Forever Ends Someday

Unguarded, wholly realised and entirely his own – Wesley Joseph’s long-awaited debut album sees the singer, songwriter, producer and director at his most confidently vulnerable, expressing the many layers of his creative life journey. “I looked in the mirror more than I ever have with this record,” he says. “It unexpectedly became a coming of age album. I was reaching from different periods in my life and into the present - some songs were cinematic snapshots, others sobering realities or romanticised memories. Dreaming has always been a raincoat from reality and making the record allowed things to be processed in the real world”The result is Forever Ends Someday: 13 tracks of self-examination cut with expansive escapism. A balance between reality and imagination – a magical realism rooted in music – opener “Distant Man” finds Joseph reflecting on the past and confronting his present, while “If Time Could Talk” explores the melancholic but electric feeling of lost connection and desire. On the Danny Brown feature “Peace of Mind”, meanwhile, Joseph blasts through his anxieties and delivers a bass-rattling anthem with confidence and reassurance, “July” finds Joseph collaborate with Jorja Smith as the pair perform a rejoiceful callback, recorded in their hometown of Walsall, reminiscing on how far they’ve come, as well as all they have lost.Three years in the making, Joseph took time away from the spotlight to find his story, choosing to pursue the honesty of his art rather than capitalising on career momentum - with highlights including a sold-out headline date at London’s KOKO and a sold-out North American tour. “I just treated the record like a vessel, throwing things into it from my life all the time,” he says. “I was capturing moments from my childhood, teenage years and at times speaking to a Wesley that doesn’t exist yet.”Resolutely genreless, it is Joseph’s singular voice and vision that unifies these tracks, cracking from raw rap self-expression to singing with soulful, understated, conviction. “This record is a product of my musical DNA,” he says. “It feels original because it’s not trying to fit in one space - it’s all my influences at once. I grew up with soul music and r&b being played around the house, I’ve never not had rap music around me, and as I got older I spent a lot of time in my headphones getting lost on the internet - which led to a love of everything from electronic music to psychedelic records.”“Lyrically these songs are all scenes, colours, feelings and moments in my life that I’ve caught at their most poignant and dramatised into song.” he continues. “Music has always been an honest place for me, It’s an escape from the world but when it came to writing this, I went inwards.”Since exploding onto the music scene with the synth-driven bounce of his breakthrough single “Ghostin’”, Joseph has built a cult audience immersed in his sophisticated, alternative sound. His debut EP ULTRAMARINE gathered over 100 million streams for its genre-agnostic trip though alternative R&B, soul, rap, dancefloor rhythms and considered lyricism, while follow-up GLOW saw Joseph deliver eight tracks of ambitious musicality that embraced everything from earworming melody to hard-hitting rap verses. Collaborating with the likes of A.K. Paul, Dave Okumu, Leon Vynehall, Joy Orbison, childhood friend Jorja Smith and Loyle Carner, who Joseph also supported on a sold-out tour through the UK, the multi-hyphenate has garnered critical acclaim and reputation for forward-thinking creativityRaised in the West-Midlands town of Walsall, Joseph grew up with music as a constant presence. In his teens he began teaching himself how to produce and was a core member of the DIY Soundcloud hip-hop collective OG Horse alongside Jorja Smith. Yet, as he reached adulthood, he found life in the town increasingly challenging. “I was always in between things and eventually became quite isolated, feeling a bit alien. Walsall is a small town and it’s a raw place, having dreams and a sense of distraction from reality really got me through my adolescence,” he says. “At 18, I felt I had to get out, since there’s only so much time you can spend in your room making beats.”Moving to London to study filmmaking, Joseph began developing his instinctive visual sensibility. He has consequently directed all of his music videos to date, being hands on from initial storyboarding to editing and colour grading - creating a cinematic, luscious perspective reflected in the award-winning visuals for singles like “Thrilla” and “Monsoon”“I didn’t always have the resources I needed so I had to learn things for myself. I was always punching above my weight, and always self-sufficient - because I simply care too much about what I make” he says. “Beneath the polished nature of what I’m releasing is someone who is trying to make the best work I can while I’m here.”It’s a humble mindset best r