Interview by Brooke Gibbs.

Futuremag Music sat down Meanjin/Brisbane-based alt-pop duo JUNO following the release of their single, ‘i’m the man’, produced by Taka Perry (A.GIRL, RUEL, Sycco)

JUNO will be supporting North London pop-star girli across her East Coast Tour later this month.

FMM: Thank you so much for joining me. It's such an exciting time for you guys because you just put out your first single of the year, so how are you feeling?

JUNO: Good. So good, actually. I feel like this song feels like a really good way to start the year. It's probably one of the stronger ones that we've written, and I think there's a lot to this. It doesn't just feel like a song as well. There's a lot to this song and lyrically and message and stuff. It's a really empowering release as a whole, so it's probably in a really good mood this week. Feel really good. It's been great.

FMM: That's great to hear. What's the reaction been like? Have people reached out and said they're connecting with it or liking it?

JUNO: Big time! Probably more than any other song that we've written, because there is a really strong message behind this one about, like, feeling empowered and the whole idea as a woman and being, like, I'm the man and everything that that entails. I wrote an article talking about my experience as a woman in music and a few other things, and had a lot of people message and say that they could relate to certain parts of that and telling me about their experiences. I think it's just been really empowering, and it's been a really good feeling knowing that that song belongs to the people that are fans of what we're doing now, and hopefully they're blasting it in their car and hyping themselves up in the morning and feeling empowered and connecting with it and everything. It's really good.

FMM: Yeah, it's definitely relatable. You've mentioned it's about feeling empowered, and you've also mentioned that you've written it for your younger self. So tell me more about that and how you draw from personal experiences in your songwriting.

JUNO: Yeah, well, I mean, specifically with this song, this week has been a bit of a week of reflections. I thought about, you know, even, like, ten years ago, when I was making music as young teen and just starting out and a lot of lineups, I would be the only girl. A lot of backstage green rooms, I would be the only girl and that happens even now as well. Just all these feelings that I used to have even in high school, where, you know, there's kind of a culture with all the girls to be like, oh, you know, oh, no, I'm not pretty enough for him to like me, or I'm not cool enough. Those are the kind of languages and words that were spoken, and, you know, talking yourself up as a girl wasn't considered. You were just kind of considered up yourself if you did that. So, I used to speak down about myself all the time. I still do sometimes. I'm trying to get better at that, but it was just a part of the way I communicated to bring myself down and to release a song where I'm like, I'm the man. I'm the mother f-ing man. I would never have done that as a young girl. I just would never have had the confidence. It feels like I've made progress as a person to be able to do that. But, then I think even society wise, I feel like the response that I've received for this song has been so overwhelmingly positive, and I almost feel like even a decade ago, that style of song from an artist like me, at the level that I'm at, probably wouldn't have been as accepted as.. Well, you know? Accepted? I don't know. I just feel like it wouldn't have been supported as much as it has been. I feel like it's been overwhelmingly supported. It’s great releasing it into a culture that's kind of in support of that message as well. I think we made a lot of progress in the lyrics, like, taking ownership of that, but then also putting it out to people and other people also being like, yeah, I can do this as well. I think that's a really cool thing that we've noticed.

FMM: It’s great to hear that you found that confidence to be a voice for those people that may not have found that confidence and may still be battling with these issues that you've just described yourself. So in saying that, do you have any advice or tips for women who are releasing their first bit of music and are coming to terms with that sort of experience?

JUNO: Oh, sick. Yeah. I think one bit of advice that I really loved being given was the stuff that potentially you've been bullied for or been made fun about or stuff that sort of sets you apart or makes you a bit odd and a bit weird or a bit different, that's actually your goals. That's the stuff that you should embrace and embrace even more intensely, because anything that can make you different or set yourself apart makes you a stronger artist and a stronger person and a stronger creator. Anything that you feel ashamed about, it's actually your superpower, you know, whatever that may be. It might be something to do with your appearance or might be, I don't know, something mentally, your voice or the type of music you create or anything, really. Some people might think it's a bit weird, but it's actually good that it's a bit weird. Different is good, so embrace those things. Even if you've been bullied before, try to move past that, because that is your superpower.

FMM: I think that's great advice and as you said, yeah, different is good and that's what's going to make people stand out, especially in competitive industry.

JUNO: Oh, big time. Yeah. If you're trying to be the next Taylor Swift or whatever artist is big at the moment, then, I mean, they're already doing that and doing it better than anyone ever will because it's them, obviously. You're finding a thing that's you and doing that intensely. That's what's going to find you, your audience, I think.

FMM: For this release, you guys work with Taka Perry. Tell me more about that and how you knew he was the perfect fit for how you envisioned this single.

JUNO: I'm sure we've spoken about this before, but it was kind of funny how we got to working with him, actually, because when we started releasing stuff that started last year, Kahlia and I made a bit of a Spotify playlist with all these songs that we really liked the sound of, and because up until that point, I was just self producing everything. We noticed, like, five out of the seven or eight songs that we put on this playlist were all produced by Taka. We didn't do it on purpose. We were just like, oh, my God, okay, we should probably hit this guy up, you know? He's obviously got a sound that we really resonate with, so we just started working with him from there. It was kind of fortuitous, really. It was just kind of placed upon us. That just worked out really well and his production style complements us really well. Him and I can go back and forth on production stuff, and depending on the song, either he might do more of it or I might do more of it. We'll send ideas to each other and all that kind of stuff, and he's just really easy to work with and has really creative ideas and. Yeah, that. It's been a really good relationship and I think we'll keep doing that for quite a while, for sure.

FMM: It sounds like a really natural collaboration. You mentioned that playlist, so obviously he was a big influence on it, but I’d love to hear what some other artists are on that playlist as well and what influences your music.

JUNO: Cosmos Midnight. We love them, Young Franco, who else have we got? Oh, Jungle. We've been listening to so much Jungle lately. Mac Miller's massive. Honestly, a lot of Cosmos Midnight recently, actually, especially in the stuff we're writing to release later this year. Like, a lot more kind of dancy, like disco y, funky inspired stuff we’re really liking at the moment and in earlier days, it kind of shines through a little bit as well. Big fans of Remi Wolf, but then outside of that, I came from liking metal music and emo punk before I did any pop music and stuff, so. We love Paramore, Mayday Parade and All Time Low, like pop punk and stuff like that. Then I grew up with Fleetwood Mac and Eagles and like, that seventies kind of music, so it's just all over the place, really, which is kind of cool because I feel like we draw from all of those influences. With this current set, I've got the comment a few times that a lot of my productions and mixes sometimes, you can almost tell that I like metal music because I love everything being super forward and super massive sounding. The drums are always super punchy and stuff like that. That kind of stuff is bled into our music a little bit, which is fun, like Kahlia said before, so I used to shy away from that stuff, but now, because it's a bit of maybe a weird or different approach in my head, I do it on purpose now because I like that I have that kind of different view on things, you know what I mean? We just have those different references outside of our specific genre, which is kind of cool.

FMM: It's a really diverse taste, which is great because I think that comes through as well because obviously you guys have released other singles prior to this and you can see the growth in your sound. Do you think you guys will continue to experiment or do you feel like you're happy with where you're at at the moment?

JUNO: I think we've got a bit more experimenting in us, for sure. The stuff that we have planned to bring out later this year, I kind of said before, but it's a little bit more maybe dancy and house inspired and stuff like that. We want to kind of test those waters a little bit as well and just see how that feels. Kalia puts it really well and says releasing a song as part of the creative process as well, like, you don't just want to make it and do that, but put it out there and see how it feels and see how it resonates. I want to put it out there, see how a bit more experimenting goes and go from there, I think.

FMM: April is a big month for you guys to put it out there and see how it goes. You're supporting girli and you're also supporting Drax Project. What do those opportunities mean for Melbourne-based artists and what do you have in store?

JUNO: Yeah, we're so keen. We haven't really played a show since, I think, December ish, so it's been a few months since we hit the stage, and that's probably my favourite part of JUNO, is we put on a very excitable show. I dance and kick and scream and go off and I just love it. It's so creatively freeing being on stage and singing and get to sort of embody this whole different character. We're very keen to hit the road and Drax Project are amazing. We're all really big fans of theirs, and I think that's gonna be a great show. And then girli from the UK, I mean, it's called The Matriarchy Tour. I love that. It's so cool. You can tell just by her branding and everything and all the songs that she's really saying… It's super empowerment sort of vibes, and she seems like a really cool chick, so I'm very excited for that. That, too, is kind of fortuitous, really, because it accidentally ties in perfectly with the theme of the song we've released and stuff like that. It's all going in hand in hand really well, so we've got a really good band, like our best mates, and we can hit the road together and it's already sounding really, really good. We're very keen to play some shows.

FMM: As you said, I think the girli shows will definitely bring you guys some new audiences as well, because anyone that's going to a girli show is really going to be behind that empowerment message that this single is about as well.

JUNO: Totally. I think so, too. Yeah, I hope. And I think people will resonate with our message and our music as well.

FMM: Obviously, you've got some shows coming up this month, but what do you guys have planned for the rest of the year, and how can people support you in your project?

JUNO: Well, I don't know how much we can say at the moment, but we do have more music coming out. It's gonna be at that next level. We've got some really big plans and more shows and that sort of thing. If people want to check out our music, it's Juno the duo on Instagram, and TikTok. We're also on Spotify and everything, but, yeah, we have some really cool music that we're releasing this year and, yeah, more shows. Got the headline tour at the end of the year as well. I think one of our plans this year is that we want to focus on sharing a bit more of the process as we go on as well, so we're going to be releasing a lot of singles, but for anyone that's on our broadcast channel, on Instagram, and on our TikTok and stuff like that, we want to be showing some demos, too, and getting everyone's opinion and networking with fans, by getting everyone's opinion and stuff like that on a bunch of stuff. We'll be doing a lot more leaked music and stuff like that. So, just want to have a bit of fun with the writing and creative process this year. If anyone wants to be part of that, then just following us on instagram and getting involved in that.

FMM: Sounds incredible. I'm definitely excited to see what other music you put out there. That's all my questions, but do you guys have any other comments you want to add about this release or things you want people to know about yourselves or upcoming music?

JUNO: Yeah, I mean, if you're looking for a song to empower you when you get up in the morning, head into nine to five, have a really shitty boss, I'm the man is the track you wanna be checking out. I hope people like it. I hope when you put it on that it does make you feel really good. I's just a bit of a bop and if you like it, come out to a show. We put on a fun show, so we'd love to see you there. Come say hi.