Joy Oladokun is a singer and songwriter from Arizona, now based in Nashville, who’s been releasing music since 2015. Last year, she was named an Artist to Watch by NPR, Spotify, and Amazon, and she was #1 on Vogue’s list of New LGBTQ Artists To Listen to Now. She put out her third album, In Defense of My Own Happiness, in June 2021. It includes the song “Look Up.” For that track, she worked with Grammy-nominated songwriter and producer Dave Bassett, and while they were working and talking, they recorded a couple very long voice memos. Joy sent me those voice memos, and in this episode, in addition to the stems of the recording, and Joy’s story about how it was made, you’ll hear the actual moments when the song was first coming together. And Joy explains how the song was inspired by the different, and maybe opposite ways that she and her partner see the world.
You can buy or stream “Look Up” here.
For a transcript of this episode, click here.
Illustration by Carlos Lerma.
footnotes
Manchester Orchestra
“Blackbird” by The Beatles
Mellotron
