Joni Payne

What's so good?
Joni Payne's single "Must Have" is a mixture of chillwave, R&B, and downtempo minimalism that, when combined, produces a chillingly unique and slightly dark sound.

"Must Have" is a curious journey. At first, it may not be easy to see where the track will lead you to, but soon enough you get it. As the story of heartbreak goes, sometimes it's a slow and painful process.

This song emulates something that most of us feel in a musically eloquent and relevant manner. - Indie Shuffle

Up and coming musician, vocalist and graphic artist Joni Payne debuts her new track “How Can You Mend A Broken Heart?” on Casablanca Sunset.

The song was inspired by the Al Green version of “How Can You Mend a Broken Heart,” which was originally recorded by the Bee Gees in 1971. Much like previous interpretations, Joni’s version explores the theme of lost love and alienation. Her sorrowful lyrics are matched with an amazingly simple and elegant instrumental.

The maturity in Joni’s soulful and r&b influenced voice elegantly floats over the top of a hip-hop inspired beat. The beat, carefully crafted by Mike Derenzo, features percussive finger snaps, MPC snares and piano riffs really turn this track into something cool, laid back and chill.

This is Joni’s second release to date and she’s gearing up for a handful of tunes to be released into 2016. Bright future! - Casablanca Sunset

Singer/songwriter Joni Payne celebrated her birthday on Friday (13th November). How do musicians celebrate their birthdays? By releasing amazing new music of course.

The Los Angeles-based future star has only released three songs to date including her latest release 'Contemporary Love', but each one seems to just get better and better because this is unquestionably her best release to date. Starting with nothing but a few piano notes as part of Mike Derenzo's sensational production, Payne’s frosty-cool vocals cut through in the most delightful way, which as she told hillydilly, was done in one take, with the entire track created in one afternoon sitting. It's a flurry of trip-pop mixed with future R&B but ultimately, it's just great music. - The 405

Joni Payne‘s birthday is today, so, before you dive into her excellent third effort below, make sure to drop her a line on one of her social media platforms. She’s been absolutely killing it this year out of the blue, and, really, as soon as we heard the icy “Must Have” from her three months ago, we knew big things were in store. “How Can You Mend A Broken Heart” proved our premonition true one month ago, and now, with a completely spontaneous effort in “Contemporary Love”, Joni’s proving without a reasonable doubt that she is, in fact, the real deal.

As was alluded to above, Joni made this one on a whim, and, incredibly, only one take on her vocals was had. She tells us she created melodies as she sang, and that the track in its entirety was made in one afternoon sitting a couple weeks ago. That’s pretty fresh stuff, and, despite the rawer undertaking, the effort stills sounds nice as hell. It may not be as polished as her other two for the reasons described, but it’s still got every bit of admirable soul we’ve detected from her before. Honestly, that’s enough for us. - Hilly Dilly