Meet San Joseph, a Melbourne alt-pop force-to-watch with his debut single, Blink Twice

Arguably the most exciting thing about this next generation of young, developing pop musicians is how they don't really care about mashing together genres that in the past, never really came together. It's a testament to how music tastes are becoming more versatile and wide-ranging in the next generation, and how the musicians of tomorrow aren't scared to reflect that in their own music too - often giving blends of sounds and textures that even a few years ago, would've been left on the cutting room floor for being too risky.

Take, for example, Melbourne-based musician San Joseph. The newcomer's debut single Blink Twice - which we'll talk about more in a second - is a rushing alt-pop party that's lush with instrumentation and flavourings, incorporating elements from his fascinations with pop-punk (his first band in high school specialised in pop-punk, he says), 80s synth-pop, 70s rock and present-day pop, indie and electronica; all within the same three-minutes - it's quite a marvel.

Blink Twice does a great job at bringing all of those musical cliff faces together, and as such, it's a perfect introduction to a musician we're sure to be hearing a lot more from in the next few years. It's an electrifying and energetic debut, falling in-line with the alt-pop explosion of artists like BENEE and Finneas albeit with his own signature twist, bringing in those exterior influences to create a blend of sounds that even for the musician himself, represents a leap of confidence into something new.

"I used to identify myself more as a moody, melancholic type of songwriter growing up, but Blink Twice is a totally different energy, and that’s its point. It’s about leaning into the person you want to be," he says, before explaining the roots of his songwriting; something that you can feel within the foundations of Blink Twice. "I was a sentimental kind of kid, and that drove a lot of my desire to write. My music was always deeply inspired by love, dating and the chaos that threw into my life."

Today, he shares the official video clip for Blink Twice, which sees him unite with video director ROME (BENEE, Mallrat) for a video that digs further into the single's sound, while also pushing the creative experimentation that San Joseph aims to represent in the project. "San Joseph was super trusting in me with this project, it really allowed me to push myself out of my creative comfort zone and create something that felt fresh to me," says ROME on the video. 

"When I heard the track, I knew that whatever we made needed to feel fun and bouncy, but I wanted to contrast the fun with darker elements, so I came up with the concept for Blink Twice. It aims to look like a scene out of an old gambling film, loose characters who are putting it all on the line in the hopes of winning big, with San Joseph attempting to beat them at their own game."

It's one hell of a song now with one hell of a video, and as San Joseph introduces himself as one hell of an artist to watch in 2021, we highly recommend diving into it below, as well as the opportunity to meet the musician himself as he celebrates the launch of single #1:

Tell us about yourself?

What’s uppp I’m San Joseph! I’m a singer-songwriter from Melbourne who produces alternative pop music and makes noise around the house. My existence is 95% music-making in my bedroom and 5% patting strangers’ dogs.

What’s your music like? What does it sound like? What kind of themes does it usually cover?

I make alt-pop music that varies from energetic bops with trap drums to emo ballads that’ll make you call your mum crying. I’m inspired by a weird concoction of melancholic music (Imogen Heap/Sufjan Stevens) and modern pop/hip hop (Dominic Fike/Jeremy Zucker). Themes often include love and my inability to successfully navigate it.

What are your production and writing processes usually like?

I usually start writing on a guitar, singing different thoughts until something interesting comes out of my mouth. I have a list of lyric/theme ideas on my phone and draw from that to spark ideas, but besides that, the process is as chaotic and unrefined as it was when I wrote my first song at 14. I just try to show-up and hope that the rest figures itself out.

Can you tell us about your debut single, Blink Twice?

I had such an awesome time making the tune. It’s the first song I’ve made that’s quite high-energy, so it’s real cool to launch the project with it. Dylan Nash (my producer) and I made it over the course of a few months - starting in his apartment in Sydney, working on it online, and finally finishing it at my place in Melbourne.

Making the music video was also really rad. Rome and his team were outrageously talented and such a cool crew to hang out with. I am soooo stoked to share it with everyone.

What do you have planned for 2021?

2021 will be a whole lot of singing songs, making music, and hanging with old and new friends. I want to get out of my bedroom a little more than last year and hopefully travel around the country a little. Maybe even a show!? Who knows. I’m just ready for an adventure tbh

Oh and I have another single I’m very excited to release but if I tell you any more I might have to kill you.

What do you want people to take away from your work?

I want my tunes to help people feel like badasses. If they’re sad, I hope my songs will help them ‘own’ being sad. If they’re killin it, I hope my songs will help them feel like the main character in their adventure.

Blink Twice only shows a cheeky fragment of my personality, but I look forward to sharing other parts soon. I don’t consider myself one “vibe”, so I hope my music will take you alongside me through a smorgasbord of emotions.

Where can we find more of your music?

People can find more of my music by connecting with me on social media! I will soon be sharing more with the world and that will be the best way of following what I’m doing. Either that or by hacking into my computer, but please don’t do that.

Follow San Joseph: FACEBOOK / INSTAGRAM