Indie artist has soul

‘ ‘ ‘ Pitt alum and rookie songwriter Joy Ike is putting the soul back into Pittsburgh’s music… ‘ ‘ ‘ Pitt alum and rookie songwriter Joy Ike is putting the soul back into Pittsburgh’s music scene. But Ike doesn’t just bring soul to the table. Her first album, released this June, fuses the styles of jazz, soul, pop and indie music together to make herself known throughout the area as an exciting upcoming artist. ‘ ‘ ‘ Ike’s talented piano playing and soulful singing has been compared to popular artists like Norah Jones, Corinne Bailey Rae, Sarah McLachlan and Fiona Apple. But unlike those experienced artists, Ike has only been writing and performing songs for three years. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘I started writing the summer after I graduated from the University of Pittsburgh,’ said Ike. ‘I always wanted to write music in my college and high school years, but everything I wrote was cheesy, so music kind of got put on the back burner. It’s hard to write without anything to back it up.’ ‘ ‘ ‘ But the fact that Ike has been performing only since 2005 hasn’t slowed the aspiring artist down at all. She’s had a lot of success within the Pittsburgh area and has developed a local fan base among listeners of all ages. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘Joy Ike is one of the artists [who] will ultimately be responsible for placing Pittsburgh’s music scene firmly on the map,’ wrote Allhiphop.com. ‘ ‘ ‘ Ike released her EP, Before These Words Were Ever Spoken, in 2006 and has been a prominent artist on the Pittsburgh music scene ever since. Only a year after releasing her EP, Ike was voted second best solo artist in Pittsburgh by City Paper readers. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘The music scene in Pittsburgh has been very supportive. There’s more appreciation for fresh and upcoming artists. The music scene isn’t too cluttered and crowded like in New York. There is a good ratio between musicians and listeners,’ said Ike. ‘ ‘ ‘ Ike’s music is filled with her talented piano playing, comparable to the talents of artists like Tori Amos, and raw, powerful vocals backed by smooth violins and other assorted instruments. ‘ ‘ ‘ Ike describes her own music as ‘a mix of a lot of different things. It’s indie, pop, soul, jazz and a lot of other different things. I’ve been compared to a lot of very different people, from Norah Jones to Bjork,’ said Ike. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘I feel like I assume different characters with every song ‘mdash; sometimes mellowed out and serene like [Norah] Jones, sometimes aggressive like [Fiona] Apple, and definitely that element of soul that I think is consistent throughout all my songs. At the same time, I don’t think I sound like any of them, but it helps, just as much as it hurts, to put yourself in a category so people know what to expect,’ said Ike. ‘ ‘ ‘ Ike says her critically acclaimed songs are inspired by both the everyday and traumatic experiences of her life. ‘My songs are about my relationships with family and friends. ‘Warriors [get your gear on]’ was inspired by my brother, who passed away from cancer in April. It’s about how it’s so much easier to push through a struggle when you have so many people supporting you … Writing is my way of reflecting things and how I deal with crap in my life. It’s like my own personal psychologist,’ said Ike. ‘ ‘ ‘ The release of her first full album, Good Morning, was a personal accomplishment for Ike after the release of her EP. After recording for 10 months at Shrine Audio, a local audio recording and production company, Ike released her album, which has been receiving rave reviews all summer. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘Recording is a love/hate relationship for me. You have to record over and over again until you get it perfect … I put out an EP two years ago, and I hate it. It’s terrible. So this time I told myself that I wouldn’t put out something that I wasn’t happy with. I’m happy with this album though. It’s got a little bit of everything and all the different sides of me. It’s got the urban side and the polished classic side of me,’ said Ike. ‘ ‘ ‘ Ike will be performing the songs from her new album in Oakland several times this fall, starting tonight at Student Taking Action Now: Darfur’s Back to School Ballyhoo. The event will take place on the Bigelow Patio in front of the Union at 6:30 p.m. ‘ ‘ ‘ Anna Siegel, vice president of STAND, thinks Ike is an appropriate choice. ‘I had first seen Joy perform at another benefit show, so I knew she was into doing this kind of thing,’ said Siegel. ‘I remember being very excited about her music. I think it is very relatable to Pitt students and the message of her songs is really aligned with our message at STAND.’ ‘ ‘ ‘ Ike will also be performing twice at Schenley Plaza for its Outside Summer Lunchtime Series Tuesday Sept. 9, and Thursday Oct. 2 from noon to 1:30 pm. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘I’ve played at Schenley Plaza twice already this summer. It’s a lot of fun,’ said Ike. ‘Whenever people ask me where my favorite place to perform is, I always tell them, ‘outside.” ‘ ‘ ‘ Joy Ike’s music career is still young, but it’s not holding her back at all. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘I’ve been trying to branch out of Pittsburgh, but it’s really an uphill battle,’ said Ike.’ Despite challenges, she recently played shows far outside of the Pittsburgh area in Chicago and Philadelphia and plans to continue to branch out to other cities.