Getting to know Joey Vriend

Singer-songwriter, Joey Vriend is set to release his new album, Hiding at First Light, in October. We asked him to tell us about himself:

Hiding at First Light is… my first full-length album and a new step in my life, and for me it means letting go of the past and being open to the future. With the album I tried to create an atmosphere in which I don’t lock myself in the general popsong structure. For me it’s important that I hold on to my feelings, there is always a melancholic feeling present, but always with a layer of hope. Composing music takes me to another world where I feel safe, but there are always new paths to discover. It’s like a journey that never ends.

Home is… where my guitar is ☺ I try to play guitar every day, it gives me a sense of freedom and security to be immersed in the atmosphere that I try to create with the guitar. Over the years I also started playing the piano for a variety of sound and atmosphere. I love how the same chord on the piano and the guitar give a different vibe. So I compose on both instruments, because it seems to give a different kind of inspiration. In recent years I have also been busy arranging the songs, which can also be heard on the album. It’s great to hear the songs grow, and it’s tempting to fill the songs, but actually the rule always applies: less is more. This is also a learning process. I get good support from the producers from MI5 Studios, with whom I have been working for years. It sometime feels like a journey together, because we need to understand each other to get the best out of the process: recording an album. This also applies for the lyricist Andy Cartwright with whom I try to capture my feelings in the lyrics. I’m happy to work with him, he’s incredibly talented.

I spend too much time… listening to my own work, because I want the best out of it. It must and can always be improved, but I realise that perfection does not exist and sometimes it has to be said: for now everything has been taken out. I have also the urge to improve myself, in my music, but also in the videoclips that I make to support the atmosphere in the songs, to provide a complete experience to the listener and viewer. I can sometimes, almost obsessively, work on video clips, for example scouting locations. I see a nice shot everywhere, I often have my camera with me to be afraid of missing a nice moment.

I’ve never… smoked, I have always been conscious of my health and food. And my voice is low enough already ☺

It might surprise people to learn that… sometimes I don’t sleep for nights because I spend too much time creating new music and video clips.

In the future… I will release more albums and video clips, because I cannot live without it, it is the best thing there is, I write so many songs that I basically have 3 albums ready now. It is incredibly educational to keep reinventing myself, making music is a journey of discovery to myself. I come to new places and meet new people.

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You can pre-save Joey’s new album here: https://fuga.ffm.to/hidingatfirstlight

Keep up to date with Joey on Twitter.

Interview by Bobby Townsend.