With a debut EP released towards the end of last year and a succession of live dates on the way, it’s about time Joe Fox got our attention as a proper solo act.
The London singer-songwriter started getting a fair bit of buzz in 2015 when his name popped up on five different songs on the second album by influential New York rapper A$AP Rocky. There he was on At. Long. Last. A$AP, a busker who had tried to persuade Rocky to buy his demo CD one night in Soho, sitting beside the likes of Kanye West and MIA on a number one album.
He says he grew up in care and has been homeless, and didn’t even know who the rapper was when they crossed paths on Wardour Street, but that night he got into his car and remained in his orbit for the next year, following him as far as Tokyo, LA and Miami.
Now he’s got the space to reveal his own sound, and hip hop fans might be bemused. He’s got an acoustic guitar and a distinctive, husky voice and recalls early Dylan and Rodriguez on his Acoustic Alley Sessions EP.
His song Autopilot has a melody that’s a relation of Where Is My Mind? by indie rockers the Pixies. He certainly doesn’t rap.
Catch him in some London pubs this month before he heads off into the stratosphere again.
Feb 21, Old Blue Last, EC2 (020 7739 7033, theoldbluelast.com); March 22, Shacklewell Arms, E8 (020 7249 0810, shacklewellarms.com)