I recently had the opportunity to interview Crystal Joilena, a female heavy rock artist who has really made a name for herself. Her unique and stunning vocals are what really set her apart. She has even worked with Bands such as Bad Omens and Motionless In White. Joilena has a new single that is set to be released in June second called “The High Priestess”. Joilena discusses her journey on becoming an artist as well as her process in writing and creating the media behind “The High Priestess”.
Megan: What inspired you to peruse music?
Crystal Joilena: From the moment I saw Broadway musicals and Disney movies as a kid, I would always be singing along to them, ‘90s music inspired me a lot, and as I grew older my love for music and other genres grew in size. I knew that someday I would be releasing music of my own, but I never became attached to one genre.
Megan: What was your inspiration for your new single “The High Priestess”?
Crystal Joilena: My inspiration for The High Priestess was uncovering secrets of the world and spiritual awakenings, deceptive people, frauds, and my own shadow work and healing past trauma I’ve had to constantly work on to increase the balance in my life.
Megan: What are you looking forward to most once the single drops on June 2nd?
Crystal Joilena: I am looking forward to the song reaching the people it needs to and for more people to discover my music, it’s something I look forward to during every release.
Megan: I listened to your new single and it’s great! It’s felt more darkwave heavy pop than your other music which has a heavier rock sound, why did you go in that direction?
Crystal Joilena: I decided I wanted to experiment more with that sort of sound, I really love to blend the genres together and this was a perfect mixture. The day I recorded this I really didn’t know what I wanted, I was going through depression and just wanted to go into the studio and record whatever came to mind, and fast. I described what I saw in my mind and this is the instrumental Farhan wrote the same day in the studio, and I found my lyrics to it relatively fast as well by piecing some written words together, I journal a lot.
Megan: What are some of the hurdles you have faced while getting started in the music industry?
Crystal Joilena: I faced being rejected a lot, not being taken seriously as a woman, being in different bands with men who weren’t in it for the music, they just wanted me, and that was never going to be a possibility. I was dealing with a lot of strange people who claimed they knew people and producers constantly at the beginning, recording with all different folks, none of those songs seeing the light of day, or cutting ties with creators because they didn’t act professionally. Things really didn’t look up until I met my current producer Randy Pasquarella in 2014 and we immediately clicked with making music. I started out doing reimagined covers of the band’s songs, because I felt like it wasn’t done a lot back then, and also releasing some original music. I faced a lot of hate because people were angry that I was covering songs with men’s voices. Some people are picky and only prefer the masculine tone, and there were also some people who thought I was competing with whoever was singing those songs, meanwhile, I was only inspired by them, I never covered a song I didn’t love personally, and I wasn’t really doing this for any particular reason, but because I love music of all sorts, and then over the years it blew up in ways that I don’t really think I ever expected myself.
Megan: How did you get your work/talent noticed by others?
Crystal Joilena: Covers have helped a lot, trying to market myself in the best way possible helps.
Megan: What is your writing process like?
Crystal Joilena: My writing process can take anywhere near from a few weeks to a few months, I will write down sentences at random, and piece together other sentences and sometimes the melody will appear in my mind.
Megan: How do you pick the visuals for your work?
Crystal Joilena: The visuals come to me in dreams and daydreams, ADHD really plays a role in that.
Megan: Were you a part of the creative process for your music video for “The High Priestess”?
Crystal Joilena: Yes, I was…everything that was in that music video appeared in my dreams and through visions in tarot card readings as well.
Megan: Who are some of your music influences?
Crystal Joilena: Sarah Brightman, Tori Amos, Jewel, Shirley Manson, Amy Lee.
Megan: Do you have any tours planned for the future?
Crystal Joilena: We are in the middle of discussing tour now, I definitely plan to in 2024.
Megan: Are planning to release a full album and if so what can your fans expect from it?
Crystal Joilena: I already released a full album in 2021, called War On My Soul, it was a collaboration between Joakim (Jolly) from Bad Omens and I. I want to work on another album again within the next couple of years.
Megan: I noticed that you also post videos of you singing covers, how do you pick which songs you are going sing?
Crystal Joilena: When I listen to a song, I am in love with it and I hear my voice on it somehow, that’s when I know.
Megan: I also noticed that your Instagram bio says you are an autoimmune disease warrior, do you talk about your journey to help those who may be going through the same thing?
Crystal Joilena: I do talk about my journey so that it can help others who are suffering from similar debilitating health issues in life, and because speaking about it helps my mental health more, it’s almost like I don’t have to struggle alone.
Megan: Do you have any pre-show rituals that you have to do?
Crystal Joilena: Vocal warmups and a lot of water are really necessary, I like to meditate and hold crystals as well.
