All-Music
Guide
Not to be confused with the R&B-influenced
American songstress of the same name, Joi is a
London dance duo with roots in the
fertile Asian underground scene that has produced the likes of
Talvin Singh, the Asian Dub Foundation,
and TransGlobal Underground. Haroon and Farook
Shamsher draw mostly on Indian music
for their melodies, blending in dub basslines and drum'n'bass breakbeats.
The duo remixed a track for the Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan tribute album Star
Rise: Remixes in 1998; their debut album, One
and One Is One, was released in early 1999. -- Steve
Huey, All-Music Guide
Joi are Farook and Haroon, two young Bengalis
raised in London's East End, whose
musical careers started in the pioneering
Joi Bangla sound system which grew out of
the Bangladesh youth movement. They have
since progressed to DJ'ing and writing
and recording their own music, developing
one of the most exciting new musical styles
of recent years. Their unique fusion of
western dance and hip hop with traditional
Asian forms produces tracks which vary
from sublime break-beat workouts to
experimental techno numbers and mystical
instrumentals. This talent for original fusion
was powerfully demonstrated on their first
major vinyl outing 'Desert Storm'. It earned
them Single Of The Week status in the
NME where the reviewer described it as "one
of the most inventive dance records ever
made." The world of Joi could originally be
experienced at the club night which Farook
and Haroon ran weekly at London's Bass
Clef (now the Blue Note). Attracting loads
of attention and attendance from the
media and from Joi's contemporaries in
the world of dance music, the club pulled a
crowd as diverse as the elements in their
sound. Since completing their last stint at
The Blue Note, Joi have spent a lot of
time in the studio working on new material and
they've been doing various DAT/DJ sessions
at clubs and parties around London.
These sound system sets allow Joi to mix
up DATs with vinyl and feature on-line
sampling and live percussion from Bongo
Paul. All the DATs played are exclusives of
their own stuff - the sound system format
allowing them to mix up established Joi
tunes with new ones hot out of the studio.
The Joi Sound System has torn it up at
clubs and gigs like The End, Megatripolis,
The Complex, Return To The Source,
Whirl-Y-Gig and the Ministry of Sound.
They currently run a monthly system party at
the Dog Star in Brixton (which has people
dancing on the tables every time!), and
their own weekly, 'Mela', with special
guests including Spring Heel Jack and DJ Mimi
from XFM as well as award winning regular,
DJ Clifford. In addition to these system
sets Joi also put on a full live show,
incorporating sitar, guitar, tablas and vocals,
which they've done with great success
at events such as Womad, Lambeth Mela and
their recent club night at the 333 club
on Hoxton Square. Recordings wise, their most
recent single, the 'Bangladesh EP', was
released on Nation Records to a wealth of
critical acclaim. It's the sound of Joi
seeking inspiration from their homeland - an
ongoing search which lends a unique Eastern
feel to their acid-tinged, tabla-led
break-beats. The EP helped to earn them
sessions with both Andy Kershaw (Radio 1)
and GLR . They've followed these sessions
with kicking live sets recently at the likes
of Athletico (at the Blue Note) and a
storming live show at Tribal Gathering '97. Joi
have just done a rocking mix of a classic
Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan track, 'Sweet Pain'.
which is the lead track on the tribute
album, 'Star Rise' (released 20/10/97 on Real
World Records). They have also recently
remixed a Trickbaby single, 'Milky' (on Logic
Records), and have got a tune out on the
Sony 'Eastern Uprising' compilation. Other
plans for the near future include releasing
a new single, completing tracks for their
debut album and organising more club nights
in the near future. No rest for the
wicked! 'Set yourself free with the spirit
of Joi' ~from official site
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Haroon
Shamsher
