Q&A: JOYNER Chronicles Grief and Renewal in Debut Record ‘Joyner II’
☆ BY kimberly kapela ☆
EVERY ARTIST GOES THROUGH A REBIRTH – For sisters Summer and Torrey Joyner, that evolution began with a life-altering event that changed their world forever. The duo, known as JOYNER, channels this profound transformation into their highly anticipated debut album, Joyner II. This record is a raw and honest portrayal of the year following the devastating loss of their mother – a journey that took them from the depths of grief to the heights of new love, and ultimately, the discovery of a new self.
Joyner II is a free fall into the unknown of starting over. It’s an album that doesn’t shy away from the complexities of life’s most challenging moments, yet it also celebrates the resilience and joy that can emerge from them. The sisters have crafted a series of dreamy synth-pop tracks that will make you want to cry, dance and feel everything in between. The album’s vibrant soundscapes are layered with emotional depth, offering a cathartic experience that speaks to the heart of anyone who has ever faced the difficult process of healing.
The album is brimming with heart, each song reflecting the emotional depth and resilience that has come to define Joyner’s music. From the haunting melodies that pull at the heartstrings to the electrifying beats that ignite a desire to dance, Joyner II is a multifaceted project.
“The journey of grief is deep,” the Joyner sisters reflect. “Making this body of music was our cocoon as we each became someone new. Happy, sad, madly in love – this record captures it all with reverberating color.”
Whether you’re seeking solace, celebration, or something in between, this album has a track that will speak to you. Ultimately, Joyner II is about finding happiness again – about rediscovering joy and love in a world that’s been changed. It’s an invitation to dance through the pain, to find light in the darkest moments, and to embrace the new self that emerges from the ashes of the old.
LUNA: Thank you for sitting down and talking to Luna, it’s an absolute pleasure to have you back since your “Ted Lasso” single release. I would love to catch up and see how life has been treating you since then and what you’ve been up to since?
SUMMER: It's been good. We released another single called “New Friends,” which is one of our favorites from the album and we put out a fun music video with that. We went up to shoot another music video with our friend Dustin, like a little short film which is also one of the tracks from the record. Just all the prep work to put the album out, and that takes a while, but we're just super excited that it's out in the world now.
TORREY: The past year has just been getting this album out and all of the creative projects and everything that goes into that, from the cover art, to the videos, to the visuals. It’s been keeping us busy.
LUNA: What kind of atmosphere or emotional space do you aim to create for your listeners?
TORREY: It’s different for every project, but I think for this project, specifically, easy listening was a big theme. We really gravitate towards projects that have good elements that you can get lost in whether that's catchy melodies, good drum grooves, juicy synths. Just a nice sonic landscape that people can get lost in. We love pop music. We love experimental music.
SUMMER: I love an album where you can listen to it from start to finish and get lost in it, and so while it wasn't our goal to start with, it just evolved that way, which was really nice.
LUNA: You just released your debut record Joyner II and a huge congratulations is in order. What is the inspiration behind the record and what themes and emotions do you explore?
SUMMER: We started making the album after our mom died and we started with one song. We went in with our collaborator Billy. After we did that song, it just felt so good that we kept coming back in with more ideas and it just kept going and song after song we realize we're making an album, which is something that we've always wanted to do and never really had the means to do. I think that it came together very organically.
TORREY: The inspiration was our mom passing away and that was started at all. It covers a lot. You think that an album following such a big event would be purely about grief, but there's so many different experiences and emotions that you go through that experience.
SUMMER: It covers everything from starting new relationships, falling in love, heartbreak, dealing with past traumas. There's moody songs, there's pop songs. It takes you on a journey.
LUNA: I would love to know more about the creative process. How did you go through this experience and how did it affect the process of creating your music? Has Joyner II helped you express feelings and let off some steam?
SUMMER: I think definitely getting into the studio at such a vulnerable time, we obviously had a lot to say and a lot of emotions to go through, and so just getting that out through the music was such a nice way to express what we were feeling. I think just having your grief witnessed and being able to tell your story – most people don't really know the story of how that year was for us – just having that out in the world, giving people a glimpse of that, it helps you feel a little bit more seen and understood.
TORREY: Even though it doesn't tell the story fully, it's not every single thought and emotion that you're going through through that process. It's us during that time, it's what we were doing, what our lives were like. Sometimes that was us going out and having a crazy night just trying to forget about things. Sometimes it was feeling really sad being locked in our rooms. Sometimes it was wanting to dance and do something fun. It's almost a timestamp of this year after our mom died and it encompasses a lot of different aspects.
LUNA: Last time we talked, you said the record is an evolution of going through grief and sadness. How does it feel to have such intimate and vulnerable work out in the world?
SUMMER: It feels nice to have your creative expression seen and heard. You don't know who's going to listen to it or who's going to find it, but hopefully, it will reach the people that it needs to reach and that will be exciting to see over time who finds the album.
TORREY: It's surprising even now, some of the responses that we've seen. It's really cool to know that different music is reaching different people in different ways, and it's not something that you really expect when you create music, so when you put it out, it's really cool to see.
LUNA: What was the most memorable or surprising response that someone gave to you after listening to the record?
SUMMER: It's interesting to see what songs people are gravitating toward. We have a song called “Busy Bee” and every single girl loves it and guys don’t get it. Our song “Bagels,” we've had some people reach out and say that's their favorite and that they've had it on repeat. You never know what songs people are going to be super excited about or pop on repeat. It's always fun hearing you know what people's takeaways are and what they gravitate toward.
LUNA: What is your favorite song off Joyner II and why do you love this song? Is there a certain element, lyric or message that you gravitate towards the most?
SUMMER: I love them all and it's always changing. I love “Bagels” right now. I think it's such an easy listening vibe. It has a very nostalgic feel to it.
TORREY: Mine changes every day. I was really digging “New Friends” the other day and then I heard “Ted Lasso” again recently. Sometimes it'll just come up on Spotify when I put it on my phone because that's what my Spotify thinks I want to listen to myself. I heard that last night again. I just fell in love with it again, so that one means the most to me personally, and sonically, it makes me feel like I'm floating away. I've always loved it, but I think it's my new favorite again.
LUNA: What was the hardest song for you to write and how did you navigate bringing it to fruition?
SUMMER: They were all honestly super easy. Since we didn't go in with any expectations, every time we went into the studio, it was just experimenting and doing what felt good in the moment. Every song came together very seamlessly, which is very rare. I think even when you're not trying or you're not forcing it, you're just doing what feels good. It came out of us and it was so much fun.
TORREY: We definitely spent more time on some songs than others, but I think that it all came together pretty seamlessly. I think the expectations part is that we just have no expectations. Usually we have expectations of what we want something to sound like or be, so that's when those pain points come up or when when you find it difficult to break past a certain point on a song because you can't seem to get it exactly the way that you want it, but we didn't really have that with this project.
LUNA: Have you taken any risks or experimented more, whether that’s lyrically, emotionally or sonically, with Joyner II compared to your previous releases and what does that look like?
SUMMER: We definitely experimented way more on this album than we ever have in the past. We were having so much fun running our vocals through different guitar pedals and different preamps and creating different sounds using different instrumentation or effects on our vocals. The final track on the album called “Strawberries” was our most experimental and it goes on a three minute instrumental journey. We're just doing whatever feels good. It has a trippy psychedelic vibe that was super fun to experiment on and you get lost in it.
LUNA: What’s the best atmosphere to listen to your music in?
SUMMER: Driving in the car. I love driving in the car and starting an album from start to finish. That's one of my favorite things. I feel like it has a good wave of slow, then upbeat and then heartfelt. It creates this story and picture from start to finish which is really nice.
LUNA: How are you feeling in this current era of your career and what does the rest of the year look like for you that you would love to share with Luna?
TORREY: We're excited to keep creating some more music.
SUMMER: Just excited to keep writing and keep playing. Figuring out the life side, getting back out and playing some shows and recording music.
