Toronto-based (via Kenya & Rwanda) singer, songwriter, producer and all around artist Jozem finally releases his exquisite, entirely self-produced debut album, it came to me in a dream. Utterly haunting, completely relaxation-inducing and filled with carefully developed layers of texture, vivid imagery and soul-spinning soundscapes, it came to me in a dream, is the true definition of alternative R&B. Jozem presents a uniquely intoxicating, explorative concoction of sounds, weaving in elements of neo-soul with a warm, reverberating lo-fi haze.
Exactly as the name suggests, this 10-track album is the sonic experience and interpretation of a dream world, all of Jozem’s creation. Right from the very first, heady, heavy breath of opening single “Breathe”, all the way through to the final offering and most recent single and video, “Youth”, you find yourself entrapped, encased, and entranced in another world. Stepping softly, he drenches you in his atmospheric, soulful and thought-provoking lyricism which is thick with poeticism, introspection and enigmatic power.
Describing the track “Foreign”, Jozem reveals,
“In life, with all its noise and distractions, it is so easy to just keep going with the flow that you lose sight of your purpose and forget how you got to where you are.
“Foreign” is about being lost and getting to a juncture where you are forced to face yourself and the person you have become. You start questioning who you are and question the relationships with the people who you love. “Foreign” is about bravely sitting in those moments of uncertainty, letting yourself question the things that you’ve been conditioned into believing about yourself, who you should be, and how you present to the world.
For me, it is often in my sleepless nights where I am alone and cannot hide where I have these conversations with myself and am forced to reckon with the demons that haunt me. Ultimately it is in these moments where you really can face your truth and strive to align your being and your actions with who you truly are and want to be.”
