We caught up with Joy Crookes ahead of the release of her second album Juniper, to chat about making her new record, navigating the music industry as a "pretty standard human being" and staying resolutely true to herself.
South London singer-songwriter Joy Crookes is feeling "a bit restless." Speaking to RTÉ Entertainment over Zoom ahead of the release of her highly-anticipated second album Juniper, the refreshingly candid music star said she's "quite ready" to release these songs into the world.
"It's like restless and nervous and overwhelmed - all at the same time," she said. "It's just the usual kind of feeling before you release such a big body of work that has so much meaning, and it's such a time stamp of a certain chapter of your life. I think that's kind of an amazing feeling and a scary one. A f***ing Rubik's Cube of emotion!"
The 26-year-old released her critically acclaimed debut album Skin in 2021, earning nominations for a BRIT award and a Mercury Prize, although she "never looked to any of that stuff as a measure of success". She earned a name for herself for her soulful, husky voice, vibrant mix of R&B and modern soul influences and beautifully constructed, layered songs that delve deep into relationships, identity and mental health.
The singer, whose mother is from Bangladesh and father is from Dublin, said "lots of things happened between Skin and Juniper" that informed her raw and powerful new record.
"I wasn't feeling too good. As a person I had to just address my own health," she said. "Releasing music and being in some form of a public eye job is not exactly conducive to mental health, or health in general.
"So there were just some things that I had to take care of for the safety of my health and my career. The potential longevity of my career would have been massively damaged if I hadn't."
Crookes said she is "so not that person anymore" but that she "wouldn't be who I am now without that version of myself". Written when she was in her early twenties and "completely devoted to being 22/23/24", Juniper is a snapshot of "a very true time and a fun time and a hard time".
"How I feel about the album coming out ironically, is exactly as I was feeling in that time," she said.
The singer previously said she felt like she kind of stumbled into a music career. The preternaturally gifted star taught herself to play guitar, piano and bass as a teenager, gaining attention when she uploaded a cover of Ray Charles' Hit the Road Jack to YouTube in 2013 at the age of 15. By 19, she signed a record label with Sony Music imprint Speakerbox and released her debut EP, Influence, in 2017. Greater recognition came with Skin after its release in 2021.
Her confidence has grown along with the years under her belt.
"I feel like I don't question things as much and that is a sign of confidence for me," she said. "I just feel very much like I'm meant to be a musician. And I don't need to make a big f****ing song and dance about it. No pun intended! That is just who I am.
"The fluff of musicians and the sh**e and the ego that comes with it, I've never been that attracted or besotted by. Trying to navigate music as a pretty standard human being has been interesting. But I now I'm realizing, you can't. I just wanna make art with my mates. That's it. That's literally it."
Crookes doesn't hold back when talking about her apprehensions around the modern-day music industry.
"In order to be an artist that is happy with your work, it's so easy to watch the measure of success now become just pure virality," she said.
"There have been times where that's really upset me. I've been concerned about my career and how I'm not blowing the internet up. What's wrong with me? But I think that I now realize the measure should just be longevity and if you're having a nice time. So I feel really good."
As well as experimenting sonically, Crookes has been leaning into her creativity in other ways. She recently headed off to her mum's hometown of Dhaka to direct the video for her single Perfect Crime. It is a beautifully captured glimpse into a lively, chaotic city.
"My mom actually flew out with me, which was great," she said.
"It was the most mental weekend and one of the best weekends in my life," she continued of the experience. "We had an idea, two weeks later we were in Dhaka and I was on top of a train!
"It was absolutely insane and it was chaotic, but it felt completely fluid. We knew what was going on and what was happening. It was one of the best experiences of my life by a mile.
"When you just love and see something so vividly in your mind, you just have to have the guts to be like f*** it, I'll do it."
The singer is due to bring Juniper on the road soon, kicking off the tour at Dublin's 3Olympia Theatre on 3 November. Given her Irish heritage, was that a deliberate choice?
"I think it's the only day they'd have me. Honestly, I'd love to think it was really sweet and intentional, and they're gonna have the Irish flags waiting for me. I think it was just like f***, that's the only day that works!", she said with a laugh.
"I’m so excited to go on tour. I mean, touring is like the worst thing ever your health, but when you get the magic on stage and you feel it and you're in the moment, you just want it over and over again. It makes feeling terrible for five weeks worth it."
The singer is undoubtedly in a good place creatively and resolutely staying true to herself.
"It might be the only f***ing option, you know, I think I've exhausted all the others. It didn't f***ing work. I'll tried to become a blonde woman in Carmen, even when I was looking in the mirror, I thought, 'The days I thought this was a good idea!'
"I’ve also cut a little micro-fringe," she laughed. "I think I'm leaning into who I actually am a bit more and maybe slowly realizing that's the only option I have."
Joy Crookes' new album Juniper is out now. She plays Dublin's 3Olympia Theatre on Monday 3 November.
