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Hi guys, welcome to VENTS! How have you been?
Great thank you and very busy with the new single, as well as gearing up for our tour, with recording scheduled next month.
Mechanical Overlords tackles technological dominance and the erosion of human agency. What sparked the idea for the song, and how personal does that theme feel to you as artists navigating a digital world?
The subject is very real, AI is now part of our lives and it is slowly but surely taking over. It’s quite scary that this technology can clone voices and imitate real people. Many pop tracks are now AI generated and people, the media and social media are buying into this. Radio stations have recently played AI music which has caused major controversy. It’s a subject that people don’t write about but this is already affecting our lives. This gave us the inspiration to write about it.
Sonically, the track feels intense and engulfing. How did you approach capturing that sense of urgency and power in both the recording and the video?
The song is very intense and has some very dark elements. Shelley being a big fan of sci fi and dystopian films growing up, there’s a lot of inspiration from film music in this song. The outro section of the song touches on the dramatic rise of the machines taking over in a battle scene, it’s quite haunting and the video animation really complements the story line.
2026 is being described as a defining year for the band. What feels different about this chapter compared to previous eras of JoanOvArc?
We all have a very positive feeling about where we want to go with our music. We feel that every band member has the same vision and we work very well in a writing environment. Immy is a fantastic addition to the band with progressive rock influences and classical training.
The No More Masters tour title is bold and provocative. What does it represent philosophically or emotionally for the band right now?
It’s a strong statement but it’s saying that we can actually perform without outside influences dictating what we should do, say, wear or write. We now just write and play music for the love of it.
Immy Cliff officially joins as the new bass player this year. How has her classical training and multi-instrumental background reshaped the band’s dynamic, both live and in the studio?
This gives us vast amounts of opportunity to take song writing on to another level, we will definitely experiment with progressive rock and use multiple instruments in future recordings. Once Immy has settled into the live shows we will certainly do a live acoustic session with both the harp and flute.
Since forming in 2015, you’ve toured extensively across Europe, Japan, the Middle East, the Caribbean, and the U.S. How has global touring influenced your sound and perspective as a hard rock band?
Touring teaches us more than being in the rehearsal room. This is what makes a band tight and bonds a group. We are looking forward to more tours with Immy.
Looking back at your debut Ride of Your Life—recorded with Gil Norton at Rockfield Studios—what lessons from those early sessions still guide you today?
Working with Gill Norton was an incredible experience, we learnt about song arrangement, production and how to get the best out of our instruments. This was a musical experience that changed our lives. Recording at Rock field studios was dream come true and with one of the best producers on the planet.
Your live shows are described as “all killer, no filler.” What’s the philosophy behind your setlist construction and performance energy?
We hit the audience with a mixture of strong songs, then also bring them down and have their full attention with the slower more dramatic songs, and then hit them hard at the end with a show stopper. Our drummer is very entertaining with all her stick throwing and tricks, she gets plenty of attention. Certainly not the drummer at the back, our singer has a very strong vocal and presence. We are a very powerful unit.
With three full-length albums and a growing catalog behind you, how do you balance honoring your established sound while continuing to evolve creatively?
We will always have our classic tracks, for example ‘Say Sayonara’ has reached over one million streams. We would like to keep certain songs in the set that are still growing online. Our best performance songs that go down well with the audience will stay in the set until other better performance songs replace the other tracks. We end the set with a banging track called ‘Isolation’ this has an amazing fast outro that certainly goes down well with every audience. I would say we have gone from classic rock to hard rock/metal.
As more new music and festival appearances are on the horizon, what do you most want fans to feel when they step into this new JoanOvArc era?
A new excitement, a new energy and that they connect with the new songs and feel part of the Joanovarc show. We certainly want them to come back for more and join the Joanovarc army. Focusing on connection, emotion, and empowerment and which we demonstrate that through our song writing and live shows.
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