Review Fix Exclusive: Miranda Joan Talks ‘Home’ Influences And More

Review Fix chats with singer/songwriter Miranda Joan, who discusses her new track, “Home” and more.

About Miranda Joan:

Miranda Joan is a Canadian neo-soul singer and songwriter born in Montréal and raised in Vancouver. Joan uses her multicultural upbringing from both French and English backgrounds as well as her reverence of music legends such as Stevie Wonder and Carole King and contemporary artists such as Erykah Badu, Anderson Paak and Emily King to craft a diverse and fresh sound in her music.

Review Fix: How did you get involved in music?

Miranda Joan: I have always been a lover of music. I would print out lyrics to songs and sing along in my room. That love of music grew into something much bigger in high school when I realized that music what was I wanted to pursue in life. That led to music school which led me to New York City and that is where I have been working as a singer and songwriter this last while.

Review Fix: What’s your creative process like?

Joan: My creative process varies but most of the time is starts with me sitting and my keyboard. There, the music and lyrics usually come in tandem and most often times pours out of me when I am overcome with an emotion or story I have to tell. Some days I have nothing to say and it’s more of an exploration finding that feeling that leads me somewhere in the music. After that I usually bring the complete song to a producer who helps bring it to life in a whole new way. 

Review Fix: What inspires you?

Joan: My work is truthful to my experience. These are stories of my lived experiences and the feelings surrounding them, so I find myself inspired by life. Cheesy as it may sound, it has been in the living that I have found my greatest inspirations. 

Review Fix: What does music mean to you?

Joan: Music for me is a safe place to land. All the things I struggle to say out loud, all of the feelings I hold inside, music is the place I am safe to express them. So it has always been a healing and cathartic place for me and music as a whole, not only my own, has helped connect me to myself and the world around me. 

Review Fix: How would you describe your sound to someone who has never heard you?

Joan: I would describe my sound as being in the greater “soul-bowl”. A mix of jazz, soul, neo-soul, R&B and singer-songwriter. I have drawn a lot of inspiration from some of the great songwriters such as Stevie Wonder, Carole King and Bill Withers and as far as contemporary artists go, I think I live in a space alongside people like Lianne La Havas, Emily King, Kaytranada and Anderson Paak.

Review Fix: How are your live shows different from your studio work?

Joan: I think as with live music in general, the performance is different from the recorded work because it is an exchange of energy. When I perform, my hope is to leave the audience with a feeling, with an energy, and part of that energy is created in the exchange of it because I also receive so much from the audience. We are sharing in a singular moment never to be repeated in quite the same way, versus putting the recording on which is more of an individual experience and constant in its expression.

Review Fix: What inspired your latest single?

Joan: My latest single “Home” was inspired by the first time I left my home of Vancouver, Canada. I have since lived in a few different cities and have been lucky to do my fair share of traveling. This song is a reflection on home and the questions that come up as you wade into new waters. This year has also been for me, as for many of my fellow musicians, a return to home. So the opening lines “Where will I go and what will I see? Where will I find home and where will it find me?” have grown in meaning over the past year as I wrestled with the uprootedness and isolation of these times. 

Review Fix: What are your goals for 2021? 

Joan: I will continue releasing music in 2021, which includes my first full-length album “Windborne” set for release in early summer. I am very excited to share this next body of work and my greatest hope is to get back up on stage and perform for an audience before the end of the year.

Review Fix: What’s next?

Joan: As I mentioned, I’ll be putting out a record in early summer which will be preceded by one more single this spring. I will also be working on my next project, which I am very excited to dive into. One big positive about this year is that I have had a lot more time to write, and write I have done! I have a couple albums worth of music I am looking forward to fleshing out and ultimately sharing with you all.