London musician / producer Joe Hertz is poised to announce a brand new release with the arrival of ‘Black Oak’ featuring South Korean singer-songwriter Livigesh (리비게쉬) released 18th May via Juicebox Recordings.
Hertz flaunts his genre-fusing credentials in blending electronic and alt-pop sensibilities on ‘Black Oak’, anchored by Livigesh’s wistful, heartfelt vocal delivery. Joe says: “I had made this demo while I was away in Ibiza during the summer of 2020, this was a time when all the clubs where shut and there was strictly no dancing on the island. I felt inspired to write a lot during that time. Being so remote with a limited set-up, I had no way of working with anyone else in person, which, in some ways, immediately normalised the idea of collaborating with someone online. Junmin (Livigesh) and I started chatting on zoom about music and life in general, how we both love to travel and missed those experiences. It inspired this spacey journey which we both were excitedly sending each other versions back and forth. And one day we had this finished song, Black Oak.”
About Joe Hertz:
Joe Hertz released his first music in the heady days of Soundcloud and Majestic Casual uploads, and quickly became an internet phenomenon, amassing tens of millions plays for tracks like ‘At Your Touch’ and ‘Stay Lost’, without leaving the confines of his tiny home studio setup.
Soon after these internet hits, Joe released the ‘How It Feels’ and ‘night/daze’ EPs, leaving behind the ‘bedroom producer’ label, and becoming one of the UK’s leading artist-producers whose consistent creative output soon attracted a dedicated global fanbase.
These EPs saw Joe achieve consistent multi-million streams on Spotify each month, (with his catalogue seeing over 150 Million streams and counting on that service alone), and demand for Joe as a DJ taking him to Paris, Los Angeles, Seoul, Shanghai and Amsterdam to name but a few.
Support from leading tastemakers such as Jamz Supernova (BBC R1Xtra), FACT Magazine, Notion, and Wonderland as well as mainstream stalwarts like Mista Jam (BBC R1, 1Xtra, Capital Dance) and Billboard has been consistent.
In 2020 while the world was locked down, Joe went back to his internet roots, starting his Twitch channel which fast became a hub for producers from around the world to come together and share tips, goals and generally be part of a community at a time when social life was at a minimum. This led to a remix package exclusively from producers Joe had met via his Twitch channel.
2020 also saw Joe Hertz release his debut album ‘Current Blues’ including the singles ‘One Sided’, ‘Møøn’, and ‘Rain in Cuba. ‘Current Blues’ showcased how skillfully Joe has found and initiated collaborations and features with up-and-coming artists from his hometown of London as well as across the globe – a point of pride for him. Across ‘Current Blues’ listeners will find the likes of Pip Millett, Blue Lab Beats, Brazilian singer Noño, South-London singer Collard, Grammy-winning singer-songwriter Sam Wills, and Japanese up-and-coming alt-pop star YonYon.
Post-album Joe spent time in Ibiza, re-grouping and looking ahead to what would be next. In that time he collaborated remotely with young up-and-coming dance star Jasper Tygner which led to a series of releases on Bristol’s finest new label Shall Not Fade (releases include Laurence Guy and DJ Boring) and again showed Joe’s canny taste when choosing collaborators as well as his deft production and writing skills across genres.
Joe Hertz has proven himself to be as versatile and musical a producer as you will find. No wonder that he was raised on a strict diet of hip-hop, jazz, and soul, but also drum ‘n’ bass, dubstep and garage. By the age of 15, he was DJing and making music. “Hearing Burial was a real turning point for me early on,” explains Hertz. “I wanted more from my production style after that. I didn’t want to sound like him, but I wanted to get that emotion into my own music. It opened so many doors in my brain.”
This year sees Joe return with his own releases on Juicebox Recordings (the label he has been with since ‘Stay Lost’, also home to Franc Moody and Amber-Simone) – with first single Black Oak blending his soulful ear for a tune with the dancier, house-oriented beats he’s experimented with successfully so often and sees another special and original vocal feature from South Korean, Seoul based artist Livigesh.
Expect this to be the first of a string of releases culminating in a new project later this year.
‘Black Oak’ ft Livigesh / 18th May
https://joe-hertz.ffm.to/blackoak
https://www.instagram.com/joehertzmusic/
https://twitter.com/joehertzmusic
https://www.facebook.com/JoeHertzMusic
https://www.instagram.com/livigesh/