Joesef Releases New Single 'It's Been A Little Heavy Lately'

Joesef ended 2021 playing to thousands of fans at Glasgow's iconic Barrowland Ballroom for his the right-of-passage homecoming show and a "f***ing mad" moment, having blizzarded the city with flyers a few years before for his first pub gig in his home city.

Now, the rising soul-pop talent releases his ballroom ready first single of the year "It's Been A Little Heavy Lately" out now on AWAL, with tongue in cheek lyricism that addresses the moment you let your standards slip, and a sample from celebrated queer director Gregg Araki's seminal film Totally fed Up. Having relocated to London at the end of 2020 ­- fleeing lockdown #2, an ex- and the memories - Joesef has been intent on "expanding my horizons", musically and emotionally, and spent most of last year working with producer Barney Lister (Joy Crookes, Celeste), with "It's Been A Little Heavy Lately" an example of the exceptional collaboration.

"I wrote 'It's Been A Little Heavy Lately' about how I tend to make bad decisions when I'm down, and to be more specific it was giving into the advances of someone I'd been with previously, while they were in a new relationship. I wanted the song to feel like a bad trip, there's a lot of different textures; the tempos are higher, and the drums are slightly swung. It also features a sample from the film Totally fed Up by Gregg Araki: the stories he tells, and how he portrays them visually inspire me every day, and fit the context of the song so well, I had to write to him for the sample clearance and he said yes which was fing mind blowing to me, he's a hero of mine."

The track follows Joesef's blistering single "Fire", which became a fan favorite on his biggest ever UK headline tour, playing three sold out shows at London's Hoxton Hall, and supporting Mercury winning Arlo Parks in the city's Shepherd's Bush Empire.

From one high to another: now Glasgow's golden boy with the golden pipes is preparing for an even more stellar 2022, including his biggest ever UK tour and his ever performances in the US, with shows in NYC and LA as well as Austin's SXSW Music Festival in March. See all tour dates below.

From pulling pints to being catapulted into the public arena in 2019 with his immaculate, critically acclaimed debut EP Play Me Something Nice, and included in the BBC Sound of 2020 longlist, while being lauded by Sam Smith to Mark Ronson for his "sad boy bangers", the 25-year-old has a talent for capturing soul. His new music shows the astounding development of a self-taught artist, exploring new realms with production, but always centred on the vast emotional weight of his lyricism, self described as "pure working class torch songs"'.

Not coming from a musical family, but owing his musical references to his mum's kitchen radio, with Al Green, The Cure, and The Mamas and the Papas playing all day in the background, Joesef grew up surrounded by the community in the East End of Glasgow, where everyone knew everyone's business. Understanding he was queer from an early age, but "the kids made fun of my trainers more than my sexuality," he was raised to celebrate his identity and understand it.

This exploration of Joesef's past is apparent in his deeply personal songwriting, having released his critically acclaimed second EP Does it Make You Feel Good? in 2020, which featured the lauded single "I Wonder Why" with Loyal Carner. Garnering over 30 Million global streams, Joesef released a cover of Sister Sledge's iconic "I'm Thinking Of You," showing the breadth of his soul, and stylistic influence of Northern Soul ballrooms.

Listen to the new single here:

Tour Dates

3/14 - NEW YORK, NY - BABY'S ALL RIGHT

3/13-20 - AUSTIN, TX - SXSW

3/21 - LOS ANGELES, CA - MOROCCAN LOUNGE

To post a comment, you must register and login.