After a life-altering journey across the Atlantic Ocean, indie-folk artist Joshu is ready to share the fruits of his introspective voyage with the release of his third EP, Way Back Home. A beautiful and intimate collection of indie-folk tracks which are delicate, personal and reflective, the EP is a brilliant collection of heartfelt songwriting.
The story behind this EP is as much about transformation as it is about the music itself. Following the end of a tumultuous relationship, Joshu gave into a sense of wanderlust, embarking on an extraordinary journey, setting sail from the southern coast of England and crossing the Atlantic ocean for the first time. His path retraced a symbolic song-line from his birthplace to the island he calls home in the Caribbean. This physical journey mirrored his emotional one, unraveling complex feelings of belonging, nostalgia, and self-reflection, which now serve as the core themes of Way Back Home.
“This record is my attempt to untangle those threads and move toward reclaiming that sense of connection,” Joshu shares, explaining the epiphanies that came to him while alone at sea. “On the open ocean, time blurs into itself. I began to question what it truly means to belong.” His revelation: home isn’t simply a place on the map, but a web of relationships—those we form with each other, with the land, and with the living world around us.
The EP consists of five delicately crafted songs that reflect Joshu’s journey of self-discovery. Through the warming, intimate arrangements of each track, he invites listeners to join him on a voyage that is both personal and universal. Built around organic textures, nylon strung guitars and delicate vocal delivery, the soundpallet is as comparable to Ben Howard as it is to Nick Mulvey and even Jack Johnson.
Despite the melancholic tone of tracks like ‘way back home‘ and ‘morning eyes’, there’s a summery, light and breezy feel across the EP which makes it feel buoyant and easy going, despite the emotional journey of the lyricism.
Each song on Way Back Home feels like a piece of Joshu’s emotional journey, meticulously shaped in the quiet solitude of Antigua’s spare rooms during 2024. The vocals and tender and evocative, whilst the thoughtfully arranged soundscapes bring folk sensibilities with the subtle rhythms of the island – an ode to his roots in the twin-island nation of Antigua & Barbuda.
Joshu adds: “This record is an acknowledgment of the grief that comes with disconnection from place and nature, but it’s also a call to reclaim our role as rational stewards of the natural world and to reimagine what it means to truly belong.”
Listen below:
