Josephine Olivia’s debut EP, EP1, emphasizes the art of making a work on your own. Taking a different route from nearly fifteen years of working with bands, Josephine Olivia wrote, performed, and produced EP1 entirely on her own. In completing this self emphasizing project, she was able to cater to her artistic interests and endeavors, and create a work of art that is entirely her own.
As a member of the Baltimore and DC band VOSH, Olivia has been able to be a consistent member of each city’s music scenes, as the band brings the genres of goth, post-punk, and metal to the stage. In working with artists such as The Psyechelic Furs and Bauhaus’s Peter Murphy with VOSH, as well as appearing in videos for Cigarettes After Sex last year, Olivia has been able to experience a wide range of music, performances, and art styles, all which helped her create her own EP from these experiences.
Josephine Olivia has described this EP making process as “a deeper introduction into the world Josephine Olivia is creating,” taking the time to make her work sound exactly how she wants. Each track on the EP is unique in its own way, and a perfect demonstration of Olivia’s artistry, overall. The opening track of EP1, “Midweek,” sets the tension filled tone for the tracks to follow, as the song is sonically harsh and sinister. “Reject,” which was released as a single prior to the EP’s drop, brings a lighter tone, which contrasts on the murky “Climbing Out,” which follows with a push and pull between finding the light at the end of the tunnel, and the sense of loneliness that can still remain. The closing track, “Forest,” emphasizes musical technicalities, such as harmonies and repetition, bringing in sonically the feeling of paranoia that Olivia conveys in the track.
Now that EP1 has been released on all platforms, Josephine Olivia hopes to bring her listeners a a sense of “stillness,” as she hopes that the EP will provide a grounding effect that it did for her. In engaging in a completely different creative process than the collaborative effort in her work with VOSH, Olivia’s completely solo focused work helped her to unlock a new creative side of herself. As she took from her instincts, ideas, and influences, Olivia was able to create EP1 in the vision of her own, emphasizing her own wants and desires.
Olivia describes the EP as a “lesson of healing,” as the solo approach allowed for her to think deeply about her own ideas and emotions, and how to bring them into her work. Josephine Olivia’s intimate EP1 emphasizes the importance of vulnerability, all while exploring her own emotions for her own sake. In taking the time to think and reflect, she was able to create this four track EP from her own experiences and emotions, something that sets this apart from other projects.
With more solo work coming, Josephine Olivia sets the stage for her artistry with EP1, showing the listener who she is in a vulnerable and confident way.
Stream EP1 on all platforms, via Trash Casual Records.
