Our 20th anniversary celebrations reached their climax this weekend with the release of the third and final installment of our 20 Years of Joy compilation series, and what a way to round off an amazing year with 32 incredible exclusive tracks for some of our favourite bands and artists.
You can get your hands on a copy now on the Joyzine Bandcamp page, along with the two previous editions, either as a ltd edition birthday card with download token or a straight digital download, with every penny we receive going to excellent anti-racism organisation HOPE not hate.
Here, we introduce you to the bands and artists who have provided the tracks – and today we have part one, featuring the first dozen. We asked them about their tracks and their thoughts on the theme of Joy.
Margaret’s Ashtray – Do Not Ask To Know The Day When Joy Will Come To You
Over the course of this series of releases we’ve had a few songs written specially for our albums, but we weren’t expecting a band to be formed for it! That’s exactly what happened with Margaret’s Ashtray – comprised of members of Specials legend Neville Staples’ backing band (including Joyzine fave Billy Shinbone, also of The Sinclairs), this is their first ever track, and it’s a beauty.
‘Do Not Ask To Know The Day When Joy Will Come To You’ was written & recorded especially for this compilation. It sprang into being at a time of great uncertainty for all those involved, & we wanted to cook up a little bowl of intensely nourishing joy that could be consumed in a single mouthful. So it’s exactly one minute long & is the very first recording by Margaret’s Ashtray. The song has given birth to the band itself, which didn’t exist before but which will now continue.
So please allow us to introduce ourselves to you with 60 seconds of joy for Joyzine, HOPE Not Hate & anyone who cares to listen.
Margaret’s Ashtray on Facebook
Gemma Rogers – A Million Brilliant Things
A regular within these pages, London-based singer songwriter Gemma Rogers has at various points inspired our writers to describe gush such prose as “her powerful energy and charisma shine through every word of inspirational lyrics,” “Welcome food for the voracious mind and soul,” and “This week, I was blessed to have such an epiphany when the new single from London-born singer, Gemma Rogers reached my ears.”
Shiny pop nugget ‘A Million Brilliant Things’ demonstrates why – it’s a track that adds an extra one to the total in its title.
Her new EP No Future / Our Future is out on Sept 20th via Ode To Records – preorder now
Inspired by Duncan McMillan’s play – Every Brilliant Thing – which I first saw at The Edinburgh Fringe 10 years ago. It’s a play about depression and the lengths we go to for those we love. Wanted to write something that felt a little like a tonic.
“If you live a long life and get to the end of it without ever once having felt crushingly depressed, then you probably haven’t been paying attention.”
This piece was born from a melody that my 2 year old daughter was humming. She finds absolutely everything brilliant. Especially bubbles. This is for her – to remind her as she grows – and the adults amongst us – to hold on to the good stuff. The voices belong to all those who responded to my call out on social media.
Gemma Rogers: Website / Facebook / Insta
James Brute – Black Lemonade (acoustic demo)
We’ve been fans of James Brute since we first heard his band The Brute Chorus’ debut album back in 2009. Now going solo, he played a jaw-dropping set at our Joyfest event at The Windmill, Brixton – even continuing acoustic and acapella when the power briefly cut out.
‘Black Lemonade’ is a stripped back beauty that shows exactly why we’re still coming back for more 15 years after our first listen.
‘Black Lemonade’ describes an alluring, thirst-quenching drink that gets more and more bitter with every sip yet gets harder and harder to put down. It relates to self destructive behaviours that can be so hard to leave behind. I used to think the joy was in that first sip, but it was really in the chaos that would unravel in which I would revel. The chorus closes with the line: ‘the sweet taste of blindness’ – ignorance, after all, is bliss.
James Brute: Website / Facebook
Art Goblins – Moving to L.A.
Art Goblins were Art Brut frontman Eddie Argos’ first band, formed in Bournemouth in the 1990s and featuring, amongst others, fellow Brut Jasper Future, alongside long-term collaborator Keith TOTP and Nicky Biscuit of Subliminal Girls & The Video Club. They’ve since reformed sporadically for shows, including the one pictured above at The Pleasure Unit in Bethnal Green, which has sadly since closed its doors.
‘Moving To L.A.’ is their version of the track which featured on Art Brut’s debut LP Bang, Bang, Rock & Roll.
Hurtling – Cutler
Hurtling have been massive Joyzine favourites ever since our first listen (though we were familiar with the band’s members from their previous endeavours, as they outline below), and we’ve invited them to be involved in pretty much everything we’ve done since, including some a wonderful cover of ‘Brilliant Mind’ by Furniture for the Advent Calendar and not one but two appearances at our 20th Birthday gigs, one of which was a stunning acoustic set which mesmerised the garden stage audience – you could have heard a pin drop.
We’re even more delighted that their contribution is a cover of a track by Chris T-T, another firm Joyzine favourite and Advent Calendar stalwart who sadly chose to lay down his guitar a few years back.
Catch them playing live at The Three Horseshoes in Bradford Upon Avon on 20th September.
Being in a band, one of the main sources of joy is the ever-growing circle of other music makers and music lovers that you become a part of. It never ceases to amaze how closely linked many bands and people can be, and it continues to give us – both individually and as a band – amazing opportunities and unforgettable moments.
Chris (AKA Chris T-T) was one of the earliest to become part of that circle, and we covered this as a private tribute when he retired his solo career a few years ago. Jen and Jon were vital parts of that, playing in different line ups over the years until becoming Hoodrats members for Chris’ fantastic last run of albums and shows. They’ve all gone on to become Jim Bob’s backing band, and those tours over the last few years have also been the definition of joyful.
Hurtling: Website / Facebook / Insta
Hot Sauce Pony – Give Me Joy
Made up of members of many of our favourite bands, and the people behind the simply marvelous Brixton Hill Studios practice space/recording studio, Hot Sauce Pony have been guests on The Joyzine Radio Show, provided a pair of blinding Advent Calendar tracks and were booked to play the Joyzine gig that never was back in 2020 (emergency venue building works led to its postponement before Covid ended all live music for the rest of the year).
‘Give Me Joy’ is a brilliant track that builds to a crescendo featuring lyrics from a song we used to have to sing in school assembly.
The song is about the little moments of joy in life, the ones that kind of creep up on you. For me, that’s what joy is and I think it’s as inevitable as pain and you can live with both in your heart. It’s about being open to those moments, letting yourself feel joy without guilt. It makes life worthwhile.
Hot Sauce Pony: Facebook / Insta
Salt The Snail – Matterdor
Salt The Snail were one of our favourite new discoveries at the Portals festival a few years back with a set filled with bubble machines, a competition to win a pineapple and a setlist randomly generated by people picking mushrooms out of a bucket. ‘Matterdor’s post-hardcore romp shows they’re just as much fun on record as they are in a sweaty basement.
It’s a track about not letting piss pourers spoil your belief in yourself and the just ploughing on ahead like a bull in a china shop anyway.
Salt The Snail: Facebook / Insta
The Awkward Silences – I Know That It’s Not Every Day You Get Hit By a JCB
Veterans of Blang Records, one of Joyzine’s favourite independent labels, The Awkard Silences are adept at crafting outsider pop gems and deft storytellers to boot, as this real-life tale demonstrates.
‘I know that it’s not every day you get hit by a JCB’ is a song about joy interrupted.
It’s a true story of what happened when our keyboard Chris and I, along with one of Chris’ friends, attempted to go to End of the Road Festival in 2021, which was first time going to a festival after Covid. We were desperate for that release of joy and anticipation from being at a festival but didn’t even make it out of London before a literal JCB, which failed to stop at a red light, went straight into the back of Chris’ car and came to a stop about six inches from the back of my head.
A weekend of joyful relaxation suddenly became several hours of standing around and insurance paperwork whilst contemplating a near death experience! To his credit, Chris got a hire car and we still made it to the festival and still had a weekend of (admittedly tense and traumatised) joy but we’ve chosen this song for the compilation to reflect how moments of joy are often hard-earned and sometimes you need to block out the bleakness and darkness underlying them!
The Awkward Silences: Website / Facebook
Dead Horse – Sweaty Legs
Featuring Joyzine’s own Duncan Clark, who designed the pair of magpies that sit watchfully at the top of our blog, Londoners Dead Horse have been Advent Calendar regulars in recent years, ‘Sweaty Legs’ (taken from their forthcoming EP) sees their oozing garage rock sound slammed together with swampy jazz to delicious effect.
Take a merry march with Dead Horse and swagger across town with ‘Sweaty Legs’ – an exclusive early release for Joyzine taken from their upcoming third EP Menagerie Trois (Release October 2024).
‘Sweaty Legs’ swings listeners from a smoke filled back room intro into a delirious bop of ecstasy until there is no choice in participation and you are commanded to DANCE.
Duck Thieves – Hydroquinone Queen
Coventry quintet Duck Thieves‘ Eyes Up Here EP led Joyzine’s Hayley Foster Da Silva to proclaim “I am totally in love with Duck Thieves”. Punk Panto Party Pop banger ‘Hydroquinone Queen’ shows us all why.
Catch them playing live at Equinox Festival in Lincolnshire on 19th September (tickets) and for their 10th anniversary show at The Tin in Coventry on 2nd November (tickets).
‘Hydroquinone Queen’ is a love letter to K-pop: about the joy that listening to K-pop brings, despite the complexity of the industry that brings the music to your ears. This song was recorded for the first time for Joyzine and was produced by Mason Le Long at Studio Subwüf.
Duck Thieves: Website / Facebook / Insta
Joe Gideon – WEIRDWIRED
There aren’t many artists that I’ve been writing about since even before began who are still going and fewer still making even more intriguing music now than they were back then. Joe Gideon is one of the few. I first wrote about his band Bikini Atoll for my pre-Joyzine blog Kaytronika, and the band went on to play the first ever Joyfest. Since then he’s played further Joyzine nights with his sister Viva as Joe Gideon & The Shark, and most recently released one of my favourite albums of the year so far, Altered Self, which ‘WEIRDWIRED’ was recorded alongside.
‘WEIRDWIRED’ is a song I wrote and recorded in session with Jim Sclavunos during the making of my last record ‘ALTERED SELF’ which came out earlier this year. Jim also produced. I’m playing most of the instruments on the track. Jim’s playing drums and percussion. BVs are me, Jim & Shulamith Piper.
It’s never been released. So I thought this could be good for the Joyzine anniversary.
Joyzine has been a great supporter of my music for 20 years now! With my bands Bikini Atoll, Joe Gideon & The Shark and now my solo stuff. So I’m really happy to contribute to the celebrations.
Joyzine asked if I had a song about Joy, Alas this song isn’t about Joy, but then none of my songs are, and there’s a kind of joy in that.
Joe Gideon: Website / Facebook / Insta
HEY YOU GUYS! – Joy Mining (As Deep As You Go remix by Man & Wife)
Another longstanding friend of Joyzine is Peter Richard Adams, who we first bumped into as part of clatterpop lovelies And What Will Be Left of Them? in the early days of our site. Since then he’s been involved in around 7,296 musical projects, chief amongst them HEY YOU GUYS!, a band so courageous they even allowed me to record some backing vocals for them. Their entry for the album is a remix of ‘Joy Mining’ by Man & Wife that as its parenthetical text suggests goes so deep it emerges almost unrecognisable.
Catch them playing live at Worcester Music Festival on Sunday 15th September.
Happy birthday Joyzine! Thank you for bringing us all 20 years of joy and letting us celebrate with you as part of ’20 Years of Joy’.
For anyone that knows HEY YOU GUYS!, our contribution is probably about as far from representative as it’s possible to get. But we wanted to do something special and new, so we broke down the individual tracks from ‘Joy Mining’ (a song on our debut album that we love so much we close most gigs with it) and handed them over to Berlin-based electronic duo Man & Wife to destroy and rebuild.
The result is our first ever remix and we think they’ve done an awesome job. We’re so chuffed with it that we’d love to do more. It brings us joy and we hope it brings you some too.
All the same, next time you hear from us, it’ll probably be the usual indie-punk bollocks.
HEY YOU GUYS!: Facebook
20 Years of Joy Vol. 3 is available now on Bandcamp
Article by Paul Maps
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