Oh sure, you already know
Joe Keery from being a dead famous actor type in Netflix smash hit Stranger Things and all sorts of big Hollywood films - but there's much more to him than that. With a lifer level passion for music, he's currently operating under the guise of
Djo, dropping smart, groove-filled bops like this year's '
Keep Your Head Up'. We tracked him down to talk more.
Words:
Jessica Goodman.
"The last reason you'd want to gain any notoriety in music is because you are an actor," Joe Keery expresses. "That shouldn't make any..." he trails off, shaking his head. "That shouldn't be a qualifier." It's a Friday afternoon in Atlanta, and Joe Keery is enjoying some downtime from, well, being an actor. The Stranger Things / Spree / Domino's Pizza ad star is back at work filming the new series of Netflix's smash hit sci-fi show after production was shut down in March. In the interim (and now on any days off) he's been dedicating his time to his other creative pursuit: music.
Inspired from a young age by a love of AC/DC, Led Zeppelin, and School Of Rock, music has long been a creative outlet for him. Playing in bands Don Quixote and Post Animal before starting solo project Djo, he might be more well known for his time on screen than his time in a recording studio, but it's clear that writing and performing music is just as much a part of his life as acting.
"You can't escape that sort of stuff," he explains of the notoriety he gained with the success of Stranger Things. Being able to reach more people with music because of that success while also wanting people to see past it and enjoy the music in its own right is a bit of a double-edged sword. "It has allowed more people to listen," Joe states. "I was making music for a long time and having nobody listen," he laughs. "I don't take it for granted, but I also just don't want to exploit it." Releasing music under a different name and hiding his face behind dark glasses or face paint in press shots, the centre of attraction is unshakably the music – and that's something that speaks for itself.
"I feel like the only thing that you can really do is make music that is hopefully interesting," he expresses. "That's what I'm trying to do now, just make stuff that I think is different and interesting and exciting to me, and just find a sound that makes me excited." From the psych-shrouded sonics of debut album '
Twenty Twenty' to disco dance floor bop 'Keep Your Head Up' and beyond, that's exactly what he's doing. Ever-evolving (an impressive feat just one album in), with Djo he's crafted a sound that refuses to be pinned down.
