Joy Oladokun's 'Observations From A Crowded Room' (Listening Party)

Summary

Podcast Summary: All Of It with Joy Oladokun's 'Observations From A Crowded Room' (Listening Party)
Host: Alison Stewart
Producer: Tiffany Hansen
Release Date: January 29, 2025
Air Time: Weekdays, 12:00 - 2:00 PM on WNYC

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Introduction to Joy Oladokun and Her New Album

In the January 29, 2025 episode of All Of It, hosted by Alison Stewart and produced by Tiffany Hansen, Joy Oladokun delves deep into her latest creative endeavor, the album "Observations From A Crowded Room." This 15-track work marks Oladokun's fifth studio album since her debut in 2015 and follows her 2023 release, Proof of Life. The conversation sets the stage by highlighting the album's genesis during a serene trip near a river in Oregon, away from the relentless pace of her touring life.

Alison Stewart [01:20]: "Sometimes I think if I got lost and drowned out in the river no one in this town would cry they just breathe sighs of relief these days..."

The Inspiration Behind 'Observations From A Crowded Room'

Oladokun shares that the album emerged from a place of introspection, spurred by her experiences on tour and personal reflections on progress and mental health. The tranquil setting by the river provided a stark contrast to her hectic touring schedule, allowing her to process feelings of confinement and the relentless demands of the music industry.

Joy Oladokun [02:34]: "I love. I'm a little bit of a bird nerd as I... record bird sounds just to see like who's flying around me..."

Themes of Mental Health and Containment

A significant portion of the conversation addresses the toll that constant touring and fame have taken on Oladokun's mental well-being. She metaphorically likens the structure of the music industry to a prison, highlighting the lack of personal freedom and the emotional strain it causes.

Joy Oladokun [06:07]: "Sometimes it felt like being in prison."

Oladokun emphasizes the importance of creating music that serves as a therapeutic outlet, both for herself and her listeners. The album becomes a vessel for navigating sadness, confinement, and fears about the future, aiming to foster a more sustainable and honest approach to her artistry.

The Symbolism of Birds in Her Music

Birds play a pivotal role in Oladokun's album, both literally and metaphorically. She discusses her fascination with avian life, particularly cardinals, which hold personal significance as symbols of lost loved ones. The integration of bird sounds was not only an artistic choice but also a means to connect her music to the environments where the songs were conceived.

Joy Oladokun [03:33]: "They're definitely spiritual... I have an interesting relationship with cardinals... these two cardinals just came and started sitting in my backyard with me in the mornings."

The Use of Choirs and Collaboration

Despite identifying as an introvert, Oladokun incorporates choirs into her work to signify trust, openness, and collaboration. She believes that involving other voices adds depth and breaks the solitude of the creative process, enriching the album's narrative and communal feel.

Joy Oladokun [14:20]: "I am what the people would call a tried and true introvert... inviting choirs... takes sort of the singularness of the album... It opens it up to, like, other people understood this enough to participate in it."

Moving to Nashville: Balancing Outwardness and Inwardness

Oladokun discusses her relocation to Nashville, a city renowned for its rich musical heritage beyond country music. She credits Nashville's historical roots, particularly the Fisk Jubilee Singers, as a significant influence on her musical identity and spiritual growth as an Afro-futurist artist.

Joy Oladokun [17:15]: "It's not just the Grand Old Opry... it's because of the Fisk Jubilee Singers... Jimi Hendrix learned how to play guitar there."

However, she also addresses the challenges Nashville poses in terms of inclusivity and acceptance, noting a tension between its welcoming facade and underlying exclusivity.

Joy Oladokun [20:04]: "Nashville's in an interesting place where it says it's welcoming, but it doesn't know how to. It doesn't know how to be welcoming to everybody."

Reflections on the Music Industry and Identity

A poignant moment in the interview occurs when Oladokun reflects on her identity as a black and queer artist in a predominantly white genre. She articulates the necessity of embracing her entire self within her artistry, opposing the notion of separating art from the artist. This authenticity serves not only as personal healing but also as a bridge for listeners to develop empathy and understanding toward marginalized experiences.

Joy Oladokun [09:45]: "I'm so openly black and so openly queer and so openly, all the things that I am that you can't. You're not going to be able to sell me to people who don't like any of those things."

She contrasts her experience with that of Ernest Hemingway, emphasizing that unlike Hemingway, her art and identity are inextricably linked, adding layers of responsibility and representation to her work.

Conclusion and Final Remarks

As the episode nears its end, Oladokun shares snippets of her new songs, including "Letter From a Blackbird" and "I'd Miss the Birds," each echoing the album's overarching themes of introspection, environmental consciousness, and personal growth. She also hints at upcoming performances, keeping listeners engaged and anticipating her live shows.

Alison Stewart [20:45]: "Lately I've been dreaming of a house out in the woods with a big backyard... I wouldn't miss the birds and the music that they make but even they know."

Oladokun's participation in the episode culminates in a heartfelt goodbye, reinforcing the album's message of compassion, understanding, and the enduring connection between artist and audience.

Joy Oladokun [21:53]: "Thank you for having me."

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Key Takeaways

• "Observations From A Crowded Room" is a deeply personal and introspective album that explores themes of mental health, identity, and the human condition.
• Oladokun utilizes natural elements, particularly birds, to symbolize spiritual connections and personal loss.
• The integration of choirs represents collaboration and a communal approach to the solitary nature of songwriting.
• Her move to Nashville is both a homage to her roots and a strategic position within the music industry, navigating its complexities as a marginalized artist.
• Oladokun challenges the traditional separation of art and artist, advocating for authenticity and representation in her work.

Notable Quotes with Timestamps

• Joy Oladokun [06:07]: "Sometimes it felt like being in prison."
• Joy Oladokun [09:45]: "I'm so openly black and so openly queer and so openly, all the things that I am that you can't."
• Joy Oladokun [14:20]: "Inviting choirs... opens it up to, like, other people understood this enough to participate in it."
• Joy Oladokun [17:15]: "It's because of the Fisk Jubilee Singers... Jimi Hendrix learned how to play guitar there."
• Joy Oladokun [20:04]: "Nashville's in an interesting place where it says it's welcoming, but it doesn't know how to."

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This episode of All Of It offers an intimate glimpse into Joy Oladokun's creative process, personal struggles, and her unwavering commitment to authenticity in her music. Through her candid discussions, listeners gain a deeper understanding of the artist behind the melodies and the profound inspirations that shape her latest album.

Transcript

[Tiffany Hansen]

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[Joy Oladokun]

Listener supported WNYC Studios.

[Tiffany Hansen]

You're listening to all of it here on wnyc. I'm Tiffany Hansen in for Alison Stewart. Towards the end of last year, musician and singer Joy Oladekun released her highly anticipated new album, Observations from a Crowded Room. The idea for the project blossomed from a trip near a river in Oregon on a day off from her last tour. On the album, Joy reflects on the idea of progress, her own mental health, and what it's like to live as an openly queer artist in a predominantly white genre, playing guitar and singing in shows full of people. So let's just listen to start things off. We'll hear the first track on the album and it's called Letter From a Blackbird.

[Alison Stewart]

Sometimes I think if I got lost and drowned out in the river no one in this town would cry they just breathe sighs of relief these days I sure regret how much of me that I have given I feel my patience running out I hear the water sing to me Blackbird, what did you think you'd run into out here in the wild?

[Tiffany Hansen]

This new 15 track Pope Pop Folk. Pop folk. Joy, help me. This album follows her 2023 album called Proof of Life. It's also her fifth studio album since getting her stud in 2015. The title of the album, I'm pretty confident I can say correctly. Observations From a Crowded Room. It's out now. It's available to stream wherever you get your music. Joy Aloticun is here with us today. Joy, thank you. Hi for being with us. Hi.

[Joy Oladokun]

Thank you for having me.

[Tiffany Hansen]

Okay. I heard little birds tweet. I mean, if you have headphones on, you might hear those little birds in the background.

[Joy Oladokun]

I love. I'm a little bit of a bird nerd as I. As I get older.

[Tiffany Hansen]

Where is our producer Kate Hines, who is equally a bird nerd?

[Joy Oladokun]

So there's this app that Cornell made called the Merlin Bird ID app. And so. Cause I tour so much, I record bird sounds just to see like who's flying around me, you know. And I started sampling them on the record. So those birds are from the river that I was by when I wrote that song. And then they're basically all the sounds you hear in the Album are from the locations that I wrote them in, which I feel like is cool.

[Tiffany Hansen]

Okay. I did have birds on my list. I'm losing it now in my pilot of papers here. But birds are, for a lot of people, are spiritual, are ephemeral, are, you know, harbingers of good things, bad things, are messengers. What are they for you?

[Joy Oladokun]

They're definitely spiritual. I never. Well, no, I was gonna say I never see a bird and think bad things, but sometimes, you know, if you see vultures, that's not great. I think for me, I really. I have an interesting relationship with cardinals. And so there are two cardinals that sit in my backyard. And cardinals are supposed to represent, you know, loved ones that you've lost. And sort of within the span of a little bit of time, I had, like, lost a childhood friend and lost my grandma. And then all of a sudden, these two cardinals just came and started sitting in my backyard with me in the mornings, which is where I sort of like to start the day. And I think the reason birds start to figure or figure so much on this record is because I think my music has always had this relationship with the earth and the planet and how I inhabit it and how I not just present myself to people, but literally the impact I leave behind on, like, the actual planet. And I think for some reason, just sort of tagging in birds is like this angelic, spiritual, like, noise or instrument or like, sort of adding it to the texture of the record allowed me to say these things are inspired by different songs, different people, different moments, but also just by the planet that I get to see while doing this job.

[Tiffany Hansen]

You know, I can't. You know, I look at the title. Letter from a Blackbird. Of course. Where does my. Can you guess where my head went right away?

[Joy Oladokun]

Paul McCartney, baby.

[Tiffany Hansen]

Blackbirds are a thing.

[Joy Oladokun]

Yeah, they are.

[Tiffany Hansen]

Yeah. Anyway, this is not the only song on the album that has bird in the title. We'll get to that. But first, I want to talk a little bit about the impetus overall for the album. I mentioned you were touring nonstop in 2023. Did that touring. First of all, what did you learn throughout that period besides maybe it's a grind.

[Joy Oladokun]

Yeah.

[Tiffany Hansen]

That informed what you did on this album.

[Joy Oladokun]

Yeah, sorry, I.

[Tiffany Hansen]

This is a family show.

[Joy Oladokun]

This is a family show. No, I wasn't going to say anything wildly inappropriate. I'm just going to say something that's sort of surprising. I think that touring and fame, in and of itself, the way that these structures are modeled, to me, they. Sometimes it felt like being in prison.

[Tiffany Hansen]

Interesting.

[Joy Oladokun]

Like, you have a routine, you have dues that you have to pay. You have sort of things that you owe people in a service that you. You function and you don't really. You don't really live much life outside of that. And honestly, like, not to make light of, like, people who are in prison, it's obviously like a wildly different thing. But I. The thing that really, and I'm going to use the word, disturbs me about Tor, because I want to be honest, because musicians, I don't think a lot of my friends are okay. And I think I'm the only musician that I feel like ever sort of openly goes, like, what we do is hard on our mental health. And the only way that we know how to function is to like, drink through it or cope through it or clout chase through it. And. And I think, yeah, as someone who. Who was on tour for so many years, I think I just sort of realized how small my life and my mind was getting, and I think I wanted to expand again and feel like a whole person.

[Tiffany Hansen]

So would you say that that feeling of containment restriction translated on the album to themes about mental health directly?

[Joy Oladokun]

Yes, it absolutely was a direct result of the intensity of touring. And honestly, the lack of care maybe surrounding some of the people who were around me at that time led me to this weird place where I was like, I know. I know that things can be good. I know that teens can be healthy. I know that. I know that I can love more about touring than the 30 minutes or hour that I get to play music. And so I think what the album became was like, I need to find a way through this feeling of sadness and confinement and fear that I. I don't have a future or my future will be sad or limited. I think that I was feeling all of those things. And I think that sometimes the way the music industry functions, it's designed to make you feel that way. And my goal in like going into a tiny room by myself and producing this album alone was not to, like, make Ars angry. It was a way to get back to the heart of the songwriting, to the heart of myself, and to. And to check on my brain and sit with myself in real honest ways about how do I do this job in a way that's sustainable and not performatively so, but actually beneficial to the people I work with, to the people I love, and to the people that I make music with and for.

[Tiffany Hansen]

I want to talk about that process a little bit about, you know, you doing writing, doing a lot of this alone, but First, I just want to ask you one more question about the themes of the album.

[Joy Oladokun]

Yeah.

[Tiffany Hansen]

Because I just read this quote. It's on the Internet, so who knows if it's true. From Ernest Hemingway, talking about the old man and the sea. And he said something akin to, the old man was the old man, the sea was the sea. Right. Meaning whatever you read into it did not come from me. So I'm. I was thinking about that when I was thinking about asking you about all of the themes on the album and what you think people might take from it, because how much of it is intentional for you when you're going in?

[Joy Oladokun]

Yeah, it's all intentional. And I think the best way I can put it is people on the Internet are both hilarious and cruel. And so one day I was fighting. I was getting fought with, and someone was talking about Tracy Chapman and how much more talented she is than me. Fair and.

[Tiffany Hansen]

And, oh, the Internet is such a cruel place.

[Joy Oladokun]

He said something along the lines of, like, we thought Tracy Chapman was a dude. That's why we bought Fast Car. And listen, I could write a book. Honestly, I don't know how to unpack that. I proved a point that I think I was trying to make with this record and had been trying to explain to people around me is I'm so openly black and so openly queer and so openly, all the things that I am that you can't. You're not going to be able to sell me to people who don't like any of those things. And I think there was a time in the music industry and in the past where you could or you should separate the art from the artist because that maybe felt convenient for everybody. But for me, the reason I bring all of myself to the table as an artist is to humanize people like me. Like, if you see I have these shirts that say, dad's, like, your dad's favorite artist. It's Joy Laticun, your dad's favorite artist. And it's because all of these, like, really masculine white men love my music and come to my shows and mouth all the words, and I'm like, how did you find me? And the reason I do it is because we couldn't be more different. But I make songs that try to bridge my experience with your experience so that when you encounter a black person or a queer person or a marginalized person or someone like. Like any person that you don't normally encounter, you treat them with more compassion. I do it for myself so that I can process how hard life is. And I Share it equally so that people can process and think about, like, what life is like for people different than them. And so I think for Ernest Hemingway, it was easy to say the old man is the old man and the sea is the sea, because, you know, I love Ernest Hemingway, but, like, he's also a white man, so it's like, you don't have to. He didn't have the burdens of art that people in my position do. And I think what my record so clearly explores is, like, I don't get to separate the art from the artist. I am both the art and the artist. And, yeah, I think I like talking about what inspires me because it humanizes me.

[Tiffany Hansen]

Well, let's hear some music. Let's hear. Am I?

[Joy Oladokun]

Yeah.

[Alison Stewart]

He's never left me lonely.

[Joy Oladokun]

And he never will and he never.

[Alison Stewart]

If you know a place Will you take me there? I've been choking on Smoky Mountain air? And my job is hard but my friends don't care? My mind is dark? Cause things don't seem fair. Does anybody feel like everybody's flying? Even though the sky is falling? Does anybody notice Someone's always crying? We don't do a thing? Does anybody feel.

[Tiffany Hansen]

We talked about the birds? Let's talk about the choir. Yeah, I'm gonna say I grew up not being a big fan of choirs. I have since. I know. Hold on. Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait. I have since come around. Yeah, I know. You can relax now, because first of all, human voices together is something that is unlike anything else doing. Making a common art together, singing about our experience together, giving voice in an artful way to the human experience. How did that feeling of common, shared experience play into your decision to use. Acquire?

[Joy Oladokun]

Yeah, I am what the people would call a tried and true introvert. Like, I think, yeah, I'm just like the standard issue model. I really do get so much energy from being alone. And I think what bringing other people in does for me or signals for me is trust. It signals openness. It signals collaboration. And it's like a. For me, it's like such an intimate and powerful thing to do. And I think the reason I lean towards a choir. I asked someone that I met in a bar after Austin City Limits, like, five or six years ago to put together a choir. And I went to LA and I recorded them. The song wasn't even done yet. And I think the reason I did it is I tried to pick people and moments from the past few years of my life as my career has sort of taken a slightly upward trajectory. That made a positive impact. And I think inviting choirs or inviting other voices, it takes sort of the singularness of the album. It. I think, for me, it stops it from being so navel gazing, and it opens it up to, like, other people understood this enough to participate in it. And, you know, I grew up, like, religious and in church, and that music is so centered around people joining together. And I think for the song, am I, it talks about how I feel like I'm the only one who feels like the world is ending sometimes, but the reality is I'm not. And so to have a choir juxtaposed with that message, I felt like, was a really cool. Just cool thing to do. I don't know.

[Tiffany Hansen]

One of the lyrics that I picked up on in that song was, was it the smoky. Choking on the smoky mountain air?

[Joy Oladokun]

Yes.

[Tiffany Hansen]

So I assume you're talking about Nashville.

[Joy Oladokun]

Yes, among other other things that are in my lungs.

[Tiffany Hansen]

You moved to Nashville.

[Joy Oladokun]

I did.

[Tiffany Hansen]

Why are we choking on it now?

[Joy Oladokun]

I need to be so clear about this, because I think people misunderstand something about why I moved to Nashville. I'm from a small town in Arizona, and I call Arizona. It's like Texas without the character, if that makes sense. So it's like, you get the vibes, but none of the cowboy hats. And so I think I moved to Nashville not because I wanted to. Wanted to paint my gay agenda everywhere. It's because it reminds me of where I grew up. And I also have a job in Music City, and so I wanted to be able to bridge the things that I love about the places I came from with a place that I had to practically be to do my job. And I really, really do love Nashville.

[Tiffany Hansen]

There's a lot of history there.

[Joy Oladokun]

Yes. I love to. I have to do this tidbit because it's important, and I think it's gonna make people mad. People think that Nashville is a music city because of country music, but it's because of the Fisk Jubilee Singers. It's a gospel group made of, like, some formerly enslaved people. And they went and they sang in front of the queen, and she named Nashville Music City because of a group of formerly enslaved people. And I think that history is why I'm in Nashville. Jimi Hendrix learned how to play guitar there. Like, it's not just a.

[Tiffany Hansen]

It's not just the Grand Old Opry.

[Joy Oladokun]

It's not. It's more. And I think for me, spiritually, being in Nashville has helped me as someone who considers myself a little bit of an Afro futurist. When it comes to music, to tap into things that I love about music.

[Tiffany Hansen]

Of the past, Nashville can, to your point, be very overwhelming. You did talk, however, about working on this album alone for a lot of it. Nashville can be a place for people who are songwriter, who do work in a room by themselves, can be a place for them to flourish also. How do you find that sort of the outwardness of the place you live in and the inwardness of yourself and kind of the craft that you do. And is it the right place to reconcile those two things?

[Joy Oladokun]

I think that's up to Nashville. That's not up to me. I think when I first moved to Nashville and I was, like, facing. I don't think I've been, like, full. I think they're like Ian Fitchick or Mike Elizondo. There are Nashville people and producers and songwriters that I love and who have embraced me, but I think there are other people who are so afraid of what it stands to lose by supporting something that may be not as popular. Popular yet. Yeah. It's just a weird town where I think people hedge their bets and they want to. They like their houses and they like their vacations, and they want to do things that will keep those things up more than they want to help marginalize people. And I just, like. I think that. I think if that wasn't true, we would maybe see more than the symbolic gestures of, like, people dancing with drag queens or, like, bringing shabuzzi to the CMAs just to disrespect him. Like, I think Nashville's in an interesting place where it says it's welcoming, but it doesn't know how to. It doesn't know how to be welcoming to everybody. It only knows how to be welcoming to a certain sect of people. And so, yeah.

[Tiffany Hansen]

Is that a growing pain of the city growing and changing?

[Joy Oladokun]

Yes, but it's like, I don't. I've never had a teenager, but I'm assuming if you, like, have a teenager and you're looking at this kid and you're like, I don't know what it's going to turn out. Like, that's how Nashville feels. It's in this sort of age, this adolescence of, like, are we gonna. Are we gonna be what we've always been, or are we gonna be something different? And. Yeah.

[Tiffany Hansen]

All right, I mentioned this, so we have to play this in the last two. Two minutes we have here. This is your song called I'd Miss the Birds.

[Alison Stewart]

Lately I've been dreaming of a house out in the woods with a big backyard My dog and my lover Gave Nashville a chance and made it farther than they thought I would but it doesn't mean I should hang round and suffer this world on fire still has good to discover I wouldn't miss the traffic or the runaway trains and the proud boys and their women Just make me feel out of place oh, but I'd miss the birds and the music that they make but even they know.

[Tiffany Hansen]

When to fly We've been talking with Joy Oladicun about her new album. This song is on that album. It's called. The album is called Observations from a Crowded Room. Joy, you are in Irving Plaza in New York City tomorrow. You're at the Stone Pony in Asbury park on Friday. That's in New Jersey, of course.

[Joy Oladokun]

Gonna cover Bruce.

[Tiffany Hansen]

Hey, we appreciate you taking time for us today.

[Alison Stewart]

I'm so excited.

[Joy Oladokun]

Dory. Yeah. Thank you for having me.

[Alison Stewart]

Me and I'm still too damn proud to beg for company I wouldn't miss the traffic or the runaway trains and the proud boys and their women Just make me feel out of place.

[Joy Oladokun]

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[Ira Flatow]

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