Name: Joshua Idehen
Occupation: Poet, vocalist, rapper, spoken word performer
Nationality: British
Current release: Joshua Idehen's new single “All You Can Do Is Try” is out via Big Wednesday.
Recommendations: “Emergency Anthem” by Alex Green; “Righteous Fists Of Harmony,” by Daedelus

[Read our Daedelus interview]

If you enjoyed this Joshua Idehen interview and would like to stay up to date with his music, collaborations, and performances, visit him on Instagram, Soundcloud, and Facebook.

For a deeper dive, we recommend our earlier Joshua Idehen interview about his creative process.

Over the course of his career, Joshua Idehen has collaborated with a wide range of artists and bands, including Metronomy, The Comet is Coming, Sons of Kemet, Addict Ameba, and LV.

[Read our Danalogue of The Comet is Coming interview]
[Read our Anna Prior of Metronomy interview]



Do you think that some of your earliest musical experiences planted a seed for your interest in writing lyrics or poetry? How and when did you start writing?

Yeah, I grew up in a household that took to music/media consumption. My dad owned a video rental store and was a massive collector of vinyls and videos, so that was my childhood.

Problem was, we’d moved in Nigeria in the 80s, so we didn’t have the most reliable electricity. So when the power went out, I would make up songs and stories while we waited, sometimes in the dark.

It is sometimes said that “music begins where words end.” What do you make of that?

Never heard that one! Why would they ever be separated? Words carry their own rhythm, their own music. I don’t see starts and ends.

I see circles. sometimes parallel, often intertwined.

Entering new worlds and escapism through music and literature have always exerted a very strong pull on me. What do you think you are drawn to most when it comes to writing?

A good clear line.

“Life is a game and true love is its trophy” is just a belter from Rufus Wainright. “Sun spreads like the last bit of butter” By Busman’s Holiday. “I miss you, but I haven’t met you yet;” “I thought I could organise freedom, how scandavian of me” both by Björk. “A girl must do what a boy would” by Wildbirds and Peacedrums and an absolute belter by Mike Carey: “no oceans can fill a bucket with a hole at the bottom.”

Lines like that, are like hot knives through cheese, and get me so worked up. I love a good metaphor.

What were some of the artists and albums which inspired you early on purely on the strength of their lyrics? What moves you in the lyrics of other artists?

Ah, I think I’ve listed a few above. But let me also add Amy Winehouse because the woman could write a scene like nobody’s business.

I have always considered many forms of music to be a form of poetry as well. Where do you personally see similarities? What can music express which may be out of reach for poetry?

I see it all as writing, albeit with a different set of rules.

Music may allow for more simplicity than poetry, I think. At least with me.

The relationship between words and music has always intrigued me. How do you see it?

Music is the horse, and the words are the greek soldiers. There’s a reason Christians say the devil has the best tunes: if the music is good and connects to your heart, people can listen to almost anything.

I mean, that’s how you get people from all different ideologies singing along to “One Love” by Bob Marley.


Joshua Idehen Interview Image by Vega Salomonsson

What kind of musical settings and situations do you think are ideal for your lyrics?

House music and Jazz have been my most favourable companions, with DNB/Breakbeat coming in third.

When working on music, when do the lyrics enter the picture? Where do they come from? Do lyrics need to grow together with the music or can they emerge from a place of their own?

It depends. Sometimes when the genius visits early, I write a song in an hour.

Sometimes, like my last single, it takes a year.

Do you feel like the music triggers specific words inside you? Or is more of a feeling or a memory? Would you say there is instantly an entire idea in front of you or does the story grow as you keep listening to the music?

It is often borne out of a line. Either the chorus, or a line from a verse, something I feel is so strong I want to build a song around it.

The first line I wrote in “Don’t You Give Up On Me” was “Don’t You Dare” and I loved the cadence so much I went on a mental expedition to see where that line came from.



More generally, in how far can music take you to places with your writing you would possibly not have visited without it?

I went to the highest mountain peak in Innsbruck, Austria, because I decided to make a house song about depression. That was a moment.

When you're writing song lyrics, do you sense or see a connection between your voice and the text? Does it need to feel and sound “good” or “right” to sing certain words? What's your perspective in this regard of singing someone else's songs versus your own?

Well, I’m a poet, there’s rarely a space for doing covers, although I have done one.

With poetry on music, because I don’t have a flow or don’t scan with the beat, there is a definite emphasis on making sure it sounds “right” or “there” which involves a lot of rerecording to find the right words to fit on the song.

In how far are you consciously aware of the meaning of the lyrics you're writing during the creative process? Do you need to have a concrete concept or can the words take the lead?

After an initial line, I will often build the concept in my head before I keep writing. I rarely if ever go in blind.

I want to be understood with my writing, and I want to understand myself.

What is the value of song lyrics or hip hop bars outside of the music?

Depends on the writer.

How do you see the relationship between harmony, rhythm and melody? Do you feel that honing your sense of rhythm and groove has an effect on your lyrics-writing skills?

Every piece of writing has a rhythm, harmony and melody. I embrace them in my work as best I can

Creativity can reach many different corners of our lives. Do you feel as though writing or performing a piece of poetry is inherently different from something like making a great cup of coffee? What do you express through music that you couldn't or wouldn't in more 'mundane' tasks?

Well, as someone who makes coffee currently for a living (shout out Slowhands Cafe), I can tell you they are worthwhile endeavours requiring different skillsets.

But poems … every time is new. For me, every time i touch the page, I am wandering into the dark. I am beginning a new affair. I don’t know where I am going, and the only task is find out.