Deep Joy
May 2008Archive Interview : From PEOM
PEOM was always optimistic that live music in the UK would
reign again; in a way we were right Deep Joy the Beautiful Song If any of you read PEOM No 2, you would have noticed that Willie the Wolf stated 1990 will be the year of the band.
Five months into the year, and we've seen The Happy Mondays playing Wembley Arena, Stone Roses on every cover of the NME, Flowered Up are creating a buzz in London, The Farm are taking no shit and Charlie Chester's Gosh at The Brunel University Uxbridge is providing a place for bands to play, already we've seen The Farm and Deep Joy.
Deep Joy are a band in a league of their own, more music, less aggression. A lot of people haven't had an insight, well we have and more. So once again armed with a pen and a tape recorder, the boys do the talking.
PEOM - What is the history of Deep Joy as a band ?
Deep Joy - We've all worked in bands before, but only started to seriously record together about 18 months ago, just after that Wild Summer of 88. That period was like a re-birth for us, we had a lot of old material and songs with big horn sections, but this was not the type of sound we wanted now. Instead of re-arranging these songs we decided to start from scratch, rewriting new material and beginning on the footing we actually wanted. It was a slow process but it's all coming together now.
PEOM - So was that summer the major turning point for the band?
Deep Joy - We went to a lot of clubs during that time and had a lot of fun. We've been tagged as 'The Shoom Band', which gets a bit much after a while. We did go to Shoom, but only because it happened to be a really good club, nothing more.
Some people might have found themselves through Shoom, but it wasn't like that with us. We'd still be together now if Shoom hadn't happened. We've played in clubs because we like them; we're just operating within our social circle and using what's available. It's commonly thought that the name 'Deep Joy' is club related too; in fact it's a Stanley Unwin's catchphrase.
PEOM - What is the structure, which Deep Joy works under?
Deep Joy - Well, that depends on whose ego is working the best. There's not a leading spokesperson or main man, and the song writing is shared. We've done one cover version, but it's an easy option for any band to remake an old song, which is still familiar to young ears. If Radio 1 will play it and it's half decent it's guaranteed to be a chart success. The majority of covers worth doing are wicked songs anyway. We don't want to be known as the band that ruined a great trade! You shouldn't destroy a myth.
PEOM - What is your relationship with the biggest giant of all, the record industry?
Deep Joy - We never ask for anything or approach anyone, just keep quiet and wait for then to take interest in us. When one takes the initiative, a few always start following. They're scared of their own judgment. We haven't had a really hard time with companies, and a few are taking notice of us at the moment. Most though, pack bands into a little package, 1 single, 1 little product with a big turnover, and it's over. Few record companies are interested in talented musicians with a future.
There are so many new acts, and the dance music supply has completely swamped the demand.
PEOM - Dance music used to be associated mainly with black artists. Do you think this has changed now that the British charts are dominated with this type of music?
Deep Joy - Definitely. There are many white bands that have recently copied the sound. They produce black music, but feel compelled to stick a white face to it, so that narrow-minded white people will buy the records. The situation is even worse in America especially in the South where thousands of people are members of the Ku Klux Klan.They are really racist people, and refuse to buy a record just because it's sung by a black person it's ridiculous.
Dance music has now definitely moved into the white sphere, with Chicago House and Euro-sound, which has made it more amicable, therefore it's in the charts more regularly.
Admittedly, some of the prejudice is disappearing and some DJ's are not worrying about what people think, if it's a good record then they play it. This is a great thing, but there are still a lot of narrow-minded people out there.
PEOM - What kind of role are you going to take as a band, serious young men stressing your views or will your lyrics be more ‘poppy’?
Deep Joy - Most of our songs are misinterpreted. At a first glance the lyrics may seem to be a love song, but look deeper and they're something more. It's nice to pick up a song and take your own meaning from the words, not saying that our lyrics are nonsense though.
PEOM - How do you feel about new bands such as the Manchester movement?
Deep Joy - We’re not against it. In fact some of it's really fresh. There will always be a place where all the bands are coming from, a few years ago the Human League, ABC and a whole spectrum of bands were coming from Sheffield, now there's a big buzz about Manchester. The London scene is just as big though. Our roots are different and we take influences from the 70's rather than the 60's. We're not music revivalists though and don't live in the past. With new technology and new sounds you've got to move on. The most powerful music, the best music of all times is definitely coming out now .
Matteo Sedazzari / ZANI
