Joan Wasser is a name that has circulated the music industry since the start of the 90s.
Known for her work in The Dambuilders, Black Beetle, Antony and the Johnsons, and as the titular force for Joan As Police Woman, Joan has been dubbed “one of the 21st century’s best musicians”.
It’s no wonder then that the seasoned multi-instrumentalist has been associated with the biggest names in the industry. From her three year relationship with Jeff Buckley until his untimely drowning, to her star studded collaborators including Elton John, Lou Reed, Rufus Wainwright, John Cale, Sheryl Crow and the Scissor Sisters, Joan is a coactive force.
Read Melbourne’s most comprehensive range of music features and interviews here.
During lockdown, she continued to grow that contact list for latest album, The Solution Is Restless, boasting the impeccable talents of Dave Okumu and the now late, Tony Allen.
“I met Tony Allen through Damon and this record, The Solution Is Restless, which I released in November, I started with one night of improv with Tony Allen and Dave Okumu,” she says.
“I took the tracks and wrote songs from them; I created song forms, did tonnes of editing and created the songs from those during the lockdown.
“I spent a year making this record during the lockdown using those tracks as fodder for writing those songs.
“Dave Okumu is a long time friend. I met him in London when we were doing a project around Gil Scott-Heron and you know Tony, ah, this was one of Tony’s last recordings and I feel incredibly grateful to have worked with him.”
She further recruited Blur and Gorillaz mastermind, Damon Albarn, for track ‘Get My Bearings’, while also returning her talent to the Gorillaz’ latest sonic cog-turner ‘Song Machine’.
“I’ve known him for several years,” she continues. “We went on a trip together to Ethiopia with Africa Express so we got to know each other then and just collaborated on the recent Gorillaz record.
“I feel like we share a very similar way of liking to work on music which is very easy going – just hang out in a room, make yourself comfortable and the music will happen which is the best way for me and clearly also for him.
“It’s always been really easy collaborating with him and I feel we share a similar feel about melody and rhythm. It’s super easy. I adore his voice and I just adore his process; I don’t know what else to say other than EASY,” she laughs.
Recreating the work live for her upcoming Australian tour in late May / early June, Wasser will be bringing an incredibly talented pool of musicians including Parker Kindred (drums), Benjamin Lazar Davis (bass), and Eric Lane (keys).
“We’re doing the songs with our arrangements of them and it’s going great, we’ve been on tour for a few weeks now and it’s going fabulously,” she says.
“It’s what I feel like I’m supposed to be doing so it’s great to return. I am bringing one show and it is plenty of music I promise. It’s going to be great, I can’t wait to get back.”
Joan was previously in Australia in 2019, playing a solo show at Melbourne Recital Hall as part of Melbourne International Arts Festival, promoting her discography collection, Joanthology.
Whilst Joanthology put the spotlight on her 15-year-spanning music museum, the singer-songwriter is nowhere near her termination zone, with Joanthology Part II a real possibility.
“I don’t think of it really as what I want to achieve,” she explains, “for me, music is infinite and there is so much more music I look forward to making it and that’s a continuous thing.
“There are so many ways to do it,” she says, repeating it again and again…”there are so many ways to do it that I don’t know about yet.
“That’s one of the most exciting things about staying open and curious and interested; there are so many ways to make music and communicate through it. So I’m always looking forward to learning about more ways to do that, because it’s the only thing that really makes sense to me.”
Be sure to catch Joan As Police Woman on Thursday 2 June 2022 at Melbourne’s Palais Theatre. Tickets here.
