Mount Maunganui musicians Joseph and Maia will move to Britain next month to pursue a life on the road. Photo: SUPPLIED
Mount Maunganui musicians Joseph and Maia will move to Britain next month to pursue a life on the road. Photo: SUPPLIED
May is New Zealand Music Month, so Rosie Dawson-Hewes caught up with Joseph Thompson, of local duo Joseph and Maia, about dropping their record label, what the music industry is really like, and releasing their fan-funded independent album tomorrow.
It's been a rocky road to release the follow-up to Josephand Maia's hit debut EP, Roll Up Your Sleeves.
Joseph and fellow musician, Maia Potier, parted ways with their label, Sony, last year, in a bid for creative independence.
"We're no longer in a position where we're crafting something for numbers, or for sales," Joseph says.
"We got to a point where we realised all we wanted to do was make music, honest music. So we've been working so hard at trying to make a record that represents us, who we are and who we want to be as people."
"It's about those seven songs and how they work together, as opposed to just one track."
Sorrento will be available on iTunes, Bandcamp and to stream on Soundcloud. Hard copies can be bought at their live gigs.
"This time round we want it to be that if people buy a record from us, then it be literally from us," Joseph says.
"That's something that we feel really passionate about because then the people that own our CDs will be people that have met us, which is cool."
The new album was funded by their fans, he says.
"We raised $10,000 through them and so this album belongs to them, essentially."
The pair will move overseas at the end of June with no concrete plans, except to tour in Britain, then America and Europe.
"This whole music industry thing, it's kind of a monster and you can't really decide how it's going to work for you," Joseph says.
"Things go wrong and things are unplanned and we've given in to that lifestyle, so I think our whole world is just going to be us, just exploring the world and being ok with it ... You know there aren't many musicians I know that make a lot of money, but the cool thing is that they do make a lot of progress in terms of creativity ... And that's what's more important than whatever your bank says."
Joseph says that being in their mid to late-20s, they've realised they want to do something with their lives, but that it's not about income, it's about sharing what they create.
"I just hope we have somewhere to sleep at night!"
This whole music industry thing, it's kind of a monster and you can't really decide how it's going to work for you.
He says the split with Sony made for a tough year.
"Last year felt like although it was a loss, because we felt like we hadn't done anything all year, it was actually a huge learning curve," he says.
"We matured, and we grew up, and we learnt things about the music industry and we got hurt and we got frustrated and we got to a point where we were at peace with how it was going to be, and we figured out what role and what path we wanted to take going forward."
Joseph freely admits it's been a whirlwind journey.
"Surviving is crazy. We don't make money ... both of us have been trying to work more than one job as well as doing music, as well as trying to write and record. So our lives are a little bit insane currently, but it's going to be really exciting once we get to the UK and have one focus."
"A band that I was in broke up and I spent a long while doing nothing and just writing songs ... and one of them ended up being a duet that needed a voice in it, and I asked [Maia] if she wanted to sing and at first she didn't.
"And then she did, and then she sung it and then she decided she didn't want to do it anymore. So she's was totally on and off and it was hilarious, but yeah, eventually we locked it down."
And while it would be easy to say the rest is history, it's been a steep learning curve for the pair.
Mount Maunganui musicians Joseph and Maia will move to Britain next month to pursue a life on the road. Photo: SUPPLIED
"It's forever learning and I don't quite know how to explain the world that we've chosen," Joseph says.
"That's what is so intoxicating about it, with all the downsides, there are just so many upsides that fulfill you... I don't think I could fall into a routine of life. I'm not good at it, but I'm seem to be alright at this, so I'll stick to it!"
