I think everybody’s just trying not to fall apart in some form,” says alt-soul singer Joesef with a nervous laugh. “It’s just who can hide it the best.” We’re sat on two ends of a giant sofa in his PR’s office in London, comparing stories on the qualms of “adulting”. The 27-year-old moved to the capital from Glasgow in 2021, but still romanticises the city in which he grew up. “There’s a certain level of togetherness that’s very palpable there,” he says in a thick Scottish accent, which is “worse” when he’s had a drink. “Everyone speaks to everyone”, says the singer. He can’t go to the shop without being stopped by five locals asking how his “ma” is. “I’m like, God, I’m just tryna’ get a loaf of bread!”
We’re chatting a month after the release of his smooth, soulful debut album. Permanent Damage takes on the intricacies of modern relationships, replete with all their rough edges. Joesef is something of a sonic sponge: aspects of his great loves, Al Green and the Mamas & the Papas, are rung out with his own guitar-based melodies and synthy modern moments. And there’s that luscious velvet voice of his, which Joesef attributes partly to “smoking a lot of fags and drinking a lot of straight vodka”. His songs embody the happy-sad space shared by the likes of childhood heroes, The Cure, with warm funky basslines that contrast with blue, wistful words.
