Q&A: Susannah Joffe Embraces Her Sexuality In Upcoming EP
SHOWCASING VULNERABILITY AND RAWNESS — Susannh Joffe brings a new sound to her music in her recent song “Backseat.” The young independent artist from Austin, Texas challenges the way genre defines an artist. “I think everyone can agree now that genre is outdated,” Joffe said. “ It just doesn’t work for music nowadays.” Joffe does not define one genre but rather a combination of them: indie-pop and indie-rock, highlighted with powerful vocals. Songwriting for Joffe is an outlet to express her emotions in hopes of everyone feeling an emotional connection.
From a young age, Susannah Joffe has always been around music, as her father is a songwriter. Joffe started her musical journey back in high school and now co-writes with her father. Her new upcoming EP entails a journey of embracing her sexuality and her first queer heartbreak. With this EP, Joffe finds herself learning the importance of being vulnerable in your creative work.
Read below to get to know Susanah Joffee and her upcoming EP.
LUNA: How has the summer weather been treating you so far?
JOFFE: I don’t know if you are familiar with Texas weather, but it is the craziest whirlwind in the entire world. We had about a three-week period of just thunderstorms every single day. Which is basically unheard of, and now it is literally 100 degrees outside. It’s been a rollercoaster. But, you know, I love my Texas weather, so I wouldn’t have it any other way.
LUNA: 2020 has been a rough year for everyone. However, has it been easier for you to create music?
JOFFE: Honestly it has, because at least in quarantine I had so much time to start writing on my own. That’s when I dealt into songwriting, because before that I'd been writing with my dad. I started writing my own songs during quarantine because I had so much [time] alone with my thoughts. I was reaching out to producers and other creatives through social media. So by doing a ton of collaborations that way and meeting people that way, I was able to start co-producing songs or having producers produce my songs. It kinda forces us to find a new way to make songs.
LUNA: You mentioned you write with your dad — at what age did you start your musical journey?
JOFFE: My dad has been a songwriter since I was born. So I always grew up with him playing music around the house and writing songs since I was eight. Me and him started co-writing together when I was a sophomore in high school, ’cause I was going through my first breakup. He was definitely taking the lead on them and kinda showing me the ropes. It became more collaborative.
LUNA: Name three artists that influenced your musical journey.
JOFFE: Every time I get asked this question, I always say Clario. Her album Immunity was very helpful for me in coming out and understanding my sexuality and coming to terms with it. Adele and Amy Winehouse have influenced me vocally because that’s who I grew up listening to.
LUNA: You grew up in Austin, Texas. How would you describe the music scene there? Has anything changed?
JOFFE: The Austin sound predominantly has been very kind of blues, bluegrassy, kind of folky stuff for all the local music here. But I think it’s beginning to evolve and change. There’s this narrative that no musician makes out of Austin. So I think a lot of people are changing their sound to be a little bit more digestible for larger audiences.
Personally, I can’t think of any indie pop artists that have emerged from Austin. And I especially can’t think of any indie-pop queer female artists or indie-rock queer female artists [that have]. Back in the ’80s or ’90s, they were a ton of these gay female rockstars in Austin, and that kind of dissipated with time. I think that’s part of what I’m trying to do. Austin needs someone to carry its name out there. I’m trying to help bring some more indie-pop and be that queer voice.
LUNA: If you could perform anywhere right now, where would you like to perform?
JOFFE: I would perform at the Red Rock amphitheater because it is so beautiful.
LUNA: You did a beautiful cover of Fleetwood’s Mac “Dreams.” Is there another song you wish to cover in the future?
JOFFE: Definitely focusing on recording my own original songs. But I have, like, five different playlists on my phone of all the songs that I want to cover because there are so many that I'm just obsessed with.
LUNA: I listened to your recent single, “Backseat,” and it’s about your first queer heartbreak. How has that experience influenced the way you make music today?
JOFFE: That whole experience has given me a whole EP. I think it’s really taught me a lot about how important songwriting is for me as an outlet. I can’t even explain how painful that whole experience was. Songwriting became the tool for me to sort through the immense pain I was in and the confusion and thoughts I had. And it also taught me how important it is to be really honest in your music and the importance of vulnerability in your music.
LUNA: Your upcoming first EP is coming out — is there a memorable or challenging moment you wish to share with us?
JOFFE: There’s so many. I think one thing that was hard is like picking the songs that go on it. I have probably 20 songs written. And it’s like having to sacrifice like 16 songs, or 15, or 14, or however many, to just handpick the ones that are the most cohesive and make sense — [that] was really hard because I have an attachment to everything I write and I want everyone to hear it.
LUNA: What can people expect from your upcoming EP?
JOFFE: I think it’s really good. It’s the best thing that I’ve ever made creatively. I’m a film major, too, so I’m directing all the music videos; I’m directing all the live shows. I think it's gonna be a very visually stimulating EP. It has a real rawness and vulnerability in it and pain that people can relate to.
LUNA: Lastly, is there anything else we should expect from you? Any other projects?
JOFFE: My next song is called “Halloween.” We shot the video months ago before the song was even finished. We shot the video like two weeks later with an amazing team — in a day, which was crazy. The video is by far my favorite music video I’ve done. This song is really special because I took one of a really hard night and made it into this song that I think is really beautiful.
LUNA: What are your goals for the rest of the year 2021?
JOFFE: Actually so funny that you say that because I had a meeting yesterday. I went through and talked about all my goals for this year. My goal for this year is that I want to play South by Southwest.
