Joi

Track Listing: Everybody Say Yeah (Vocal) Everybody Say Club Heartbeat 2000 Joi Bani

This was one of the first vinyls from Joi and to those who ever witnessed their live gigs back in the early '90s it features one of their best known tracks, Everybody Say Yeah!. It was a Whirl-Y-Gig anthem back in that era and I still love it to bits. Uplifting and bouncy, simple and catchy - its impossible not to like this one! Sadly only available on 12" and this was deleted years ago. Second hand shop time...

Track Listing: Desert Storm Spiritual Get-Together - Traditional Mix Spiritual Get-Together - Inborn Mix

Released 1991 on Rhythm King Music. Another golden oldie from the Shamsher brothers. The title track, 'Desert Storm', was the track that won the NME single of the week award and woke the world up to the sound of Joi. Featuring the spoken lyrics "can't stop, won't stop", this track is quite a deep hard-edged Bhangra number when compared to the uplifting B-side of 'Spiritual Get-togther', where the Traditional Mix stands out as the better of the two mixes.

Track Listing: Desert Storm Spiritual Get-Together - Traditional Mix Spiritual Get-Together - Inborn Mix

Released 1991 on Transglobal. This CD single has the same tracklisting as the above 12", but has a slightly different cover. Thanks to Brian Harris for this information.

Track Listing: Spiritual Get-Together - Radio Edit (3.04) Spiritual Get-Together - Vocal Mix (5.14) Spiritual Get-Together - Traditional Mix (6.52) Desert Storm (6.28)

Released 1996 on ZYX Music (Germany). Licensed from Rhythm King Music. Written and produced by Farook & Haroon Shamsher. Additional remix and production on track 2 by Solar Moon. Vocals by Maryam Akhondy. It was only recently (2001) that I discovered that the early 1991 Desert Storm vinyl was picked up by the German ZYX label and released as a CD single complete with an extra vocal remix and radio edit of 'Spiritual Get-Together'. This vocal remix is quite interesting, with authentic Indian female vocals layered over the top of what is essentially the Traditional Mix.

Track Listing: High times (5.52) Nargin (6.52) E.sy Spring Heel Jack mix (7.19)

The first output from Joi in many years (10/'96). Its been long awaited and its out on Nation records and its pretty good too!! A mixture of ethnic sounds swirl with hip hop beat, chants and samples sounding very Transglobalesque. E.sy is a jungle version of the classic Joi anthem Everybody Say Yeah!. Not as good as the original (only available on 12" - long since deleted), its a healthy remix and addition to this EP.

Track Listing: Fingers (6.33) Fingers - Lionrock Instrumental (5.09)

Joi have released a superb promo 12" of a track called Fingers on Real World Records (12/98). Written by F. Shamsher, H. Shamsher and S. Ramen, and produced by Joi. Mixed by Mads Bjerke with vocals by Susheela Ramen. Dream UK describe it as a "soulful slice of breakbeat with Asian vibe vocals, haunting spiritual riffs in the vein of Enigma." Personally I prefer this track over the Bangladesh EP, since its more akin to their older material with an uplifting tribal vibe. Lionrocker Justin Roberston also throws in a dub mix, ditching the vocals in preference for a more funky vibe.

Track Listing: Fingers (6:35) Everybody Say Yeah (5:52) Asian Vibes (5:46) Massive (5:50) Oh My People (5:21) ESY - SHJ (7:22) March On (6:36) Mission (5:14) Heartbeat (6:29) India (6:10) Joi Bani (4:58)

Released in 3/99 on Real World Records / Astralwerks. This is the long awaited debut album from Joi - and when I say long I'm talking about 5 years in the making! The album opens with 3 very strong tracks, all of which play along the same theme of bongo fuelled rhythms and uplifting bouncy melodies. The oldie Whirl-Y-Gig anthem Everybody Say Yeah' has had a makeover, sounding less like the original with its long tribal intro - although all the recognisable key elements are still intact. Likewise, 'Heartbeat' and 'Joi Bani', which were the two B-side tracks to 'Everybody Say Yeah', have also been slightly revamped. The one other track that really stands out from the crowd is 'India', which is a lovely new track that flows along the same lines as 'Everybody Say Yeah'. Personally I would have ditched the jungle remix of 'Everybody Say Yeah' by Spring Heal Jack (which also featured on the Bangladesh EP) and included some of Joi's rarer classics like 'Spiritual Get-Together' and 'Desert Storm'. However, that gripe aside, this is a great album featuring equal measures of old and new material. It flows all the way though and the balance of uplifting tribal tracks to harder Bhangra styled tracks works well. Joi is in the area.

Track Listing: Asian Vibes - Radio Edit (3.31) Asian Vibes - Way Out West Mix (5.25) Asian Vibes - Skeewiff East Meets West Mix (7.45) Asian Vibes - Album Version (5.45)

Released on Real World Records (6/99) following a promo 12" featuring tracks 2 & 3 (4/99). Written by F. Shamsher, H. Shamsher, V. Sharma and S. Ramen, and produced by Joi. Engineered by Mads Bjerke with vocals by Susheela Ramen. Two remixes of one of the strongest tracks on the album 'One & One is One'. I'm not overly keen on the rather flat sounding Skeewiff remix, but Way Out West serve up an amicable big beat remix that stays faithful to the original. However, saying all that, the original album mix still remains the superior version.

Track Listing: Journey Prem Don't Cha Know That The Holy Side Deep Asian Vibes Triatma Flying With You Tacadin We Need Your Vote

Released 10/2000 on Real World Records. All tracks written and produced by Farook Shamsher, John Coxon & Ashley Wales, except track 3 written by Farook Shamsher, Haroon Shamsher & John Coxon, track 4 by Farook Shamsher, Susheela Raman, John Coxon & Ashley Wales.
'We Are Three' is the second album from Joi which is compiled from samples recorded by Haroon in Bangladesh shortly before he died in 1999. The most striking difference between this second album and the first album is that most of the material here has a greater world music vibe, and is much less dance orientated. Overall the mood is somewhat serious, although this is far from being a negative aspect; in fact, I should add that this album comes across as being far more mature than its predecessor. The highlight of the album is undoubtedly 'We Need Your Vote', which is a wonderful downbeat number featuring child-like spoken lyrics accompanied by deep guitar licks, a choir of backing chants and catchy folky strings (which apparently is a dutara, an instrument with four strings carved from the wood of a jackfruit or neem tree that produces a graceful swaying melody, sounding a little like a banjo) - this will make a great chillout track. In fact, the second half of the album is mostly downbeat, with 'Triatma' and its gentle acoustic guitars, melancholic sitars and dreamy vocals. 'Flying With You' slows the pace down even further, and its only the abrupt, angry tones of the techno tinged 'Tacadin', whose lyrics preach that "this isn't the sound of the Asian underground, this is music....", that breaks the calm. Also worth mentioning is 'Prem' with its haunting, yet beautiful, vocals by Rojina Beagum. 'Don't Cha Know That' features vocals of both Haroon and Farook as it was recorded and mixed seven years ago. It has a funky air about it that reminds me of an early Fluke track called 'Cool Hand Flute'.
This is an excellent album that really grows on you. To be honest the first time I played it I wasn't really sure if I liked it. However, the more I played it the deeper into it I was absorbed, and the more I appreciated what is obviously a very personal album from Farook to his late brother, Haroon.

Track Listing: Praying For You (5.22) Come Back To Me (3.56) Blessing (5.35) What You Are (5.51) Cha Cha Cha (4.23) Forget Me Not (5.56) My Love (5.49) Amar Khani (6.39) Show Me Love (4.45)

Released Feb 2007 on Real World Records. Let the rejoicing begin: Joi are back. Not that these mystical maestros, these eastern-leaning experimentalists, have been away, mind you. Their legacy lives on in clubland, at festivals, just as their philosophy - spiritual unity through music - has continued unabated. But the arrival of their third album, the superbly crafted 'without zero', begs a fanfare. Propelled by western beats, lifted by celestial indian voices and coloured by traditional asian and arabic instrumentation, it's a giant step in an already groundbreaking journey. Joi have always said that their message is in their music. On 'Without Zero', an album filled with unions, epiphanies and creative meetings of minds, their message is palpable.