The buzz around London-based dance music duo, Joy Anonymous, is building just as quickly as the tempo of their music. Since forming in 2018 and putting on socially-distanced shows for frontline workers during the pandemic, they’ve soared into the spotlight of the UK’s rave scene.
They’ve spent the past twelve months travelling the world playing festivals and supporting Fred Again.. on tour – using the opportunity to test out new music from their forthcoming album, Cult Classics, which releases in early November. “Having that freedom of opening for another artist means you can try stuff out. We were changing the set every night and still do, trying different versions to see the feedback,” explain Henry Counsell and Louis Curran, the men behind the moniker.
One of their highlights of 2023 was captured in a viral video, just a few weeks ago, when Fred Again.. put on an extra, last minute show at Alexandra Palace. The producer invited his friends and collaborators to join him on stage for a show that lasted hours and included interludes from Romy, Skrillex, The Streets’ Mike Skinner, and of course, Joy Anonymous – “that one was particularly crazy.” Their top highlight, however, will be the release of their new album, which they describe as “a feeling of euphoria. It’s all about being together and celebrating being humans together.”
Until then, they’re warming us up with the below playlist, based around what they’ll be listening to this evening as well as some of their greatest musical influences. How do they spend a Friday night in the city? Most likely nursing a pint at The White Swan in Twickenham. Here’s your Friday night playlist curated by Joy Anonymous… listen here.
Daft Punk - High Life
“Daft Punk have been unashamedly a huge influence on us. That song in particular is just like an absolute masterclass in sampling and it’s just a feel good record. I don't think you should feel bad pressing play on that song.”
Nalin & Kane - Beachball
“We discovered this one when we were playing in Amsterdam with Romy and she dropped this at an after party. I remember the structure of it and how it takes its time for different elements to come in and just the sound of it as well, sort of trance inspired.”
Byron Stingily, Kerri Chandler - Testify
“We take a lot of influence from how Kerri Chandler combines gospel and soul music with dance music. I think most of Kerri Chandler’s productions all have incredible harmony – like an amazing gospel sample, I think he’s probably one of the best at that.”
Basement Jaxx, Lil’ Louis - One More Chance
“This tune is just great, feel good. It has an amazing lead vocal on it. There’s a bit in the middle where it kind of falls down into spoken word. We’ve used similar things on all of our records so when there’s spoken word moments from different people it’s kind of an homage to that sort of testimony in the middle of the track.”
Anish Kumar - Little Miss Dynamite
“Anish Kumar is definitely one of the best newcomers to the scene. We heard his record pretty early on and were just blown away by how old and fresh it felt. We’ve had a couple of sessions with him and what he’s doing at the moment and is definitely inspiring us.”
