The Aussie songwriter first made it big with “Riptide”—now he’s back with a sophomore set of tunes.
In the March 2018 issue of Music Alive!, we talk about how Vance Joy went from the open mic scene in Melbourne, Australia to a headlining act with a hit single. Now with two albums under his belt, Joy is about to hit the road for the promotion of his latest release, Nation of Two.
In interviews, Joy shares a lot about the process of songwriting. Before he devoted himself to a life of music, he was a law student—and, in general, always did well in school. Aside from music, he has a passion for literature. (His name was taken from the character in a novel by Peter Carey, an Australian novelist.) “I get lines from books; even just the seeds of songs can start in a book. Say the setting of a story in a book—that will start me on a journey in a song and maybe I’ll use the place as the starting point,” he said in an interview on YouTube show Amby. “You weave that kind of stuff with maybe your own memories and things people say … and it might be a line someone says and you kind of put it all together in a big pot and form a song out of it.” He adds, “I like reading. It’s kind of an escape; it’s kind of like meditation as well.”
Check out some of the singles from Nation of Two below.
“Call Me If You Need Me”
“Lay It on Me”
“We’re Going Home”