Joey XL

If you want to make it to LA, it goes without saying that you need determination, something Joey XL is never short of. Born in East London and of Jamaican descent, Joey, known as Joel Anderson off the stage, has been at it professionally since 2016, making music that’s a little bit of everything, pop, hip hop, R&B, soul, and jazz alike. Since his debut single “Ready,” Anderson has pumped out 11 more singles, including a re-release of his debut, remixed by OZZIE. When he’s not the one performing, Joey XL’s still an active voice in the studio, writing for a handful of artists including the k-pop star LEE HI, known best for her song “BREATHE.” His music is remarkably adaptive; Anderson keeps track of music trends, and his music stays perpetually in, a testament to his talent and watchful eye alike. We recently spoke with Joey XL about how he got his start, his songwriting process, and more!

How did you start making music? 

I started songwriting when I was 15, at first for other artists but then I began writing for myself. The first song I wrote and released for myself was “Forever Is a Lie,” which I felt was so timeless that I couldn’t wait for it to be released so I just put it out, and that’s how my journey started.

When you’re not creating music, what’s something you enjoy doing? 

When I’m not creating music, I like eating food — Korean food to be specific. I like fried chicken. I’m a foodie. I won’t bring you to a bad restaurant, I won’t suggest a bad meal; my life other than music is food… and NBA, I love NBA too.  

Walk us through your song writing process. 

My song writing process literally depends on my mood, where I am, what I’m doing, what I’ve been watching, what I’ve been listening to… it really varies. Sometimes I just write with no music, and then when I’m going to approach the song, I just go on my notes and it just comes out the way I want it to. Other times, the music plays and I just freestyle, start singing, and the song just creates itself. That’s the beauty of music, and that’s the beauty of my music- it comes naturally, it’s a feeling; music is a feeling. 

Your 2019 release ‘Broken Ones’ saw huge success. What went into writing that specific song?

Um, “Broken Ones” was a tough time in my life, where I was like, coming out of a situation, and the person I was with at the time was trying to make me feel very bad for that situation. They used to victimise themselves and guilt trip me into thinking that me leaving the situation was wrong. However, I was just trying to explain to them that, like, we’re both in this situation, and it affects both of us, it’s not just you. So, one of the main lines from that song is ‘don’t act like you’re the only broken one’, like, we’ve both been broken in our past lives, we’re both broken now, so, yeah that’s probably my deepest, most personal song to date. I also feel like it’s a situation that a lot of people go through, a lot of people encounter, even when we look at a normal friendship and an argument within that friendship, everyone thinks about themselves whilst they’re arguing, everyone's fighting for their point of view. But really and truly, you both have a point, you’re both hurting.

Do you ever get writers’ block? How do you cope with it?

I don’t believe in writers’ block. I used to, and I definitely feel like there’s times I need to stay away from music and not think about music, not think about writing, even though that’s basically impossible for me- writing’s on my mind 24/7- um, not think of creating, just, exist. Just let life happen, and just exist. There are times when I write way less than other times, but that’s usually due to… I don’t know what it’s due to, there’s just many different factors to it. Writers’ block is in our head, there’s no way someone can create an incredible song and then suddenly they don’t have it in them to create anymore… if you approach something with the intent to succeed, then most of the time you’re going to succeed. I think writers’ block happens when you put doubt into the equation.

You’ve released a huge body of work in your time as a musician so far. Does any specific song stick out to you more than others

Personally, the music that I have out currently, I’m very proud of, but it’s definitely not my best work yet. I don’t feel like I’ve released a lot of songs in comparison to the amount of songs I make on a daily basis. A song that does stick out is definitely ‘Broken Ones’, as well as ‘Deep’ and ‘Forever Is a Lie’. There’s quite a lot of songs that stick out to me, for different reasons. ‘Forever Is a Lie’ is to me my most timeless song, because it can literally relate to any situation, it can relate to a loved one, losing someone… ‘forever is a lie, we’re in temporary times’, I feel like, especially now and the kind of times we’re living in, it’s just relatable and very real. 

If you could have a superpower what would it be?

If I had a superpower, my superpower would be to change peoples’ minds so I could get whatever I want whenever I want it. I know you’ve never heard that one before! Yeah. That’s my superpower. So, if I want a million pounds, Imma just go to the bank, change their mind, and then they’ll give me a milli. Like I can literally control peoples’ minds. Not like a manipulator, but like magically as a superpower. I wouldn’t really take advantage of it to be honest, I’d just make sure me and my loved ones are good. 

Who’s someone that you’d love to create a song with?

I’d love to make a song with queen BadGalRiri, because I think she’s perfect and her music makes me feel good, and she makes me feel good. Also, Frank Ocean, I feel like he’s artistically the closest to being perfect. One song together- BadGalRiri ft. Frank Ocean & Joey XL. Or Joey XL ft. BadGalRiri & Frank Ocean, you get me. 

What are you planning for the future? 

I plan on being the biggest artist in the world, and making my children follow my footsteps. No short-term plans, just long-term plans of winning in life.