Feature photo by Erez Avissar

You’ll never forget the first time you hear Just Loud sing.

That’s because it’s not just the voice that vacillates between Prince and something we’ve never heard before. It’s the emotion behind the vocals that is the arresting thing.

Just Loud (JL), born in Virginia, was raised in a small country church solely on religious music. Rebellious and curious about something more, JL left the church at fifteen-years-old in pursuit of music. His debut EP Episode I features the standout single “Electrified” alongside “anthemic “Angels and Demons” and probing “Ghost.”

For a musician who says he learned how to sing by mimicking his father’s guitar, singularity is a strength. As far as influences go, JL says there are a set of 66 songs, mostly from the 80s, on which he grew up on – and no more than that. “I go to certain songs to feel certain things, and it depends on who introduced me to it and what I was doing.”