A TV show + all the feels = ‘This Is Us’ – Joel William Harrison’s new release
Canberra-based singer-songwriter Joel William Harrison fell in love with a fictional TV family from Pittsburgh, wrote a song about them and recorded it with a mate in the UK he’s never met.
The TV show was ‘This Is Us’. Harrison started watching it years ago and from the very first episode, he knew he was hooked.
“There are just so many TV shows to choose from these days but as soon as the closing credits started on that first episode, I knew I’d watch it until there was no more to watch,” he said.
“It was the characters. The emotional rollercoaster. But also the writing – it’s so clever. You think you know where the plot’s headed but then it gets turned on its head, almost like a magic trick.”
The track, which is a detour from Harrison’s normal introspective approach, intricately describes scenes, quotes and feels from the award-winning drama series. The production on the single also offers a tip of the cap to the show’s score, wrapped in acoustic guitar, ambient percussion, vocals and strings.
Writing a song about something so specific could be a nail in the coffin for any song but, according to Harrison, it doesn’t have to be.
“I think the song will really appeal to fans of the show, they’ll know exactly which characters and moments I’m talking about and it will hit them hard,” Harrison said.
“Even now, hearing some of the lines back can still get me.
“But people who have never watched the show will still be able to relate because, at its core, the song is all about family and that resonates no matter who you are.
“The triumphs, the losses and, of course, the struggles and regrets – that’s what makes a person who they are and provides the foundation for their story.”
Recorded in collaboration with UK producer Stef Judd, the pair swapped recordings and crafted the arrangement over Zoom until the track was complete.
“We’d worked together on an album before ‘This Is Us’ but before bringing Stef in on this project, I had to make sure he knew of and was a fan of the show,” Harrison said.
“Luckily, he was – he and his wife are both hooked. And so, we got to work.
“It probably seems strange to write a song about a TV-show family and record it with a friend who lives 15,000km away but somehow, it worked.”
‘This Is Us’ will be available to stream and download on all platforms from 220622.
Please right click ‘save’ or ‘open in new tab’ to view full size image.
Joel William Harrison is a talented, honest singer-songwriter from regional Australia who uses the process of creating music as a powerful means of catharsis. “It’s like therapy – a way for me to work through those thoughts, whether they’re good, bad or somewhere in between, that I just can’t seem to shake. They seem to niggle away until the track is finished. It could take a day, a week or longer but until it’s done, it’s as though my subconscious keeps working away in the background.”
For Joel, it’s not about his sound as much as it is about how his music resonates. “People are always trying to pigeonhole artists but I don’t ascribe to that. If I had to, I’d describe my sound as a blend of pop, folk and country – or Pofoco, as I call it – but all I’m really trying to do is make music that soundtracks my life and other people’s lives. Don’t get me wrong, accolades and awards would be nice but creating something that has a positive impact on the life of someone I’ve never met is ultimately what I strive for.”
Joel was first drawn to the guitar at a young age by two things: “Marty McFly playing Johnny B Goode in Back To The Future and soaking up Richie Sambora and Slash in my early teens, when they featured heavily in my older sister’s music collection. From there came a stream of influences, from Garth Brooks and Sam Cooke to John Mayer, Jack Johnson and Keith Urban.”
With a 14-track album – Thinking Over, Over Thinking – and two EP’s (Pofoco and Lucky Man) under his belt, Joel is currently promoting his newest single ‘This Is Us’. A detour from Harrison’s normal introspective approach, this new track intricately describes scenes, quotes and feels from the award-winning drama series of the same name. The production on the single also offers a tip of the cap to the show’s score, wrapped in acoustic guitar, ambient percussion, vocals and strings.
“It’s a constant evolution for me – my voice, my guitar, my message and my craft,” Joel says. “I need to create in my life to feel fulfilled and like I am following my purpose. A part of that is following inspirations and ideas when they come into your head. I’m so glad I followed the breadcrumb that started with the line ‘Three became two, then two became three, seems weird but that’s just me’ and bloomed into the song This Is Us.”
Previous press releases.
Please scroll down for previous press releases and quotes.
Cocktail of Emotions – the final track from the Lucky Man EP – offers a stiff mix of feels, subtle funk and hard truths
While the world has been in lockdown, Joel William Harrison has been releasing one track every month from his latest EP, Lucky Man. Cocktail of Emotions – the fourth and final track from the EP – offers a stiff mix of feels with a twist of singer-songwriter pop funk. As with the first three tracks, Cocktail of Emotions explores new sonic space and instrumentation for Joel.
“I was going through a pretty challenging time in my life when a mate messaged me to check in and ask how I was going,” Joel explains. “I remember writing back, ‘Mate, it’s just a cocktail of emotions. Good and bad, all mixed up.’ And just like that, the song started spiralling around in my subconscious.
“People like to talk about emotions in life as if they’re binary or black and white but a lot of the time they’re not that simple. They’re complex and conflicting, just like a good cocktail can be.”
Often songs will follow a rhyming scheme or tell a story but Cocktail of Emotions offers a literal recipe.
“I had the name of the track sorted and decided to set myself the challenge of writing the entire song as though I was writing a drink recipe,” Joel says. “I like doing that sometimes while writing – set a challenge and hope it sparks creativity or a new perspective.”
The track was produced in Joel’s hometown, Wagga Wagga, in regional New South Wales, with his long-time mate and mentor producer, Dale Allison. It’s not the first time the pair has worked together – they joined forces for Joel’s debut album, Thinking Over, Over Thinking. Following that release, Joel worked with Golden Guitar and ARIA Award-winning producers in Australia and Grammy-winning producers in Nashville to create his follow-up EP, Pofoco.
Combine, then ice it down
With your cold, cold heart
And shake, shake, shake, shake
“I remember showing Dale this song in the studio for the first time and him saying, ‘Ouch’,” Joel says with a laugh.
“I’d be lying if I said writing this track wasn’t cathartic. But for good or bad, it’s a list of all the emotions I was feeling at the time and I think that’s how it is for most people.
“You rarely just feel one way wholeheartedly – there’s usually a mixed bag of positives and negatives.”
As well as the unusual recipe structure, Cocktail of Emotions has a subtle funk pop vibe with a splash of pop to round out the flavour. “It was fun to build this track with Dale,” Joel says. “It started as an acoustic and we slowly added those funkier elements, like the horns and harmonies. “What we ended up with was hardly any acoustic. That obviously wasn’t that plan. It was just what the song needed.”
Even with the final track from the Lucky Man EP now introduced to the world, Joel has no plans to slow down.
“I don’t know how to do anything other than constantly create,” he says.
“I really hope these new tracks resonate with people but to be truthful, writing them would have happened no matter what, regardless of whether anyone else was going to hear them or not.
“The last few months have been so crazy for everyone all over the world and it’s been a really interesting time to be a musician and especially to release music.
“But I’d prefer to have these songs out there for people to listen to and hopefully enjoy while enduring the challenges of living through a global pandemic, instead of waiting for normality to return – if it ever does.”
For Joel, Cocktail of Emotions marks the end of his EP but it also signifies the end of a chapter in his life and certainly closing the door on the pain that inspired it.
“This final track closes the chapter of my life that all these songs lived within,” he explains. “Music and creating has never been a choice for me. “It’s what I’ve always done, will continue to do and work to get better at for the rest of my life.
“The songs have been stuck in my head and Dale’s for months and hopefully it’s now time for them to get stuck in other people’s heads.”
The Lucky Man EP, featuring Cocktail of Emotions, is streaming now on all platforms.
For more information or to organise an interview, please contact info@joelwilliamharrison.com.
Joel William Harrison is a talented, honest singer-songwriter from regional Australia who uses the process of creating music as a powerful means of catharsis. “It’s like therapy – a way for me to work through those thoughts, whether they’re good, bad or somewhere in between, that I just can’t seem to shake. They seem to niggle away until the track is finished. It could take a day, a week or longer but until it’s done, it’s as though my subconscious keeps working away in the background.”
For Joel, it’s not about his sound as much as it is about how his music resonates. “People are always trying to pigeonhole artists but I don’t ascribe to that. If I had to, I’d describe my sound as a blend of pop, folk and country – or Pofoco, as I call it – but all I’m really trying to do is make music that soundtracks my life and other people’s lives. Don’t get me wrong, accolades and awards would be nice but creating something that has a positive impact on the life of someone I’ve never met is ultimately what I strive for.”
Joel was first drawn to the guitar at a young age by two things: “Marty McFly playing Johnny B Goode in Back To The Future and soaking up Richie Sambora and Slash in my early teens, when they featured heavily in my older sister’s music collection. From there came a stream of influences, from Garth Brooks and Sam Cooke to John Mayer, Jack Johnson and Keith Urban.”
With a 14-track album – Thinking Over, Over Thinking – and four-track EP – Pofoco – under his belt, Joel is currently promoting his newest EP Lucky Man. After working with Golden Guitar and ARIA-winning producers in Australia and Grammy-winning producers in Nashville in the US on his previous tracks, he returned to his hometown to work with mentor and mate Dale Allison.
“It’s a constant evolution for me – my voice, my guitar, my message and my craft,” Joel says. “I’ve been through a lot personally over the last few years and music hasn’t always been able to take the front seat. But now it’s driving and I think people are really going to resonate with the music that’s come from all those highs and lows.”
Please right click ‘save’ or ‘open in new tab’ to view full size images.
Joel William Harrison’s new track RAINBOW is a song about sacrifice and dedication
– but through the lens of the clouds…
My rainbow
You sit out front, I’ll be your clouds behind
My rainbow, you brighten up the sky
I’ll contrast so you can glow, way up high
My rainbow– Joel William Harrison
Rainbow – the third track from Australian singer-songwriter Joel William Harrison’s EP Lucky Man – is a song about dedication, hope and personal sacrifice for someone else to achieve their dream.
“No one sings from the perspective of the dark cloud sitting behind the bright rainbow,” Joel said.
“It’s there at the back, contrasting to make the rainbow look colourful and bright. And that’s what I wanted to explore with this song”.
Previous singles from Lucky Man have explored optimism and self-inflicted heartache but Rainbow really stands out from the rest of Joel’s back catalogue. The song starts somewhat sparsely with vocals and piano but then an orchestra enters halfway through to fill the sound and reinforce the emotion in the lyrics.
“This started out as most of my songs do – on the guitar,” Joel explains.
“When we were work shopping it in the studio, we decided to try it with just keys and I’m so glad we did. The production on this song fits the lyrical and emotional vibes perfectly.”
“James Baker played keys on this track and I’m so grateful for his performance, it’s spot on.”
The track features subtle nods to some of Joel’s influences, including David Grey, Gavin De Graw, John Mayer and Keith Urban.
Throughout the song Joel explores feelings of sacrifice, angst and love with lines like:
You shotgun the front seat, I’ll squeeze in the back
Push your dreams ahead, Mine will fall off the tracks
It won’t be easy to fall on my sword
But all with a sense of optimism for the future:
Dark clouds won’t be here
For all along after the rain falls
I’ll be bright white glowing along
The track was produced in Joel’s hometown, Wagga Wagga, in regional New South Wales, with his long-time mate and mentor producer, Dale Allison. It’s not the first time the pair has worked together – they joined forces for Joel’s debut album, Thinking Over, Over Thinking. Following that release, Joel worked with Golden Guitar and ARIA Award-winning producers in Australia and Grammy-winning producers in Nashville to create his follow-up EP, Pofoco.
“I’m proud of every track on Lucky Man, especially how each one sonically explores new areas of my life and my sound – I’m excited for people to hear them,” Joel says.
Rainbow will be available to stream and download on all platforms from July 14th – or 14/07/2020. The final track from the EP, Lucky Man, will be released on the 08/08/2020.
For more information or to organise an interview please contact info@joelwilliamharrison.com
Please right click ‘save’ or ‘open in new tab’ to view full size images.
Joel William Harrison’s new track RAINBOW is a song about sacrifice and dedication
– but through the lens of the clouds…
My rainbow
You sit out front, I’ll be your clouds behind
My rainbow, you brighten up the sky
I’ll contrast so you can glow, way up high
My rainbow– Joel William Harrison
Rainbow – the third track from Australian singer-songwriter Joel William Harrison’s EP Lucky Man – is a song about dedication, hope and personal sacrifice for someone else to achieve their dream.
“No one sings from the perspective of the dark cloud sitting behind the bright rainbow,” Joel said.
“It’s there at the back, contrasting to make the rainbow look colourful and bright. And that’s what I wanted to explore with this song”.
Previous singles from Lucky Man have explored optimism and self-inflicted heartache but Rainbow really stands out from the rest of Joel’s back catalogue. The song starts somewhat sparsely with vocals and piano but then an orchestra enters halfway through to fill the sound and reinforce the emotion in the lyrics.
“This started out as most of my songs do – on the guitar,” Joel explains.
“When we were work shopping it in the studio, we decided to try it with just keys and I’m so glad we did. The production on this song fits the lyrical and emotional vibes perfectly.”
“James Baker played keys on this track and I’m so grateful for his performance, it’s spot on.”
The track features subtle nods to some of Joel’s influences, including David Grey, Gavin De Graw, John Mayer and Keith Urban.
Throughout the song Joel explores feelings of sacrifice, angst and love with lines like:
You shotgun the front seat, I’ll squeeze in the back
Push your dreams ahead, Mine will fall off the tracks
It won’t be easy to fall on my sword
But all with a sense of optimism for the future:
Dark clouds won’t be here
For all along after the rain falls
I’ll be bright white glowing along
The track was produced in Joel’s hometown, Wagga Wagga, in regional New South Wales, with his long-time mate and mentor producer, Dale Allison. It’s not the first time the pair has worked together – they joined forces for Joel’s debut album, Thinking Over, Over Thinking. Following that release, Joel worked with Golden Guitar and ARIA Award-winning producers in Australia and Grammy-winning producers in Nashville to create his follow-up EP, Pofoco.
“I’m proud of every track on Lucky Man, especially how each one sonically explores new areas of my life and my sound – I’m excited for people to hear them,” Joel says.
Rainbow will be available to stream and download on all platforms from July 14th – or 14/07/2020. The final track from the EP, Lucky Man, will be released on the 08/08/2020.
For more information or to organise an interview please contact info@joelwilliamharrison.com
Australian singer-songwriter Joel William Harrison is set to release the title track from his upcoming EP, Lucky Man – a song that ultimately has its roots back in 1985, when the cult classic Back To The Future was released. A young Joel watched Michael J. Fox as Marty McFly playing Johnny B. Goode on VHS in the early ’90s and the rest is history.
“It’s the first real memory I have of wanting to play the guitar,” Joel says.
“Marty with that big, bright red Gibson, singing and playing, and bringing the house down at his parents’ high school prom.”
Fast forward two decades and Joel found himself on a flight home from Nashville reading Fox’s autobiography, ‘Always Looking Up’. At the end of the book lies a picture of Fox’s previous title, ‘Lucky Man’. That’s all it took for inspiration to strike and soon after the chorus of Lucky Man was written.
“The chorus came surprisingly easily with Michael’s help [laughs] and I shaped the rest of the song around that feeling you get when you realise all the little things in your life you can be grateful for and that make you a lucky man, or a lucky woman, or a lucky person,” Joel explains.
Lucky Man is an upbeat track with subtle nods to some of Joel’s musical influences, including Jason Mraz, John Mayer, Vance Joy and Van Morrison. It’s part of a four track EP that was recorded in Joel’s hometown in 2019 with his long-time mate and mentor, producer/guitarist Dale Allison.
It’s not the first time the pair has worked together – they joined forces for Joel’s debut album, Thinking Over, Over Thinking. Following that release, Joel worked with Golden Guitar and ARIA Award-winning producers in Australia and Grammy-winning producers in Nashville to create his follow-up EP, Pofoco.
“It was refreshing to have the luxury of time with Lucky Man, working with a mate and having no time restraints,” Joel says.
“I’m proud of each track on the EP and how each one sonically explores new areas of my life and my sound – I’m excited for people to hear them.”
The single Lucky Man will be available to stream and download on all platforms from May 5 – or 05/05/2020. Another track from the EP will follow each month on 06/06/2020, 14/07/2020 and 08/08/2020.
Delete The Hurt – the second track from Australian singer-songwriter Joel William Harrison’s EP Lucky Man – is an introspective assessment of actions. But, it’s not all doom and gloom. There’s an undertone of positivity as Harrison sings, ‘We’ll guide this ship around these icebergs’ and ‘I hope you won’t give up, I hope you can still see my love’.
This positivity follows on from his previous single, Lucky Man, but pushes beyond, through to the desire for a clean slate and new beginning to do better. “I think everyone in their lives has moments or actions they wish they could go back, change or delete and start fresh,” Harrison said.
“Those moments, looking back on them, knowing you’ve messed up, wanting to do better – they’re what this track is about.
“But it’s also a classic catch-22. If you had a DeLorean and could go back, would you?
“Because if you did, you wouldn’t be the same person you are today… What breaks you lets you rebuild stronger.”
Delete The Hurt is a mid-tempo ballad that pulls subtle inspiration from Harrison’s biggest musical influences, including John Mayer, Keith Urban, Rob Thomas and James Bay. It’s the second release from his four-part EP, Lucky Man, with one track set to be released each month until August.
The track was produced in Harrison’s hometown, Wagga Wagga, in regional New South Wales, with his long-time mate and mentor producer/guitarist Dale Allison. “Delete the Hurt was actually written quite a while ago, before a lot of big changes in my life,” Harrison says. “It was among a collection of songs I took into the studio with Dale and it really didn’t take long for us both to click with the track and decide to dig into it. “And I’m so glad we did. This song means a lot to me. It’s almost like proof of how much I’ve grown and changed, as a person and a musician.”
It’s not the first time Harrison and Allison have worked together – they joined forces for Joel’s debut album, Thinking Over, Over Thinking. Following that release, Joel worked with Golden Guitar and ARIA Award-winning producers in Australia and Grammy-winning producers in Nashville to create his follow-up EP, Pofoco.
“I’m proud of each track on this EP and how each one sonically explores new areas of my life and my sound – I’m excited for people to hear them.”
Delete the Hurt will be available to stream and download on all platforms from June 6 – or 06/06/2020. Another track from the EP, Lucky Man, will follow each month on 14/07/2020 and 08/08/2020.
For more information or to organise an interview please contact info@joelwilliamharrison.com