Interviews

David Baluteau aka Joi N’Juno is a vocalist, multi-instrumentalist, producer, and full-time studio engineer with many years spent honing his craft, and he is about to drop his full-length album ‘Samemala’ on Portugal’s Canopy Records. Fusing disco, Zouk and Afro Funk and the resulting collection of tracks are filled with joy and vibrant energy to ignite any dancefloor. On the week of its release, we talk to Joi N’Juno about the album in a little more detail.

Tell us about the initial idea for the album Samemala. When did you first approach this concept and what was your original intention?

I started to work on the first demos of the album in November 2022. I already had released a few tracks on different labels but I quickly found the need to write a full album because it felt obvious that the music I was writing was very cohesive and had a story to tell.

My original intention with this release was firstly to take a lot of personal pleasure, to go back to my roots because all the influences I have in that record are coming from my childhood and travelling through a life of music until now.

What was most important for you to convey through this album? Do you feel that you were able to accomplish all of your intentions?

The most important for me was to bring joy to the people who will listen to my album. I think that we are living in hard times and future is quite uncertain and may look dark. So I created the Joi N'Juno project for the love and the joy, like an island where people can escape though this music and its good vibrations.

During the album process for one year and a half I was looking to find the balance between strong songwriting, authentic vibes and an original sound. My goal was to create music with African and Tropical influences but not in a nostalgic way or searching to emulate anything from the past, I wanted to do it with my own style, my own language my own voice and my own palette.

What are you most proud of with Samemala?

I am very happy with the fact that I have recorded and produced everything myself in my studio, apart from the brass which was recorded by other musicians.

I have restricted myself to certain synths weapons in the studio and focused on few elements rather than losing myself in many production details to enhance the « story telling » inside each track, sometimes to let it go is the only way.

Also this is a dance album and that was one of my initial goal during the early steps of the writing sessions; a dance record with a vibe.

What was the most challenging part of bringing this release together?

The connection with Canopy records made sense with the identity of the album, especially into the sound. As soon as it was clear that we would release Samemala together, my last mission was to finalize the production and mixing for each track. It was a bit challenging and I often had to go from one track to another because I wanted each track to kind of complement the others and the album to sound full and warm.

I guess this album marks a lot of years in the music business, I'd love to hear your thoughts on how your creative process has changed and remained the same over the years. Do you approach anything differently now?

Yes it is:) My musical career has taken very different paths. The more I grow up the less I overthink to be honest. I am very happy to say that I feel now completely free of comparisons with other musicians, this state of mind is really liberating. I am still absolutely a fan of making music from scratch, like a kid who is discovering new tools, who is creating his own world and words. Few years ago I was a bit lost in terms of what I wanted to express, which lead me to a lot of anxiety and sort of paralyzed my creation. I recommend that people should listen to their inner child and their heart to make music, not to what is trending or what someone else tells you that you should do.

What drives you to continue create music?

The joy of making music first, building a track from the first note into something that I can show to people really excites me and is 100% happiness guaranted. It's a drug for my soul and body. Also discovering new sounds, new collaborations, new instruments and techniques, it's an art form I guess. I love going early into the studio, turn on the gear and start to improvise on a keyboard and find a little melody. Most of my basic ideas for new tracks come from these moments, when I let things go.

What has been one of your favorite moments from the past year?

I would say being in the studio this summer with mister Pat Thomas and Canopy Records for a cool session in London.

Where do you find the most inspiration when it comes to discovering new music?

I am definitely a YouTube digger. I use this website called samplette and I click on the random button. I can honestly spend hours listening to music on Youtube. And I also discover new music with my friends and musicians as we are often exchanging on the subject.

You are releasing on Canopy Records. What can you tell us about the imprint and its mission?

Canopy Records is a new label which is taking the influences of African music and pushing it into the future. The label releases have shown some great quality music with a range of top producers who have done amazing remixes and new versions of some old treasured songs.

Emmanuel the head manager of the label is very passionate and quite picky on the musical choices, the visuals and the overall communication on Canopy, which is great! Its a label with a creative spirit which is not afraid to think outside of the box and take risks.

What is next for Joi N' Juno?

Well, there is quite a lot of new music coming after the Samamela album release on 1st November. Some remixes, a new EP with Kaleta, a new EP with Pat Thomas, all these records will be released on Canopy Records too into vinyl and digital format.

Check out the latest release from Joi N’Juno.