Joee Johnson – Bristol Acoustics.

Joee Johnson – Bristol, England, United Kingdom.

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Joee Johnson is a singer-songwriter based in Bristol in England’s Southwest, taking influence from traditional Acoustic and Folk music, as well as Blues and a range of poetry.

To be blunt, Johnson’s music is so much more than the standard one-man-one-guitar-formula. Now, as much as I’ve said that before on Musically Fresh when on the subject of singer-songwriters, this statement is very much on the money when attributed to Joee Johnson.

The singer-songwriter echelon is one that in practice, is almost always enjoyable, but often sits there strumming away either in banality or simply in regurgitation. Musically Fresh has been fortunate enough to feature those that do break the banality-chain and with Joee Johnson, we can safely say the same applies.

The first EP, The Leisure Class EP, was released back in 2015, showcasing four tracks of original acoustic music, kicking off with the above number, which as an introduction to Joee Johnson’s sound, is telling of his genuine love of music and wide array of influences.

Johnson’s music simply recorded, with multiple layered vocals and a driven Folk foundation, laced with genuine conviction in it’s lyrics. Again, the above track is a highlight, with the likes of the Americana-led ‘Cripple Crew Blues’ following and then taking you to a midwestern town in a newly settled US territory in the 1860s.

This first release carries the American Folk sound as it’s side arm and despite the contrasting English accented vocals, is implemented really very well, standing strong as an example of why this 20-something is so entertaining.

The final track of the EP boasts a classic sound that ties off the quirks of the previous tracks, in a more fluid and almost Folk-Punk orientated sound that contrasts enough to the previous three tracks, to boast as the best of the four.

This track to date has accumulated an impressive 13,000+ plays across the artist’s SoundCloud profile and with good reason or at least we think so.

The Listen Learn EP is the most recent release, comprised of four more acoustic numbers, that despite only airing to the public a few short months later, show a much stronger and aged effort.

The title track, ‘Listen Learn’ is somewhat of a departure from the energy and upbeat stylistics, they are given the side line and instead a softer, sombre vocal and gentle guitar style are the at the forefront, with a touching story of uncertainty as your vocal accompaniment.

‘Burlesque’ is reminiscent of Jack Johnson in it’s playful soft-Funk and is more inline with the first EP’s sound, yet sounds far more refined and progressed, with the layered vocals adding an even softer and dulcet rounded edge to the recording.

‘Buff Peng’ is a the treat and the standout of the second EP. Expanding to a modern UK Reggae and Dub sound with a well implemented Hip-Hop infusion via artist Francis Anyanjo, it’s another from Joee Johnson’s apparently endless bag of tricks.

We’ll leave you with ‘Powder Her Nose’ to close.

Find all things Joee Johnson below:

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Matthew Speer

Matt has 2.1 BA in History and is most likely somewhere in his twenties. He enjoys a wide range of music, but has a strong penchant for Punk-Rock. Originally he hails from the Isle Of Wight off the South Coast of England, UK and spends most of his time around England's South-West.

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