Joshu: holding on
By Jack Rush
Raised in Antigua & Barbuda on mangoes, calypso, and the ocean, Joshu crafts quietly beautiful indie folk songs meant for gentle afternoons or silent moments alone. With British roots, his Caribbean childhood was steeped in the eclectic musical tastes of his parents and the island. From John Martyn to Jack Johnson to King Short Shirt, these influences have inspired a beautiful combination of folk and groove with deep lyrical content.
In 2019, after a devastating break-up, Joshu set sail from the shores of southern England to cross the Atlantic Ocean for the first time. Retracing a song-line from his birthplace to Antigua, the island he was raised on, this journey not only transformed him, but gave rise to the concepts behind his new EP, way back home. The first track to be released from this special record is ‘holding on’, a nostalgic reverie that came to be on the vast, isolating and life-affirming Atlantic waves.
The opening line, “left my home in the warm rain”, introduces the reflective experience of ‘holding on’ through which Joshu looks back on his supposedly paradisiacal youth. This song, like the rest of the forthcoming EP, tussles with what it means to belong. Is home where you’re born, or where you’re raised? How do you cultivate genuine connection to place and community? What complexities arise from being constantly asked, “Where are you really from?” as a second-generation white man in the Caribbean?
These questions led Joshu to retrace his steps through life, ending up in his childhood, where many of us anchor our identity. However, there might be a freedom in letting go of who we once were. As indicated by the song’s gentle and self-forgiving affirmation “it’s not easy when you’re holding on so tight”, which emerged from a singing circle in Guatemala. Rather fittingly, ‘holding on’ was finalised back in Joshu’s childhood home in Antigua during the lockdown.
Born in England but raised in Antigua & Barbuda from two weeks old, Joshu crafts quietly beautiful indie folk songs that weave Caribbean groove with introspective lyrics. From his debut EP, Lines of Time, single ‘Where Did The Time Go’ garnered over 2 million streams and went on to win the 2019 John Lennon Songwriting Contest. Following his 2023 EP, Ocean Daze, Joshu marked his return with a Mahogany Session, featuring the title-track from his upcoming EP, way back home.
way back home is set for independent release in January 2025, after which Joshu will embark on a series of intimate live shows around the Caribbean and Europe.
Have a listen and connect with Joshu:
