Wesley Joseph

Popscene Presents

WESLEY JOSEPH (UK)

The Forever Tour 2026

Thursday, 10/22

@ Brick & Mortar Music Hall

7pm doors, 8pm show

$22.00 advance, $25.00 week of show

Support TBA, All ages welcome

Wesley Joseph

Unguarded, wholly realised and entirely his own – Wesley Joseph’s

long-awaited debut album sees the singer, songwriter, producer and

director at his most confidently vulnerable, expressing the many layers of

his creative life journey.

“I looked in the mirror more than I ever have with

this record,

” he says.

“It unexpectedly became a coming of age album. I

was reaching from different periods in my life and into the present - some

songs were cinematic snapshots, others sobering realities or romanticised

memories. Dreaming has always been a raincoat from reality and making

the record allowed things to be processed in the real world”

The result is Forever Ends Someday: 13 tracks of self-examination cut

with expansive escapism. A balance between reality and imagination – a

magical realism rooted in music – opener “Distant Man” finds Joseph

reflecting on the past and confronting his present, while “If Time Could Talk”

explores the melancholic but electric feeling of lost connection and desire.

On the Danny Brown feature “Peace of Mind”

, meanwhile, Joseph blasts

through his anxieties and delivers a bass-rattling anthem with confidence

and reassurance,

“July” finds Joseph collaborate with Jorja Smith as the

pair perform a rejoiceful callback, recorded in their hometown of Walsall,

reminiscing on how far they’ve come, as well as all they have lost.

Three years in the making, Joseph took time away from the spotlight to find

his story, choosing to pursue the honesty of his art rather than capitalising

on career momentum - with highlights including a sold-out headline date at

London’s KOKO and a sold-out North American tour.

“I just treated the

record like a vessel, throwing things into it from my life all the time,

” he

says.

“I was capturing moments from my childhood, teenage years and at

times speaking to a Wesley that doesn’t exist yet.

”

Resolutely genreless, it is Joseph’s singular voice and vision that unifies

these tracks, cracking from raw rap self-expression to singing with soulful,

understated, conviction.

“This record is a product of my musical DNA,

” he

says.

“It feels original because it’s not trying to fit in one space - it’s all my

influences at once. I grew up with soul music and r&b being played around

the house, I’ve never not had rap music around me, and as I got older I

spent a lot of time in my headphones getting lost on the internet - which led

to a love of everything from electronic music to psychedelic records.

”“Lyrically these songs are all scenes, colours, feelings and moments in my

life that I’ve caught at their most poignant and dramatised into song.

” he

continues.

“Music has always been an honest place for me, It’s an escape

from the world but when it came to writing this, I went inwards.

”

Since exploding onto the music scene with the synth-driven bounce of his

breakthrough single “Ghostin’”

, Joseph has built a cult audience immersed

in his sophisticated, alternative sound. His debut EP ULTRAMARINE

gathered over 100 million streams for its genre-agnostic trip though

alternative R&B, soul, rap, dancefloor rhythms and considered lyricism,

while follow-up GLOW saw Joseph deliver eight tracks of ambitious

musicality that embraced everything from earworming melody to

hard-hitting rap verses. Collaborating with the likes of A.K. Paul, Dave

Okumu, Leon Vynehall, Joy Orbison, childhood friend Jorja Smith and

Loyle Carner, who Joseph also supported on a sold-out tour through the

UK, the multi-hyphenate has garnered critical acclaim and reputation for

forward-thinking creativity

Raised in the West-Midlands town of Walsall, Joseph grew up with music

as a constant presence. In his teens he began teaching himself how to

produce and was a core member of the DIY Soundcloud hip-hop collective

OG Horse alongside Jorja Smith. Yet, as he reached adulthood, he found

life in the town increasingly challenging.

“I was always in between things

and eventually became quite isolated, feeling a bit alien. Walsall is a small

town and it’s a raw place, having dreams and a sense of distraction from

reality really got me through my adolescence,

” he says.

“At 18, I felt I had

to get out, since there’s only so much time you can spend in your room

making beats.

”

Moving to London to study filmmaking, Joseph began developing his

instinctive visual sensibility. He has consequently directed all of his music

videos to date, being hands on from initial storyboarding to editing and

colour grading - creating a cinematic, luscious perspective reflected in the

award-winning visuals for singles like “Thrilla” and “Monsoon”

“I didn’t always have the resources I needed so I had to learn things for

myself. I was always punching above my weight, and always self-sufficient

- because I simply care too much about what I make” he says.

“Beneaththe polished nature of what I’m releasing is someone who is trying to make

the best work I can while I’m here.

”

It’s a humble mindset best reflected in the infectious music of Forever Ends

Someday. With it’s title referring to the fleeting beauty of the present

moment –

“the idea that when you’re young things will last forever but then

you grow up to realise youth is borrowed,

” Joseph explains – the album’s

tracks depict an honest reflection of human experience through both the

light and dark.

On “Peace of Mind” for instance, Joseph spits venomously over a

rumbling sub bass and earworming hook, channeling a younger version of

himself who was in a darker place in his life and contrasting that

perspective with the confidence of now: “Recording the tears I never shed,

”

he raps.

“Seasick” alternatively sees Joseph tap into a psychedelic-punk,

indie-soul sensibility, recounting the turbulence of a relationship and how

going through the storm is still worth it if you love someone.

“Pluto Baby”

plays through woozy synths and reverberating guitars, mixing driving

instrumentals with sobering lyrics and “July” strikes a soulful, expansive

note as old friends Jorja Smith and Joseph rejoice and reflect on the

journey they have made.

Recorded between London, Walsall, Los Angeles and “halfway up a

mountain in Switzerland,

” Joseph enlisted a core team of collaborators and

co-producers to execute his vision over the three years of writing.

He worked closely with composer Nicolas Jaar (The Weeknd, FKA Twigs),

who lent his soundscaping sensibility to several tracks, producer Harvey

Dweller (Loyle Carner, Joy Crookes), Mercury Prize-nominated Tev’n

(Rina Sawayama, SBTRKT), A. K. Paul (Nao, Fabiana Palladino), Al Shux

(JAY Z, Kendrick Lamar, SZA), Ryan Raines (Paul McCartney, Dominic

Fike) and producer Romil Hemnani (Brockhampton),

“It was all made in

the room together,

” Joseph says.

“Everything was orchestrated intuitively

and you can hear that in the record.

”