Duo Joe and Jake are back with a fresh new sound for 2017.
Since its release on Friday, we’ve been playing their amazing new single ‘Tongue Tied’ on repeat. If you’re looking for an upbeat bop to brighten up your January, then ‘Tongue Tied’ is the song for you. After representing the UK in the Eurovision Song Contest last year, we’re pleased to see Joe Woolford and Jake Shakeshaft back on the scene and stronger than ever.
We recently got the chance to quiz Joe and Jake on their new single, their Eurovision experience and what 2017 has in store for the duo. Check out the interview below!
Congratulations on your new single, ‘Tongue Tied’! We’re completely in love with it. Can you talk us through the inspiration behind the song?
The song is about liking someone who unfortunately doesn’t like you back..we’ve all been there right?!
Do you have a particular favourite lyric from the song?
We’ve both agreed on our favourite lyric! It’s “I see you dance on the weekend, but you don’t want me around..you only call me baby when the club shuts down” because let’s be honest, it’s happened to all of us haha!
Are there any plans for an official music video for it? If so, can you tell us anything about it?
We’re in the process of getting a lyric video for ‘Tongue Tied’ done! And in terms of official music video, keep your eyes open!
‘Tongue Tied’ is a fresh uptempo offering, in comparison to your Eurovision song, the anthemic ballad that was ‘You’re Not Alone’. Are you enjoying experimenting with different sounds, or is ‘Tongue Tied’ a better reflection of what you want to sound like as a duo?
We loved performing ‘You’re Not Alone’ and it’s definitely a song that will always mean a lot to us! But in terms of style, ‘Tongue Tied’ is definitely a taste of things to come! We wrote the track ourselves so we’re very very proud of it!
Who would you say are your musical influences?
Although we both have similar music style, our influences are really varied! We both admire artists from Elvis Presley & Bob Marley to Ed Sheeran and 2Pac! So yes, very varied!!
You met and became friends after competing on The Voice UK. What made you decide to join forces and form a duo?
Once The Voice had finished we were both booked as solo acts on the same gig and we just decided to start writing some music with each other. There was just an instant click there and we thought we should form a duo! We really wanted to bring something new and fresh! It’s all been great, it helps we’re such good mates..less arguments!
You then went on to compete at the Eurovision Song Contest. What was that experience like for you?
Eurovision was an unreal experience for the both of us! To represent our country in the worlds biggest singing competition was a huge thing for us. Getting the opportunity to perform our song all over Europe to millions of people was incredible!
As part of the Eurovision process, you got to travel across the UK and abroad to promote the song. Aside from the actual Eurovision final performance, what was your highlight of the whole process?
The whole experience was unreal but our highlight has to be the first moment we walked on to the stage when the arena was empty! Seeing the Globe arena for the first time was amazing, really made us realise just how huge the competition is!
What have you been up to since Eurovision?
Since Eurovision we’ve been really busy writing and recording a lot of new material! We’ve also been doing lots of performances around the country and Europe which has been great.
Can we expect more music and live performances in 2017?
Absolutely! We’re going to be doing as many performances as possible and in terms of music..watch this space!
Do you have a message for your fans?
We’d like to say thank you so much to all the fans for their amazing support! We are so grateful and can’t wait to perform for you all in 2017!
Thank you to Joe and Jake for their time, and good luck with ‘Tongue Tied’, which is available to download now.