It’s that time again, when our man on the ground Desh Kapur Editor/Photographer All Music Magazine UK spotlights a bands or artists he thinks are going to have a big 2023 ; bands and artists we think you should check out to stay ahead of the curve
So welcome to THE JOY HOTEL
It’s not often that a band stops me in my tracks, make me take my cameras of, and sit down on the grass and not move for the whole of their set, especially when i am covering a festival, but thats exactly what The Joy Hotel did when i was covering Neighbourhood Festival Weekender 2023, they are that good!!! A mixture of swirling guitars melody driven bass lines, back and forth vocals and layered harmonies. To me they are like this psychedelic mish mash of everything cool all rolled into one band.
Formed in Spring 2019 in Glasgow as a creative partnership between Luke and Emme before becoming a 7 piece with the addition of , Juan, Jenny, Scott, Jack & Jack At the end of 2021 the band took up residence at the legendary Rockfield Studios to record their debut album with producer Chris McCrory
With headline shows selling out across the UK and an album ready for release, The Joy Hotel are set for a big year ahead.
So All Music Magazine UK managed to fire some questions over to the band and Luke kindly answered them for us
1/ What first got you into music? or Who inspired you to make music?
My parents would play music a lot in the car and there was always something about it that completely occupied my attention. When I first picked up the guitar I had a broken arm and would just focus on the left hand, trying to understand the patterns of how chords work. Once I got my head around that it became and obsession and I felt a compulsion to make something of my own.
2/ tell me about your music journey
Emme and I met initially back in late 2017 when she was travelling out to LA as a solo artist for a few shows and asked me to come along as her guitar player. During the rehearsals it was evident that there was a huge overlap in the way we wrote and thought about music. While we were there I tried to convince her that we should start a band together but the idea never quite stuck. About two years later we finally sat down to write something and before long we were sitting on a few songs we knew
worked and decided it was the right time to bring some other members in. The pandemic took the wind out of our sails for a while but we finished writing an album in the first lockdown and decided that we would go full force at every lofty ambition we had for ourselves. Now we’ve got our debut album ‘Ceremony’ coming in November and we’re about to embark on an EU tour.
4/ How would you describe the music that you typically create?
I don’t feel that it’s any one thing. We all have quite broad taste and genre is never something we discuss when we’re working so it just becomes this mixture of whatever we feel is exciting and right at the time. The songs are all rooted in beautiful, singable melody though. If we can give people lyrics and a vocal they can connect to that’s enough for me. Everything else comes second.
5/ What is your creative process like?
Emme or I will usually have the lyrics and melody ready before we show one another. For me the chords and melody always emerge first. Occasionally she and I will have two unfinished ideas and we’ll Frankenstein them together to discover something more exciting than what we would have made on our own. Then we’ll bring it to the band and explain the shape of the song and work on arrangement. When it came to making the album, a huge amount of what ended up on the album are spur of the moment creative decisions, so we always leave room for things to change if it feels like the song wants to move that way.
6/ If you could go open a show for any artist who would it be?
I think it’d be great to open for King Gizzard and The Lizard Wizard, or maybe Weyes Blood. There are so many people we’d love to join on tour or share a stage with.
https://youtu.be/PecyS9fOoAc
7/ What is one message you would give to your fans?
We’re grateful for the people who’ve stuck with us, show up to shows and support our music. It allows us to do what we do and we’re always thankful for that.
8/ What is the most useless talent you have?
I honestly don’t think I have any useless talents. Anything I happen to be good at, I usually find useful. Boring answer.
9/ Do you sing in the shower? What songs?
I’m not much of a shower singer. I’m all about getting in, getting the job done and getting out of there. Keep the focus strictly on hygiene. Let someone else sing.
10 What would you be doing right now, if it wasn’t for your music career?
I’d like to be working in visual art of some kind, maybe in film.
11 Where have you performed? What are your favourite and least favourite venues?
We’ve mostly been playing around the UK but we played a festival in Malta last year which was great. I don’t want to bad-mouth anyone’s venue but one of my favourite shows we ever played was in, what I think was, an old abandoned School in Edinburgh that was turned in to a venue for Hidden Door Festival in 2022. Such a great space for a show.
12 Do you have any upcoming shows?
Pretty soon we embark on a run of European festival shows. We’re heading to Haldernpop in Germany, Bruis in the Netherlands, Rock In The Barn in France, Radar in Switzerland, Reeperbahn in Germany and then back to the Netherlands for Hit The City. We have some shows in Northern England at The Cluny, Live At Leeds and Twisterella and then later in the year we launch our album in Glasgow at St Luke’s on November 22nd.
13 What is your favourite song to perform?
It always changes but I’m enjoying playing Jeremiah right now. We’ve really hit our stride with that on the last few shows
14 Which famous musicians do you admire?
It’s difficult to overstate my love for Kendrick Lamar and Tyler The Creator. I think they’re two of the most talented and conceptually ambitious artists working right now. I think there’s an argument to be made that To Pimp A Butterfly in among the best albums ever made. I grew up with a lot of 90’s guitar music like Oasis, Nirvana, Radiohead etc so that’s in my DNA. Right now I think Caroline Polachek is making some of the best pop music of the last decade. The list is endless, honestly.
15 What is the most trouble you’ve ever gotten into?
I stay out of trouble.
16 What is the best advice you’ve been given?
I once played a show in a pub when I was about sixteen and a guy at the front door just kept drunkenly repeating ’don’t ever stop playing, never stop for anyone, just keep going’. That’s about all you need.
17 What’s next for you?
We’re heading to Europe soon then when we get back we’re going to be focused on launching the album. Once that’s our there I’m sure we’ll be touring it as far and wide as we can.
FOLLOW THE JOY HOTEL
My life is a soundtrack, i track my life through music, photography is my passion, my escape, my expression. Without both i have pieces missing, thankfully i’m blessed and get to combine both.
Born in Manchester, lived in Australia for 22 years where i was heavily involved in the Australian Music Industry, firstly in bands (Singer) and then managing bands (all original), I moved back to the UK, Wales specifically 10 years ago
