirder, richer, more diverse, more hospitable. The other day I was talking to my poet friend about the Midwest - He was so excited about what was happening in the DIY music scene here, and in the indie booksellers, the small print press and he talked about the vibration that these full rooms have been emanating--this idea that "Something good is about to happen here." And I think that's the spirit of the Midwest. We work hard and we keep hope. We know what we look like sometimes, when our potholes and grey days are held up against the shining LA lights and the happenin' ATX thrall, but we believe in our own capacity, and we trust that what's happening here is real, and big, and good. Every time I think I have a handle on the local scene here, another door opens and I realize just how much is being MADE here, by all sorts of folks. It's the most inspiring place in the world to someone with the right mix of creative pension, inner light, and grit. Shit, I'm getting evangelical over here.

What would you say to someone that's never heard your music before and they're about to listen to it for the first time?

J: If it's an older person, I say, "imagine Neil Young songs played by Pink Floyd." If it's a younger person I say, "It's stoner jams for English majors." I think one of the selling points of our band is that you can listen to it with whatever level of intentionality you bring to the table. I'm told it works as background study music. Some of our heaviest songs lyrically are built to be summery sounding anthems or uptempo rock toe-tappers. But it's also built for repeated listens, in headphones or studio monitors, lying in bed with your eyes closed, or with the lyrics in your hand and a highlighter for annotating. There are layers built into everything, from the connotative references in the lyrics to the way the production elements are panned. It's super deep if you want it to be. But it's also just rock 'n roll.

What do you hope to accomplish in the near future with your album already releasing earlier in the year? Tours planned?

J: Recently, thanks to the help of people like yourself, we're doing the most extensive press campaign we've ever done. Trying to cull fans from the internet because I'm told that's the happenin' place to be these days. But we also, just this week, acquired a new tour van by the fiscal grace of our darling fans who raised over 6k for us on GoFundMe. So starting in April, we're back to hitting the non-digital streets. We have tours planned so far this year with The Outside Voices, Sylmar, and Mister Moon, as well as a busy summer festival schedule, and more plans looming in the lessening shadows of the autumn. We want to bring the new record to as many physical people as we can afford this year, before we start the whole cycle over again. Shaping up to be a busy and beautiful year, and we're excited to keep building on this framework. We also just booked our first national television appearance on PBS that we're shooting in March that will be syndicated everywhere, along with some other great bands like Mike Mains and The Way Down Wanderers, so keep an eye out for that!

I just wanna say personally that your music was such a surprise and we’re so excited to share it with the Sight & Sound audience. Thank you for reaching out to us and sharing this absolutely incredible album with us!

J: Dude! Thank you so much! So pleased y'all connected with it, truly. Thanks for being down to help us spread the word, it makes all the difference.

Psycho/Tropic by Joshua Powell is available on all streaming platforms now.

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