MusicBlog – Fear has now given way to hope

It is not always easy to keep track of things in a fast-moving world and not to go completely crazy. With her 10th studio album “Lemons, Limes And Orchids”, Joan Wasser, aka Joan As Police Woman, presents a tribute to perseverance in a time when hope, love and trust are often the only anchors. Shortly before the release of her new work, we met with the American singer and songwriter for an interview and talked about fears, hope, America and Iggy Pop.

MusicBlog: Joan, your songs are about love, loss and survival in a fragile world where many new people are suffering and afraid. What scares you the most these days?

Joan as a policewoman: What scares me is that people don't really talk to each other. Communication is the basis. It is the key. I am convinced that if people talked to each other sensibly and intensively, there would be a lot fewer problems in the world. In our own bubble, we are all very sensitive and loving. We love our family and our pets. But when we go outside, we are afraid of the unknown and that something might be taken away from us. This creates mistrust and fear.

MusicBlog: Yet there was so much time during the Corona pandemic to take action right there.

Joan as a policewoman: That's true. That's exactly what the song “Long For Ruin” is about. It seems to be an instinctive problem. Maybe that's how the world worked a thousand years ago. But today we really need a “reset” button. Unfortunately, we don't have one. That's really sad.

MusicBlog: What gives you hope?

Joan as a policewoman: Oh, I have a lot of hope. I live in New York City. There are so many facets here, so many different Blow and so many different people who still get along wonderfully with each other. I see that every day. And that gives me hope. I see nice people doing nice things. The problem is that these nice things are not expressed to the outside world. People only hear about the bad things. When we read the newspaper, it's only about bad news. Nowhere is it written that anyone has done anything good for anyone. Unfortunately, that's the way it is.

MusicBlog: Your hometown will face an important election next November. Does the prospect scare you?

Joan as a policewoman: Fear has now given way to hope. The situation has changed and I think that many of the voters who were initially undecided now know what they have to do. At least that's how I feel. But how do you feel? How do people outside of America see the situation?

MusicBlog: Personally, I'm surprised that things are even back to the way they are with Donald Trump, if you know what I mean. I mean, you've had this whole thing before.

Joan as a policewoman: I'm totally with you. Actually, nobody really understands it. Even the Republicans didn't want it to happen like this. But it also seems to be about a conscientious personality cult. Maybe too many people find his shows and his behavior funny and amusing. It's a mystery to me too.

MusicBlog: Let's not think too much about politics, but get back to your music. When exactly did you start working on the new album?

Joan as a policewoman: My last album, “The Solution Is Restless,” was born out of a completely improvised jam session. Not everything that was created back then made it onto the album. I took a few ideas with me into the pandemic. When nothing else worked, these ideas marked the starting point. I spent the rest of the Covid period producing the album. I wrote, sang, recorded and produced – throughout the entire pandemic.

MusicBlog: Musically, the focus is on your voice and a very touching mood.

Joan as a policewoman: There's a lot going on on the last album. There are countless vocal tracks and lots of things in the background. This time I wanted to be more minimalist. I wanted to capture the emotions as best as I could. I deliberately recorded with the band. That was very important to me so I could completely absorb the atmosphere.

MusicBlog: You started out as a violinist and played in many bands. When did you first decide to try being a solo artist?

Joan as a policewoman: It was a development that at some point was unstoppable. I was interested in singing and writing songs from an early age. But at some point I was caught in a phase of my life when I wasn't feeling very well. During this time I realised that the violin alone was no longer enough. I needed another means of expression. And so I taught myself to play the guitar and piano and started singing. I then also started writing songs. At first there was a blank sheet of paper. And the next day there was suddenly a whole song. It was pretty magical and of course inspiring too.

MusicBlog: But you haven't really lost your love of being a band member. At the beginning of the year you were on tour with Iggy Pop as a keyboard player and background singer. What was it like spending time with Iggy?

Joan as a policewoman: We played a show in Miami and one in Los Angeles. In November we will play another show in Mexico. Yes, what can I say, I grew up with Iggy's music. It was really exciting and thrilling. It was so loud on stage. It reminded me of my early days. To feel that again now was pretty great. And then the whole thing is being performed by a 77-year-old Madman It's really impossible to put into words.

MusicBlog: Thank you for the interview.