Joshua Boon, a talented Dutch Hip Hop/Soul producer, is deeply enamored with the music of iconic bands like The Beatles, The Kinks, and The Beach Boys. In the previous year, he treated the world to an EP that left fans craving for more, and now their anticipation is about to be rewarded with the forthcoming release of his full album titled “Voyages,” set to hit the airwaves later this year. As a delightful preview of what’s to come, his latest single, “Something True (Whirligig),” has been unveiled, acting as an extra tantalizing taste of what’s to come.

You released a great EP before, now a full album is coming? What can we expect?

Hi Sweet Sweet Music Blog! The EP was just a teaser for the full album Voyages, coming out the 6th of October.

I think I can now tell the complete story of The Forces. Inspired by the 60s era, including The Beatles, The Zombies, Beach Boys, and more, I hope to capture the diversity of that period. With a hip-hop crate-digger’s outlook, I embrace vintage sounds like vinyl noise and tape hiss.. Voyages aims to transport listeners through memory lane with mind-bending effects, golden melodies, prehistoric synths, unique structures, and dusty English soundbites!

You also work a lot as a hip/hop, soul producer. You can of course hear that in the production of the pop songs. When and how does that combination make you happiest?

Drawing from my background as a psychedelic soul and hip-hop producer, those influences naturally seep into everything I create. Just like the experimental spirit of the psychedelic 60s, I find that good hip-hop allows for the exploration of techniques while maintaining catchiness as the ultimate objective. There’s definitely a power pop side to The Forces, and an experimental psychedelic side as well. I guess if I have both I am the happiest…

When will the record be released?

On the 6th of October. My label Fuel Box Music is going to to the digital release, distributor Clear Spot (Kikagaku Moyo, Electric Moon, and Lamp Of The Universe etc.) is going to do the worldwide vinyl distribution. Oh, and if you buy the album on Bandcamp.com  you will get all the instrumentals for free as well!

I can imagine that you also have certain expectations about how the new music will be received. What do you hope people pick up on?

The core idea is to evoke emotions in the listener- without requiring deep analysis. The songs should speak for themselves. But I aim to resurrect forgotten music concepts and offer a sense of originality that hopefully sets my work apart from what people typically hear. I like the idea that someone stumbles upon my album and is pleasantly surprised.

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The Forces have been receiving critical acclaim for their unique fusion of Beatlesque psychedelia with hip-hop inspired beats. Their self-titled debut EP (2022) was three times featured as ‘New and Notable’ on the Bandcamp.com homepage, and their music was praised as a ‘cohesive and wildly original body of work’ by Plasticmag.co.uk.

Their full album Voyages has been composed, written, and produced by Dutch producer Joshua Boon and features the vocals of Manchester singer Tim Condor, along with more than 20 international musicians. The album also has a contribution of rapper Cavalier, a frequent collaborator with QuelleChris, and a featured artist on Stones Throw’s Quakers II album (2021) and BackwoodzStudioz’ High Bias (2023).