Where Independent Music Finds Its Voice

An Intimate Conversation with Joanna Tiller: The Rising RnB Star from Athens

Joanna Tiller, an RnB artist based in Athens, Greece, opens up about her musical journey, influences, and upcoming projects. With her roots in the Philippines and a passion for storytelling through music, Joanna is an artist to watch.

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Vertel eens iets over jezelf, wie ben je en waar kom je vandaan?

I’m Joanna Tiller and I’m an RnB artist based in Athens, Greece, but originally from the Philippines.

Hoe is je passie voor muziek ontstaan? Wie zijn je idolen?

Well, funny story. It actually started when I was around 7, I believe and my mother had pushed me into the spotlight on my birthday. She forced me to sing Celine Dion’s My Heart Will Go On in front of my entire family and although I was extremely shy at first, I loved it. Ever since that birthday, I wrote childish songs about school, and my friends and awesome teachers, which then grew into more mature songs about life, and experiences. Because my parents were both very musical, my Mom being an avid Sunday singer at home with her mop and vacuum and my Dad being in a church band, I was into a lot of genres. My idols are Beyonce, Erykah Badu, Mariah Carrey and Ariana Grande. She’s a new Diva, but I think Miss Grande has made a name for herself in this industry.

Wat voor soort muziek maak je?

I make RnB music which is heavily influenced by both old and new RnB, some Soul, Pop and maybe even a bit of Trap in my sound as well.

Wat is voor jou het belangrijkste nummer? Welke boodschap wil je overbrengen aan de luisteraar?

I think it would have to be my upcoming song, Home. It’s coming out on the 28th of September and I wrote it when I was also going through a slightly rough time in my life. During the writing process, thoughts of when I was at my even darkest point in life came flashing in my mind and I just wanted to put it all down and sort of go through a cleansing. In a way, this was my rebirth. Basically the message is that, we all go through dark things in life, and sad things, but you can’t let that take over you. You gotta find a way to rid yourself of that intense, negative energy and find a way back to yourself. I know I wouldn’t be here to be able to convey this without my family.

Waarom zou een luisteraar die jou niet kent naar je muziek luisteren?

My music isn’t something that you’d hear often on the radio. As much as possible, I like to convey a story and not just throw a bunch of words to make a sentence and do the same with another sentence to rhyme. I’m rather lyrical and I know that which a small gust of wind, I can reach hearts that need to hear these messages, whether it be about finding yourself and getting out of this dark cave with ‘Home’, or even recognizing toxic behaviors in relationship with ‘Here’ and ‘F*ck Around (5AM In Houston)’. I’ve got so many more things to write about, and I believe my journey doesn’t end here.

Wat zijn je toekomstige projecten? Waar zie je jezelf over 5 jaar?

I find it funny because I’ve basically got like an archive full of songs that were scrapped for release, but I’ve also got an equivalent gallery full of songs that are coming out soon. As mentioned earlier, I’ve got ‘Home’ coming out on the 28th, and ‘Homies’ next which is another ‘chapter’, I guess, in my ‘storybook of messages’.

Vertel onze lezers een grappige gebeurtenis in je carrière als artiest.

Jesus, this could get embarrassing, but basically I thought I knew how to dance. Lord knows I can’t dance for sh*t. The circle I was in at the time had this whole event planned full of independent artists trying to get their music heard. For whatever reason, I was not included as one of the lineups, but I was scheduled to dance with two other people I used to hang out with for one of the songs. Due to my lack of knowledge in dancing, not only did I dance in front of hundreds of people, including some prominent figures in the Greek Trap scene, but we barely got any applause and since then I’ve vowed to never dance professionally or maybe hire a choreographer. Until then, maybe you can catch me dancing after a few glasses of with my friends or in my home alone.

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