Where are you from originally?
Lithuania. Vilnius (it's the capital:)

When did you move and where did you move to?
I moved to London about 5 years ago.

Why did you decide to move there? Was the decision related to your music?
I moved to London because it seamed the best place for music. The place where you can find the best musicians and see the best gigs in the world. I always knew that I was gonna leave Lithuania and go somewhere. I had to choose between New York and London. I've always seen

them as the best places to go if you are to do music. It was rather a spontaneous choice between these two cities because I knew nothing about either. But observing other American bands escaping to the UK recently makes my feeling that I'm in the right place even stronger. I think here people have more respect for independent music. Also London was closer than New York. So it was less scary to leave everything behind:)

because when I made a decision to leave I knew I'm leaving for good with no return ticket.

In what ways is your new home country different from your old one?
They are like two different worlds to me. I think first year I had something like cultural shock :) Also London is so huge to me. I came from Vilnius with 600,000 people only, and it's funny because back in Vilnius I always complained that it was too small for me, that nothing was ever happening there, that it was boring. But when I came to London first year or even two it was so hard to cope with such big crowds and endless possibilities. I didn't know which part of London to live in so I tried almost everything, South London, West London, now I live in North London. I had no idea where to go because the gig listings seamed so long to me it took me whole evening to study them and then I would get so confused, because in Vilnius things were much more easier. There used to be only one live venue, a few bars that would have some bands occasionally, about 5 night clubs and that was it. So it took me some time to learn to enjoy this huge city, and I love it now. London has millions of possibilities - anything can happen any day. The fact I love about London most that if one door closes still there will be more choices in front of you. It’s never the end of the world. In Lithuania

one closed door could mean the end of the game. That scared me back there.

Did you have any particular difficulties when you first arrived?
Well yes, I felt like a shitty immigrant with 3 months visa in my pocket. So first 3 years where not particularly sweet. But then I saw that most people were not bothered by the fact that I was from Lithuania, so with the time I learnt to relax and see it as my strong point that I'm a foreigner. It gave me bigger freedom in expressing myself. I can do strange things and people will blame it on my different nationality:)

Has moving to a new country influenced your music?
Oh yes, a lot. I was going to see lots of upcoming bands and the London scene seemed to be ruled by guitars. In Lithuania I was more into electronic music, but here in London I got this rock 'n' roll virus.

What tips would you give to a band/artist considering moving to a new country?
Don't run away after first 2 years. Stay a bit longer that's when the magic of the new place starts to reveal itself.

Interview & photograph by Paul Madden
www.joanaandthewolf.com

Watch a video of Joana & The Wolf performing 'Purple Nights' at Corsica Studios