Following on from his third studio album 'Every Single Thing', released last year, WILL JOSEPH COOK is back with a new EP, 'NOVELLA'. Here, tells us some interesting facts about the release.

The thing about Will Joseph Cook, is he just keeps on getting better. With a rare talent for understanding exactly where bring, brilliant modern pop music should go, ‘Novella’ is an EP that proves as his peers drop off, WJC only becomes sharper. Opener ‘EYE 2 EYE’ bubbles and flows with an easygoing excitement, while ‘BORN TO LOSE’ takes a Bloc Party-esque guitar line and drags it into a whole different universe. More than that,‘MF BASSLINE’ could well be the best thing Will Joseph Cook has produced - a smart, slick jam that shows just how far he’s come. This is one ‘Novella’ that deserves a read. Here, tells us some interesting facts about the release.

'EYE 2 EYE' features a secret guest vocalist. I really wanted the texture of female vocals on the choruses, so my girlfriend Laurie Case laid some down. She'd never recorded her voice like that before as she's a choreographer, not a professional singer, so the process was really fun and explorative.

The video for this one was shot in the Welsh mountains. It tells the story of an awkward camping trip with my girlfriend's scary dad. I still can't believe how well-cast the dad is. Shoutout @thegreyviking, we literally just found him on Instagram, and this was his first on-screen acting job.

I've had the main guitar riff on this track chilling on my laptop since 2020. Earlier this year, I was listening through unfinished projects, searching for riffs that I could flip. I'd been inspired by artists like Brakence, who have taken drill-style beats as the foundation and then built Midwest emo and RnB elements on top. I wanted to try that concept but with different ingredients, making a hybrid between drill rhythms and indie guitar riffs inspired by Bloc Party and The Drums.

I'm really proud of the songwriter concept on this one. The bassline is the lowest frequency in a song, so anything beneath it sonically wouldn't really be able to hold a note. If you looked at a frequency that low as a waveform, it would be this lethargic wriggling worm of a line. Given that, lyrically, it's about struggling with my relationship with music and depression in general, it felt like a perfect metaphor.

This one started via Instagram DMs. My guitarist at the time, Benedict Quinn, posted the chorus guitar riff and groove to his story, and it immediately caught me. He sent me it that day, and within a couple of days, I had mapped out a full song around it. The first bounce is saved as 'my best prince impression.

The French at the beginning of the song translates to "Thank you, thank you, goodbye. Meet up with me. I ride a yellow bicycle and dance in the park", and is probably my best work to date. Apologies to all French-speaking listeners in advance.