PBG 3 Question Interview with Montana Joanna "Same Stars" Debut Single
- Produced by a Girl™
- Jul 1
- 3 min read
Produced by a Girl is so honored to highlight Montana Joanna's Debut Single "Same Stars". Montana Joanna brings a warm, modern-retro soul sensibility to her solo work, blending jazz-rooted vocals, live instrumentation, and a clean, natural vocal tone that feels both timeless and intimate. A jazz and soul singer who began teaching herself bass guitar in 2020, she quickly found the instrument becoming a doorway into songwriting, shaping a sound grounded in groove, melody, and emotional honesty. Alongside her solo artistry, Montana performs across several bands and genres, bringing a versatile musician’s ear to everything she creates. Her recorded work includes collaborations with other projects, including Hide and Seek by indie rock band Luminatrix, which charted on college radio in 2024, marking her as an artist steadily carving out a soulful and expansive creative path.
1. The idea behind the song is so fun and unexpected for a soul track, meeting an alien, feeling attracted to them, then bringing astrology and stardust into the lyrics. How were you inspired to create this song that’s so vastly creative? What was the songwriting process like for such a complex arc?
I’m very new to songwriting so this was only the second song I had ever written, and it started as a voice memo one day as I was driving to work. The whole first verse and chorus came to me at once and my first thought was “ok this whole alien aspect is probably too silly to be a song” but I really liked the melody and I could hear what the bass would be doing, I could hear the chords I wanted behind it all. I tend to think that if you sing with genuine emotion, you can really sing about anything and it will work, so I just decided to lean into all the astrology wordplay. I think that’s a beautiful thing about having the beginner’s mindset is that you aren’t afraid to try for new or strange ideas because you sort of don’t know any better. I’ve since learned a lot more about songwriting, but I think some of my early ideas like “Same Stars” are some of my more unique and creative works.
2. You talked about Bobby Nelson’s drumming adding that signature J. Dilla-style behind-the-beat vibe, breathing fresh life into the classic soul and horn textures. How did the energy of the track shift once that groove settled in?
Bobby was my dream drummer I wanted to play on my songs, so I rushed to get his drums recorded before he was headed off to college. We had never played together before, but he has such a keen jazz drumming sensibility so he tracked to me playing bass and singing the song live. The first few takes he was probably playing the drums more straight, but then we started to have fun with it and encouraged him to experiment with that feel which suddenly gave all this hip hop influence to the track, and I’m so glad for it because I think it’s a huge part of what makes the song feel fresh and unique. There are still some listeners who don’t really “get” his drumming, like they want it to be perfect on the beat and feel that it’s technically wrong, but to me that’s where the nuance of taste and the nod to influence comes in.
3.You only started playing bass five years ago, and now your debut solo single is all about you singing and holding down the groove. What has the journey of becoming a “singing bassist” taught you about jumping in late, trusting your instincts, and letting the music speak for itself even when people think you’re a little wild for chasing this dream?
Finally putting my own music out there has been such a healing journey toward just believing in my own self worth. It’s been a huge investment of my time, energy, and resources to start making music in my mid 30’s and I guess I enjoy proving the point that hard work does pay off—it’s always worth it to follow your callings and commit fully to them. Once you get over the initial fears and self-doubts, you become pretty unstoppable in what you can do, and when you are able to share that openly, you’re also able to inspire a lot of people to go chase their dreams too.
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