Just yesterday Joulie Fox released her debut EP ‘Love is a Blessing’ – a concept album consisting of 5 songs, co-produced with British indietronica singer-songwriter and producer James Yuill (Catz’n’Dogs, Mousse T., John Summit) and fully recorded in London through 2021 -2022. 

We had the pleasure of seeing her live in Warsaw a week ago, and we must say that Joulie left us hungry for more. She introduced us to all five songs before the official release and made us feel welcome and included. Those 50 minutes of her performance changed Klub Chmury into some magical land where only chosen ones had a chance to experience this upbeat, emotional rollercoaster.

Picture: Hanna Kantor

It’s just a day after your official release, congratulations and please let us know how are you feeling?

Thank you very much! Well, I am pretty tired but super excited at the same time. I had so many doubts while making this album, I wasn’t sure if I like the design (that I made myself ha!) and if this all made any sense at all. Today when I hold a physical copy in my hands I am so happy, I can’t even describe it. I think it’s beautiful! All this hard work, tears, and anxiety paid off and I want to dance all the time. I actually love these songs!

We think it’s great that you like your own songs. Speaking of which, do you have any favourite ones?

It’s changing, I am quite fed up with those that were already released. I heard them too many times. At the moment my favourite one is ‘1985’ and actually, this is also a favourite one to play live. ‘Bring Me’ is in second place, and even though it didn’t do as well on streaming services, it works so well live! I didn’t expect it.

Thank you for inviting us to your concert in Warsaw. We heard a lot of great comments and there was a queue of people waiting to talk to you after your performance. How did you like it and were you happy with people’s reactions?

I think the concert was magical! I liked both concerts in Poland but I think klub Chmury has a bit better setup for live concerts, especially for these upbeat ones where you just want people to dance. It’s always better to have people standing, easier to make them move. The audience was amazing! I got a lot of positive energy from people, they made me feel very comfortable and ready to joke around!

Where did you learn to have such good contact with your audience?

Well, it must be some kind of experience I gained through the years that made me more confident and relaxed but I have to say that audience makes 90% of the hard work. If they feel you, if they give back, the energy grows and there’s magic happening in the air!

You perform on your own and not even for a second we felt that you need anybody else there although we’ve seen on your Instagram that you’re adding live drums to your setup. What made you decide on adding another live instrument?

It’s very comfortable for me to play on my own, especially these small gigs abroad when I can’t afford another musician on the stage. I am lucky enough that I spent my teenage years learning Ableton and I was always quite technical. Actually, I thought everyone is until the day when people started describing me as a ‘technical person’. It’s just easier for me to be a ‘one woman band’, rehearse whenever I want, travel whenever I want and have to and not rely on other people but let’s be honest, it’s always fun to share a stage with someone else and this is why I decided to have live drums for my concert in London. It’s easy as this is where I live and I can literally spend any free minute rehearsing with other musicians.

You co-produced your debut album with James Yuill. How did you guys meet and how would you describe the whole process?

I met James through Budde Music publishing and they set us up for a songwriting session in July 2020. It was my first songwriting session ever and I was terrified. I couldn’t imagine sharing this quite intimate for me process with a ‘stranger’ but James turned out to be the perfect man for the job and after a few months when I decided I want to release an album I knew he was the one! He understood my vibe immediately and is a great, hardworking and very talented producer. He didn’t want to change my vision, he just wanted to fine-tune it and he did it perfectly.

Can you describe your EP in a few sentences? What people that haven’t heard it yet can expect?

They can definitely expect a lot of upbeat music with some sad lyrical layer. This is what I do. I put tears on the dance floor. You can find there a few made-up stories about psycho girlfriends and stalkers but I also treat listeners with a moment of self-reflection. I hope they will find a bit of themselves on this album. I don’t think there is one person in this world that hasn’t experienced heartbreak or at least had to let go of someone or something in life. Love is beautiful but it can cut us deep. ‘Love is a Blessing’ is love therapy. I want people to cry, to dance, to feel it. 

Thank you for your time, and we wish you a lot of success with this album and many many more in the future.

I will take it! Thank you very much!