I recently sat down with Josh Levi to talk about his new album, HYDRAULIC — a project that captures where he’s at creatively and personally. In our conversation, Josh Levi shared insight into the sounds, themes, and experiences that shaped the album, how his approach to music has evolved, and what listeners can expect from this next chapter in his journey.
HYDRAULIC is an interesting name for a debut album. What is the story behind the album title?
I guess I consider myself a nerd, but I’ve always loved one word titles and I loved the idea of the engineering that causes something to have motion – moving up and down. To me, just like the hydraulics of a car, love can have its highs and lows, and so can life. The album is about the wild ride of the human experience!
You have a clear aesthetic both in your sound and visual presentation. What informed those stylistic decisions?
I feel like I’ve been slowly building a world for some time now both sonically and stylistically and HYDRAULIC feels like the most refined version of what I’ve been doing for some time. I’ve always said my point of view is a combination of the past and the future and that definitely informs a lot of my approach to my art.
Which generation of artists inspired your musical style?
Every generation really! Most people would probably say the 90s/2000s but I draw inspiration from so many different eras and places tbh! Lately, I’ve really been inspired by the years 2007-2013 but I also love artists from the 80s and even soulful/gospel singers from the 70s as well.
The intro song on a debut album has to be a statement. What statement were you making on the song ‘RODEO’?
For me, it’s making the declaration that I might be a new artist, new face, new sound to a lot of people, but I have also been singing and creating music since I was 5 years old. ‘RODEO’ represents perseverance – I’ve been through and conquered so many challenges and I’m grateful to be here now.
In watching the music video for ‘DON’T GO’, I felt like I was watching an R&B star from the early 2010s. Was that the inspiration behind the creative for the visuals?
I think that era of music videos was very inspiring to me because that’s the time I feel I really formed my own taste in music in terms of being present in pop/hip hop culture. I grew up mostly listening to gospel but it was around that time I paid attention to what was going on.
In the song ‘CARE FOR ME’, you speak of a romantic interest. It got me thinking, do you make use of creative license when you write or do you talk about real life stories in your music?
Every song I’ve ever written is a true story. I don’t really write fairytales or from third-person perspective it’s always coming from an authentic experience. ‘CARE FOR ME’ is straight from the heart. That song has grown to become a personal favourite on the album because it’s something I’ve tried to figure out how to say in a song for a long time!
‘HOLD ON’ is such an atmospheric song. What do you look for in a beat when deciding whether to take it on or not?
The production almost always has to evoke a physical reaction in my body for me to connect to it or even like it! if the percussion or the bass or the chords accomplish that, I’m immediately drawn in and I’m inspired. ‘HOLD ON’ was an instant inspiration because the chords really spoke to me and it made me pretty easy to write!
The song ‘NAMEONIT’ is one of the many standout moments on the album. From a tracklisting point of view, what story were you trying to tell on HYDRAULIC?
I really wanted to get across the contrast of highs and lows. If I were to hold up a mirror of the how life/love is, to me, it would be an oscillating waveform that dips, twists, and spikes high and in the sequencing and track listing, I was intentional about reflecting that!
There are so many different vibes on the album. Which song represents the type of sound you love to create the most?
Ooh, that’s a tough one! it’s really every song and it depends on the day but every single record encompasses a layer of Josh or a single limb that makes up who I am as a whole. First song that came to mind on the tempo side is ‘FEEL THE BA$S’ because it’s sonically so disruptive but also records like ‘CARE 4 ME’ feel like where my heart lives the most as well!
The album only has two features. Was it an intentional decision to limit the number of features on the album?
It was! I would say I’m a pretty particular person and there were very few people I went out to for features but I was definitely passionate about not overloading it with names just to have names since it’s my debut album! I wanted to make sure you could clearly hear me and my story with tasteful collaborators that im a fan of!
‘BURNTOUT’ speaks on being overwhelmed. What were the experiences you were referring to on the song?
I could write an essay haha. I think I’m constantly feeling fatigue from things I can’t change about life and ‘BURNTOUT’ is about exactly that. In so many ways, I’ve felt discouraged by things I can’t control that i would change if I had the chance and that has resulted in a lot of sadness and defeat but I think that’s a part of the human experience and I was excited to shine light on that part of the experience since sometimes it feels more like an elephant in the room.
‘BIRTHDAY DANCE’ is your most-streamed song on the album. Why do you think people gravitated to the song?
I’m not sure actually. Maybe because everyone has a birthday and every new day it is someone’s birthday? I like to think it’s because it makes people feel good and they listen to the record to celebrates themselves even if it’s not their birthday!
In closing, what do you want people to take away from HYDRAULIC?
I hope people walk away from HYDRAULIC feeling all their emotions and accepting all the parts of themselves even the parts they deem ugly or undesirable. I hope people feel understood, heard, and seen when they listen to this album because I intentionally aimed to hit each facet of the human experience!