Joji Redback makes himself at home in the colourful video for his cheeky single Sa Mère — showcasing today on Tinnitist.
The lead single from his recent sophomore EP A Stranger Everywhere, Sa Mère blends a funky dance groove with some audacious French lyrics that probably lose something in the translation — though Redback’s laid-back irreverence comes through loud and clear in any language.
That’s what comes from years of practice. After all, the 24-year-old musician began making music at the mere age of six — though it wasn’t until his late adolescence that he began playing the drums and recording his vocals. Once he turned 19, music became Joji’s life. The ambitious singer has stayed true to his French roots throughout his career by releasing a mix of French and English singles and EPs. A Stranger Everywhere highlights his skills as a singer and rapper, along with his extremely versatile musical approach, which intertwines a myriad of styles with upbeat house tempos.
Though the musician intended to make A Stranger Everywhere as diverse as possible, he also wanted it to reflect his core identity: A troubled yet talented musician with no real roots or ties to a specific place. “By the age of 19 years old, I had already lived on four different continents. I was born in Australia; moved to Paris as a child; moved to Hong Kong as a teenager; then moved to Canada as a young adult,” he explains. Though he maintains there were “so many benefits of growing up in different corners of the world” — including learning about all of the different musical styles he’s covered — he admitted to not knowing where home really is.
That feeling of being lost is exactly why Joji decided not only to call the new eight-track EP A Stranger Everywhere, but to once again mix French and English tracks. “I’ve grown to feel comfortable in many places, but (I have) the frustration of not feeling attached to one particular place,” said Joji. “I feel comfortable singing/rapping on many different styles of music… But along the same lines, this is the reason why I decided to have half of the EP in English and the other half in French.”
Check out Sa Mère above, listen to A Stranger Everywhere below, and follow Joji Redback on Facebook and Instagram.
