Beyond Hawkins: DJO's Joe Keery on his most personal album yet
Joe Keery swaps synths for vintage guitars on The Crux. Can DJO's new era escape the shadow of Stranger Things – or his own viral success?
Musician Joe Keery, aka DJO, is both excited and nervous about his upcoming album, The Crux, which will be released on 4 April. The 32-year-old, best known for playing Steve Harrington in the Netflix Sci-Fi hit, Stranger Things, gained even further mainstream recognition last year when his song "End of Beginning" went viral.
His third studio album marks a stylistic shift from his synth-heavy, bedroom-recorded past to a more expansive, guitar-driven sound evocative of late '60s and '70s pop. "I think the recording process influenced the sound", Keery told Euronews Culture.
Recorded at New York's legendary Electric Lady Studios, founded by Jimi Hendrix in the 1970s, The Crux was shaped by its environment. "We used the tools available there, which naturally shaped the album's direction", Keery explained. "I'm a big fan of music from all eras, but there's something about the pre-digital age that intrigued me this time. We tried to keep things as real and analogue as possible – less reliance on computers, more organic recording techniques."
Keery, juggling two careers at once, explained that he recorded this whole album while shooting Stranger Things, where he portrays one of the main characters, Steve Harrington.
For him, his acting and music career are feeding off each other. His characters, however, are not creeping into his music. "I'm not the type of actor who brings my work home. I like to have a little bit of a line in the sand. I'm not a method actor or anything." He concluded: "The POV is really from me."
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Letting the whole world read your diaryKeery described his upcoming record The Crux as a kind of journal. "I'm writing about things happening in my life. It's not necessarily linear in how the songs are arranged, but there's definitely an overarching message", he said.
Regarding the album's message, he paused and explained that "it's about finding what’s important to you, holding onto it, and appreciating the simple things – friends, family, the moments that really matter."
The musician did acknowledge, however, that putting out such personal music can feel vulnerable – after all, it's like letting the world read his diary. But to him, that's the point of art. "It's about connecting with people and being brave enough to share", he told Euronews Culture.
"You lay it all out there and hope that if someone is feeling the same way, they know they're not alone." Despite the occasional fear, he finds the process cathartic.
Keery is not only influenced by personal but also current political and societal issues. "I think it's probably creeping in on everybody. It's hard to ignore what's going on. It's a very scary time we're living in", he said.
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