Arjuna Oakes - No Joke
“I often write music from a subconscious place, from a feeling rather than a concept. I came up with some chords that had this rebellious feeling about them, they sparked my imagination. I quickly started writing lyrics in a very stream of consciousness way, focusing on painting imagery rather than telling a linear story. Retrospectively I feel like I was processing my frustrations of not being seen as a 'serious musician' (what is that anyway?). I like writing songs that don't give you any clear answers, but are curious and make you feel something that you can't quite explain. I think I hit a very specific energy with the lyrics that simultaneously have a bit of a "f*ck you" vibe, whilst still being vulnerable, self aware, and tongue and cheek (it's called No Joke after all). " Arjuna Oakes
"I was studying music at the time so I recorded one of the university pianos on my phone, which had this great warped quality to the recording. Using that as the basis, I started to flesh out the song. I liked how it had an unusual structure, multiple verses running into one intense Chorus, and then a switch up that takes you into a whole new world. I had been listening to a lot of afro beat at the time, which heavily inspired the outro. "
"Once I had a fully fleshed out demo, I took it to my band. I can remember my dad being in the studio and dancing to the outro section while we tracked it. The quality of the live band along with the electronic production that I had already done created something quite special to me. I then got Serebii to mix the tune and add some more production touches. At that point I had a lot of slower songs for the album, so this needed to fulfill a specific purpose in the journey of the album, creating energy and setting the tone within the beginning of the record."
If you’re reading this after 20th Feb, you can now pre-order the album, While I’m Distracted on vinyl. First 20 buyers get a signed copy!