As regular readers will know, I’m a big fan of the alt-rock genre, constantly on the lookout for something new and fresh. Joshanda really caught my attention with their new release Holier, highlighting many of the issues that organised religion can bring. If you like your rock with a meaning behind it, make sure you check Joshanda out!
By Jane Howkins
We recently reviewed your track Holier. What can you tell us about the song?
Holier is a song critical of religious intolerance and persecution, a topic that hits home for me as I was born in Pakistan, a country ripe with both issues. Forced conversions, honor killings, as well as the desecration of holy sites are rampant, and mob killings over archaic blasphemy laws have made numerous headlines over the past decades.
How has the reception to Holier been so far, and where can the track be purchased?
Holier has been doing quite well! We’ve made it onto many playlists and have been asked about when our next single is coming out.
Do you plan to release any more singles in the near future?
Our next song Blasphemous comes out later this month! We have a single for every month for the next 3-4 months!
Are there any plans to release a full length album or EP anytime soon?
Our new EP should be out by December or January!
Frontman Adil also has a solo project. How do you manage to balance everything? Do the other members have any other projects on the go?
Adil and Ben are also solo artists, but the rest of the band are only in Joshanda.
The track is quite heavy. What/who are you most influenced by? What have you been listening to recently?
The track was definitely influenced by bands like Royal Blood, Queens Of The Stone Age and Death From Above 1969. They are all bands we’ve been listening to as of late, with the addition of the new Hozier album, Squid, King Gizzard and Nothing But Thieves.
What is the writing and recording process like for you?
Writing the songs varies, but Holier was a relatively quick song to make. Adil came up with most of the riffs besides the bridge, and also wrote the lyrics. Everybody else came in with their parts and voila, we had a song. We recorded the record ourselves, as 3/4 of us are audio engineers, so it was a very smooth process with some trial and error as we went on.
Do you have anything else exciting coming up this year?
We have new singles coming out as well as shows we’re excited to play. We’re also looking forward to writing songs for the next EP, after which we plan to work on our debut album.
Do you have any tour dates lined up for the UK?
If the UK asks us to come, we’ll be there in a heartbeat.
Any last words for the fans?
We appreciate our fans very much and promise to give them a lot more content that extends far beyond just the music we make. There’s extensive lore that we’re crafting, and we hope to team up with the right visual artists to bring these stories to life!