Back in the day Joi sounded like the future. The original Asian fusionists were always one step ahead of the game, what with their DJ-led mix of breakbeats and Eastern grooves, their electronic roots and real playing values, the way they would gig as both a sound system and as a fully-fledged band with vocals, keyboards and guitar as well as tabla, flute and sitar.
Then there was their message. One love. One vibe. Victory in unity. Liberty through music: “Set yourself free,” they said – and hundreds of thousands of people at clubs, festivals, and gatherings put their hands in the air and danced like no one was watching, claiming a shared identity, revelling in feeling part of a tribe. Joi weren’t simply a band or a sound system.
As testified by their wildly acclaimed, gloriously inventive Real World recordings – 1999’s One and One is One, 2000’s We Are Three and 2007’s Without Zero – Joi were a way of thinking. A philosophy.
Set yourself free with the spirit of Joi.
Tracks such as ‘Fingers’, ‘Joi Bani’, and their first major vinyl outing, 1997’s ‘Desert Storm’(“One of the most inventive dance records ever made,” declared the NME) travelled the world, and the world lapped them up. Everyone wanted a piece of Farook and Haroon Shamsher, two longhaired brothers from London’s Brick Lane via Bradford and Bangladesh who’d grown up listening to hip-hop, reggae, and dancehall as well as bhangra, drones, and ragas in equal measure.
"Real World first saw us playing at the Blue Note. We used to get a very cool, very mixed crowd. We'd pin our mother's saris on the walls and get our incense going, and then we'd let our records speak for us. Wherever we played - London, Britain, Europe - we rocked it. We made music that changed minds."
Farook Shamsher
Major labels came knocking, waving chequebooks. There was a brief, ill-fated signing. Then the Shamshers found their spiritual home. “Welcome to the family,” said Peter Gabriel, when Joi shook hands with Real World Records.
The debut album by one of the key acts of the Asian Underground movement of the 90s is an aspirational melting pot of melodic harmonies, tabla rhythms, electro beats, chants, and vocal snatches.
Joi’s second journey into Bengali based grooves reaffirms their status as pioneers of fusion dance music. An emotionally uplifting tribute to Haroon Shamsher, whose last work in Bangladesh provided the inspiration for these beautifully dynamic tracks.
The shamelessly upbeat Without Zero deepens and continues the Joi family vibe – with minimal use of samples. Real playing values are what count here, with the inclusion of some wonderful guest performances such as the blinding sitar of Mumbai-based ‘Asian Hendrix’ Niladri Kumar and the pure Hindi and Urdu vocals and chants of London’s Apeksha Dandekar.
