Artist

Joana Serrat

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On her previous albums, Joana’s music engages in a tug-of-war between fragility and intensity, a dynamic that has caught the attention of major publications such as Mojo, Uncut, N.M.E. and The Guardian, as well as Lauren Laverne, Guy Garvey and Gideon Coe on their BBC 6 Music shows.

Big Wave retains her characteristic use of reverb and pop melody, but is tighter, fiercer, shrouded in distortion. An emotional and sonic ferocity because she was going through a period where she was feeling very uncomfortable.

Recorded at The Echo Lab studio (Texas) with Matt Pence as producer and mixer, his fresh outlook led to fresh ways of working - like starting with a cappella demos, to which he added drums, and then a harmoniser, instruments that supply the album with much of its force. Also on board was Joey McClellan, McKenzie Smith and several of Joana’s Midlake and Mercury Rev friends.

That collective spirit and spontaneity shaped the album. It was during one of the first songs they recorded Feathers, that the idea of using a bass moog came about via Scott Lee. On the Björk-like ballad This House, Jesse Chandler used the harmoniser on the sounds of strings of an open piano to create a song that holds you tight in its grip.

Her approach into the reverb-heavy of dream-pop and slowcore with deep, dark textures are particularly felt on Big Wave with contemporary, experimental elements that dominate the full album.

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