June McDoom’s Dreamlike Soundscape Where Folk and Dub Converge

Last Updated on 2026-10-16 by a-indie

The Roots of Her Soft Vocals and Intertwining Harmonies

June McDoom「Babe, You Light Me Up」(Official Video)
From the EP 『June McDoom』

－Wakiki: One of the things I find particularly compelling about your music is the way your soft, almost conversational vocals are surrounded by and intertwined with drifting layers of harmonies, creating such a dimensional vocal sound. What experiences or changes have shaped the way you sing today?
June: With my voice I have been inspired by a lot of the folk singing style, singers like Bridget St. John and Vashti Bunyan. A lot of them sing with a softer tone that definitely does feel conversational which I love so much. When I started singing in high school, I was studying jazz which also has shaped the way I sing a lot. My favorite jazz singers were Billie holiday and Dinah Washington. When I record a song, I love to stack background harmonies with my own voice or sing background melodies instead of using instruments because my voice has a lot of air so I find that the layers blend really well together.

About the Debut Album 『Follow The Light』

－Wakiki: What did you want to express or explore through Follow The Light? Were there any particular themes you wanted to convey through the album?
June: I wanted to remind people that life can be simple in a beautiful way when you remember to follow the light around you whether that is family, friends or a place you love. So many days I find myself lost in the hardships of life and even though it seems simple we forget to cherish the things around us the bring light to our lives. The album is mixture of all the different influences that have made me who I am and I wanted to honor them all with this project.

Folk, Dub, Harp, and Reverb

－Wakiki: Your voice seems to drift over solid rhythms that at times evoke reggae, alongside heavenly-sounding harp tones and occasional glimpses of electronic sounds. The way these different sounds and elements come together creates a rich sense of depth and space. What were you particularly conscious of when creating the sound ofFollow The Light, and what kind of sonic world did you hope to create?
June: When I started working on the album my main dream was to try to find a way to mix my favorite elements of folk and dub. Along the way of making it I realized a cool way to join those genres was through adding instrumentation that wasn’t conventional in either. I have always really loved harp and violin because of the dreamy texture they add and I also fell in love with playing around with different reverbs which unintentionally started to create a sound that felt sort of dream like.