Soon after the release of his recent EP “Vamps”, Toronto based emotive shoegazin’ rockers JOJII is back with a new tune called “Blackened”, a forerunner of his upcoming record “Sex and Death”, a cornucopia of visceral and violent melody. The new single intends to encapsulate the transitioning, maturing, and struggles of JOJII’s sound and life over the last half-decade and serves as an anthem to the crushed and suppressed spirit. It seems that JOJII’s new work is both more ambitious and vaster in scope than its predecessor, and will possibly give the full album a common thread to ground JOJII’s improvisational creative focus. Read up the first-hand commentary from Joel and listen to the new track below!
“Blackened is a step forward in hand with the EP Vamps as a means of simultaneously exploring new direction while further distilling the sound, concepts, and aesthetics of Jojii. Blackened is about exploring the truth of hardship that’s entailed with life. It’s about feeling broken and worn down: emotionally and physically. The song was written while working in an auto factory and at a time of mental disorder diagnosis and treatment. As more songs and the tentative release of Sex and Death approach the concept of Jojii will be developing further into a juxtaposition of embracing and countering culture. With a heavy 80s/90s movies and music influence, Sex and Death will combine elements from New Wave, Post Punk, Garage, Classic Punk, Shoegaze and Alt Pop; all with a twist of “The Lost Boys” and Tarantino’s “True Romance”.”
Jojii creates punk gravitated alternative pop based on honest lyrical intent, melodic instrumentation, and atmospheric canvas tracks. Twinkly yet crushing distortion is matched with pop-inspired leads and soundscapes to recreate his feelings of romanticism found through pain and love. Jojii’s newly released EP “Vamps” and the tentative string of coming singles intends to encapsulate the transitioning, maturing, and struggles of Jojii’s sound and life over the last half-decade.
