This month’s Writers on Track features singer-songwriter Joce Reyome with CYMBA Music Publishing. Their debut single, Cross My Heart, was produced by award-winner Erin Costelo and recorded at Hillsound Studios. They followed up with Grateful, showcasing their signature bluesy sound, raw vocals, and evocative storytelling. Joce is currently recording their debut full-length album, set for release later this year.
What’s your favorite part of the songwriting process?
My favourite part of the songwriting process is the part when it sounds wrong! I find such joy in having this rough gnarly skeleton and taking the time to explore how it grows. Which chord feels right, how the melody wants to move, the different ways that these thoughts that have never existed until now, come to life. I always take those scratchy ideas to my band to see what their experiences bring to it, and my wife usually gives her opinion as a music lover! But ultimately, it’s about what resonates with me. It feels special to be able to create these worlds and these stories that can heal, provoke, soothe, and excite. So all in all, I think my favourite part is the process of creation.
What’s your biggest session highlight so far?
My absolute favorite moment was doing some co-writing with an artist based in the UK, Lizzy Hardingham. We spent about 60 hours through the course of a week working on songs together. We came up, unintentionally, with this birth-to-death storyline. We have this idea of a father singing a song to his newborn son, giving him the permission to need parenting, to need support, titled “Tell Me Son”. Other songs are sweet and soft, such as “Toad Song”, a love story between a forlorn toad waiting for his lover to come home. We dive into human rights in another tune and then end with a twist “I See You”, a tale of love that ends in tragedy. I love that we were able to bring out these opposite sides in each other, Lizzy is quite real, quite mature in her writing and I was able to pull out the fun with an amphibian tune! I like to see the humour and silliness in simply existing, and writing with Lizzy helped me explore a more serious side—reflecting on the unconditional love of parenthood (even though I’m not a parent myself)!”
How much do current market and track trends impact your creative process?
It’s no secret that artists have to keep an eye on the rising and falling fads, especially in the age of social media. The trends that come and go are central to how we relate to the world, and how we want to access our communities. I find it fascinating to keep that in mind throughout my writing process. I love scouring the internet to find great new riffs and seeking out new musicians to find inspiration from! I take in lots of visual art, literature, film, video games, nature, human connection and more to shape how I write, so as trends rise within those elements of my life, it changes what I see and what I resonate with. I’m grateful to have that mindset and I feel lucky that that’s how my brain works!
You can listen to Joce Reyome on Amazon Music, Apple Music, and Spotify, or visit their website jocereyome.com to learn more.
