On The Radar #103 Jolé

FORMERLY of Glass City Vice, Brighton-based Josh Oliver is set to release his first EP under his new monicker before setting off on a jaunt around the world in March.

His debut single Nothing Has Changed has just been released as a calling card – with Oliver planning to write and record all over the world, sharing his creations through social media.

He talks to The Guide about his new material and plans for 2016.

“I started writing songs when I was really young, maybe aged 11. However I only really wrote on a regular basis when I reached the age of 17/18. I have always been in rock and indie bands but recently found it a lot more comfortable to write more mellow songs and that’s kind of reflected in the single I think.

“Growing up I listened to a lot of The Beach Boys and took some influence from Brian Wilson and the way he uses really interesting sounds/instrumentation in his songwriting. More recently I have been listening to a lot of Sufjan Stevens, Bon Iver, William Fitzsimmons and taken some influence from a lot of film music.

“I think it’s always difficult picking your first single as you want it to be the right representation of what you can do. When you only have one track out there it’s all people can judge you on so it needs to be right. I tried to get as many opinions as I could but everyone was coming back with different favourites so it didn’t really help. In the end I decided this track was just a good all rounder and would hopefully get people interested and excited about what is to come. I definitely feel it is a good indication of what is on the EP.

“I was in Glass City Vice for five years and we did some really cool things which I am so grateful for. We are all still really good friends and everyone is really supportive of each other post-band. I wrote these songs towards the end of Glass City Vice and it was really just me wanting to do something totally different. I think we all felt we needed to branch out and do something new for ourselves whether it be musical or for other reasons and this was my way of doing that. I have never done anything on my own before and so it was quite daunting but also gave me a new sense of freedom.

“I will be releasing lots of music over the next year and hopefully doing some gigs in some very different places. Originally I was going to wait to release anything until I got back but I have worked tirelessly on these songs and I really just wanted to get them out there. I have always wanted to travel the world but have never been able to because I had three other people to think about that would have had to sit around and wait for me to return. Now it is only me so I wanted to just do it while I could.”

Find out more:

www.facebook.com/Jolé

@Jolemusic

Instagram - @Jolemusic