Joy Electric page
last updated: 1�2�2003
updated
last updated: 1�2�2003
updated
"Is there ever any going back now?"
(JE = Joy Electric)
the first music by Joy Electric that i heard was from the album We Are The Music Makers. i wasn't blown away by what i heard, but curiosity led me to buy one of their albums and hear what they were all about. i had read descriptions of JE, such as "an arcade full of games going berserk," on the internet. so i decided to try them out with their first album, Melody, at the advice of A Different Drum's owner.
the CD finally came. i popped it into my CD player and put on my headphones. (No need for the rest of the house to wonder what the noise was.) track one: "Drum Machine Joy." bump-tchh-bump-tchh-bump-tchh. anyone who has heard this song knows what that is. kind of a normal sounding bass and snare drum sound. but then it gets crazy. bwzzz-zzz-zzz---doo-doo-doo--doo-doo-doo! and you're in 8-bit Nintendo heaven. the synthesizers come to life, beeping and zoinging away, with Ronnie Martin's high-pitched singing voice rolling in over it all. i sat there and laughed. not because it sounded retarded, but it just evoked some deep feeling of joy when I heard a song complete with meaningful lyrics and catchy melody, but laden with those crazy arcade sounds. it was great. i sampled the beginning of a few other tracks, most notable being "Candy cane Carriage," with its wonderfully timed, rhythmic dooings and zep-zeps.
i have to be honest, it had to grow on me a bit, but it didn't take long. soon after getting this disc, it was all I could listen to. i was getting as many people as i could to hear this crazy new band i found. some liked it, some hated it. but since that day i first heard "Drum Machine Joy," Joy Electric had become one of those "all time favorites." something that i will listen to until the day i die.
to see some JE concert pics, check out my yahoo briefcase.
