Sounds and Sonics: What’s Around The Corner - Joya Mooi

Today, Joya Mooi finally shares her fourth studio album What’s Around The Corner in full. Delving deep into life’s big and small matters, the Johannesburg-rooted, Amsterdam-based artist left us in great anticipation after unveiling Side A of the project last September.

Produced by Sim Fane, SirOJ, Blazehoven, Elijah Waters and Joya Mooi herself, What’s Around The Corner is a dynamic exploration of spirituality, personal growth, social awareness and interpersonal connection. The 15-track album narrates her reflections on the past and the present through an innovative style of R&B with hip-hop, jazz and electronic influences.

For our Sounds and Sonics series, we caught up with Joya Mooi to unpack What’s Around The Corner track by track.

Photography by Ines Vansteenkiste-Muylle

Track 01 - ‘What Dreams I’ve Had’

The opening track sets the tone for the dreamy soundscapes to follow, with the lyrical and melodic repetition standing out in particular. Why is this the introduction to the album?

It’s about how I was dreaming and in a state where it seemed like I was repeating myself a lot and I was feeling frustrated and anxious about certain things. When you feel like that, the first thing that comes to mind is for you to resolve everything. However, I really wanted to make space for that restlessness in the intro and to just embrace that moment of feeling a little bit trapped, but make it cute.

Track 02 - ‘So Stunning’

‘So Stunning’ is about a tender longing for ‘home’. How would you describe that ‘home’?

I think that specific ‘home’ is a home of love but it's also a home of trauma and a home that I was looking for myself within. It's a place that I feel nostalgic about but it’s also a place that I ran away from.

But now, ‘home’ is so different for me. I’m between Amsterdam and Jo’burg a lot, but ‘home’ is more within myself now.

Track 03 - ‘You Know Me Well By Now’

You reflect on people becoming more hesitant to let the world see their true selves on ‘You Know Me Well By Now’. What motivated this?

When someone doesn’t agree with me completely on the things that I find important, I can feel alienated so quickly and that's something I need to be aware of. I feel like I constantly have to remind myself that it is okay to disagree and still connect with people. So, the song is about sharing more of yourself, but also giving space to someone else so that they can show you who they are, in spite of how their opinions may differ.

Track 04 - ‘Little Lies (Interlude)’

This track was created entirely by you, so tell us about yourself as a producer.

Sometimes I produce stuff, but then I just give it to a producer to work everything out how I want it. But for this track, SirOJ said no. He thought that this is how the song was supposed to sound and it expressed a lot in such a short story; and that really resonated with me. Sometimes we think that we have to give everything our all and be super ambitious, but sometimes the simplest things are enough.

But even when we were mastering it, I was thinking: “Am I really going to do this? Am I really going to share this?” However, I’m glad I did because I speak a lot about not focusing on perfection and this was a way of acting on that.

Track 05 - ‘Most Frail’

You dedicated ‘Most Frail’ to your father, a South-African freedom fighter. Can you share the story behind this?

I feel that in South Africa, where a lot of freedom fighters left their homes and their families behind, there’s a lot of misunderstanding surrounding the generation who fought for their country and were or still may be estranged from their families because of that situation. So, it’s important to tell this story and have compassion, especially for those who fought for our country, because I think that there’s a more complex side to how Black men become who they are, something that comes more from the outside than within.

Track 06 - ‘Sunwaves’

The album’s energy becomes less dreamy and more intense as it transitions to ‘Sunwaves’. What’s the significance of this change of tone?

I’m describing how daily grieving works for me. I lost my brother 7 years ago and sometimes it’s really hard to understand grief. It's such a weird concept. I miss him and it’s really strange to not have him here physically anymore because he was such a huge part of my life.

When people talk about grief, it can be so intense, but I had to find a way that I can remember him and still live my life. So, the song describes how I see him mostly, which is by painting a picture of him and just focusing on seeing myself and my brother together and talking to him.

Track 07 - ‘Did Enough’ ft. Elijah Waters

On ‘Did Enough’, you experiment with electronic and rock sounds with Elijah Waters. How did this collaboration come about?

It’s quite funny because we made the track during a huge storm in February last year. It was so intense and everyone was asking if I’m really going to leave my house to make a track in this weather and I was like, “Yes, this weather is telling me that I have some feelings that need to come out.” It was a really good session because Elijah makes music from his heart. We connected instantly because we both create in the moment, don’t shy away from weird sounds and have a broad spectrum of music that we love.

Track 08 - ‘Left Outside’

Your writing can be quite cryptic at times. Can you explain the meaning of ‘Left Outside’?

Sometimes I wonder if that’s a good thing. I feel like I might need a disclaimer or caption with every track. For ‘Left Outside’, the caption would say: “Centring your mental health is the most important thing”. Since it's so easy to be distracted by other people’s feelings, sometimes you need a reminder that your own life is truly yours and you can take your feelings more seriously than you feel that other people do.

Track 09 - ‘Roselle’

You describe the roselle hibiscus flower as part of a botanical legacy that connects the African diaspora in spite of a painful history. Can you elaborate on this? Why does ‘Roselle’ conclude Side A of the album?

Before I wrote the song, I didn’t really know about how a tradition that I found in my grandmother’s kitchen was such a testament to how people have coped with trauma and negativity in life. So I think that ‘Roselle’ is the ideal ending because Side A is not only about viewing the world, but it is also about creating my own views on certain things in it. It’s about finding out about myself and things like this.

Track 10 - ‘No Beginning’

You hope to bring resolution and end certain cycles with Side B. Why do you open it with such a sombre track?

I truly believe that we all experience a moment in life when we decide that we're going to do something new. But, to me, that’s not a new beginning. It may be the start of something new, but you can only reach that point because you’ve dealt with so much darkness already.

Track 11 - ‘There’s Too Much Of You’

There’s a clear contrast between the tone of ‘There’s Too Much Of You’ and what came just before it. What does the positivity of this track represent?

Sometimes I forget to celebrate things, but luckily I have friends who remind me to have fun and that life isn't all about work and writing in the dark about my feelings. So, this is truly a love song because the connection I have with the people close to me, who celebrate me and who I celebrate with, is why I can dig so deep into my soul.

Track 12 - ‘Remember’

You wrote that this track revolves around the question: “From all the things that you’ve cherished, rejected or changed your mind about, what do you remember?” How would you answer it today?

I didn’t really have ‘heroes’ or put people on pedestals growing up because things can be complex, like with my father’s past and the legacy of Nelson Mandela for example. But recently, I feel like I’ve become more of a fan of people and I think that is a gift that you can give to yourself. It’s not necessarily about loving everything a person does, but rather celebrating the child within you when you’re rooting for someone you don’t know. So I feel like I’ve changed my mind about that a little bit.

Track 13 - ‘Slowly But Surely’

If you could play ‘Slowly But Surely’ to a younger version of yourself, which would it be and why?

When I was 10, I wrote my feelings down a lot. I was just trying to make sense of things and I feel like a reminder that things come slowly but eventually would have been really nice. Also, when I was 14, I felt really restless. By then, I had started studying music and I felt like I had to do a lot of things and like I was in some sort of race, so some tranquillity would have been beneficial then as well.

Track 14 - ‘Tears’

‘Tears’ is about trying to embrace the darker phases of life and the relief that comes from finally making it through. How do you navigate this?

Therapy, walks and really leaning into it. Of course, you have phases when you have to just cope and ignore sometimes, but I feel like accepting darkness makes it so much easier to get to the other side, to receive more love and actually hear the things that people are saying to you.

Track 15 - ‘The Process’

The album is cyclical in how it opens and closes with lyrical and melodic repetition on a dreamlike backdrop. Was this intentional? What’s the lasting impression that you want to leave with ‘The Process’?

Yes definitely. We created ‘What Dreams I've Had’ and ‘The Process’ in the last phase of the project. I really wanted the melodies to mimic each other and tie the whole story together because I really do believe that cycles are real. I also think it’s good to remind myself that when bad things happen, there’s always a cycle to get you out of there.