Having been unanimously praised by music critics the world over for her debut album Real Life, Joan Wasser who goes by the famed moniker Joan as Policewoman shows no signs of trepidation on the eve of the release of her eagerly waited second album, To Survive, which gets its release on both sides of the Atlantic in June.

While Joan heralds from a classical musical schooling, her first musical outings were in punk bands, and it is this emotional rawness that infuses her lyrics, coupled with an acute and resplendent melodic sensibility. Joan’s second album is very much a continuation of her first, which was imbued with flashes of brilliance and pathos, her follow-up distinguishes itself notably for the rawness of emotionality that pervades throughout.

Much of To Survive was written in the shadow of her mother’s battle with cancer, which ended with her death last year. Channelling in to this emotional loss, her album centres on Joan as piano player and singer. The guitars are mixed way back and the pop hooks are seamlessly bedded into the idiosyncratic flow of the melodies. "I’ve become obsessed with taking stuff out, leaving only the most potent elements in place", says Wasser. "I got more into blending and integration and subtlety. I just want to be courageous enough to feel and express as much as possible and that means all the emotions. True integration".

Briefly apprehending the supremely talented Joan Wasser aka Joan As Policewoman, for a quick interview about her forthcoming album release To Survive and what she has experienced over the last few years since the release of her first album.

With your new album, To Survive, how do you perceive the progression of your music ?

Joan Wasser : It is very much a continuation of Real Life, I am always trying to dig deeper in to the emotion experience, I want to access the most honest place I can, distil and present it in a way that makes sense musically.

Has the methodology of making music changed over the course of new album ?

Joan Wasser : Well the album was written mainly on the road while touring the first album, the album was written during the period of my mother dying, so her death certainly influenced the outcome of the finished album.

How has your approach and attitude to making music changed over the years ?

Joan Wasser : Music is always, at its core, an emotional beast, and with emotions, I attempt not to judge them too harshly because I want them to continue to flow out of me without any hesitation, so I am always learning o not censor and not pass judgement.

Are you surprised by the hugely favorable press reaction to the album or have you always been confident in your own abilities ?

Joan Wasser : I made sure that I made a record that I was satisfied with, so that once it was released and really not my own anymore I could remember that whatever the reaction to it, I had made something I could be proud of. The fact that others feel it too makes me feel like less of an outsider, I guess, and less of a freak in general - which in the past would have horrified me but presently makes me feel really hopeful.

How do you think your geographical environment has influenced what you do ?

Joan Wasser : By living in NYC, one can find anything they want, and find a lot by not even looking ! I live in Brooklyn and if you drive around for an hour, you will go through 100 different communities and nationalities and cultures and their festivals and their food and their ways. It is the most inspiring place on earth.

If you had to pick 3 albums to take on a desert island, which would you pick ?

Joan Wasser : Parade - Prince, Sibelius - Symphony No 5 and 6 et Entertainment - Gang of four.

What are your favourite songs on To Survive and why ?

Joan Wasser : "To be lonely" and "To Survive", To Survive was inspired by a lullaby her mother used to sing to her as a child to allay her recurrent fear that was about to be burned at the stake. I still feel like that as an adult sometimes and I don’t edit out or water down those feelings. Why should I ? Everything I do comes from my heart.

You duet with Rufus Wainwright on the closing track To America, did you have him in mind when you wrote it and how do you go about writing for such a unique and iconic voice such as his ?

Joan Wasser : Yes, he was always in mind when I wrote it. I’ve been a member of Rufus’s band for quite a few years and he has forced me to use my voice in so many different ways, performing with Rufus was like a 2 and half hour work out. Really intense. So when I wrote To America, I purposely wrote it in a higher key, so that it pushed him to achieve the sound I wanted.

What’s your attitude to live performance ? Do you get nervous ?

Joan Wasser : I try to be as relaxed as possible. That being said, if there is close friend in the crowd, I will probably be a little nervous. I try not to think at all. Thinking is over-rated !