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an Interview by Westfall
April 2004
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I have recently come across an amazing new band named Sonicjoy. There are only a few bands in existence where their name completely and appropriately describes their music. Their sound is certainly pure, “Sonic Joy.”
The music of Sonicjoy consists of a great combination of world beats, electronic mysticism, pop, and dance influences to make a spellbinding sound all their own. If they had to be compared to other artists then Delerium, Conjure One, and Kin ZaZa immediately come to mind.
Hailing from Vancouver, BC, where they perform their amazing music locally at various venues, I know it will only be a matter of time before the word spreads and reaches the consciousness of the rest of the world. Already, Sonicjoy has been announced as the BC regional winner of the National Song writing Competition. Their song, “New Again” is receiving airplay on Z95.3FM. As the regional winners, Sonicjoy represented BC at Canadian Music Week. “I was so excited when I heard our song on the radio, I started to cry,” said lead singer and co-writer Joyelle Brandt. Brandt wrote the song, “New Again” with band member and producer Sam Ryan. The timing of the win couldn’t be better for Sonicjoy, as they have just released their debut CD, Urban Angel, which is already available for sale online and in select stores in Vancouver. Please visit www.sonicjoy.ca for more information.
It is truly my pleasure to bring you the following Sonicjoy interview…
Tell us a little about each one of your musical beginnings.
JOYELLE: I have been singing and writing songs most of my life. I started getting seriously into song writing when I was 16 and learned how to play the guitar. My first guitar was a rent-to-own, and I like to say that it paid for itself because I entered a local talent competition and won just enough money to pay it off. I spent a couple of years in jazz school after graduation, but it really wasn’t the right place for me. I was performing around Vancouver as a singer/songwriter in the folk/pop genre when I met Sam, and Sonicjoy was born soon after.
SAM: I spent a lot of my earlier years playing in bands...writing and performing original and cover music. I was into heavy music like Pantera, Soundgarden, and Alice in Chains. Then I attended a year of jazz studies at Malaspina University-College. That popped the lid for me musically. I began enjoying music in general and in 1998, I moved to Vancouver to study recording arts/engineering at CDIS. I then moved straight out of school and into independent recording, which later developed into the foundation for SOS Music.
MIKE: I remember at the age of five listening to Zenyatta Mondatta by The Police. My mother bought the record and the sound they had at the time really struck a chord with me. From there I remember becoming obsessed with music. Growing up in the 80's was a bit different in the way the music of the time fused with technology. I was very much into the music of the 80's as a kid and I think the music of that time still has an influence on me today.
Around the ages of 12 to15, I really got into Pink Floyd & Led Zeppelin and I loved bands like Deep Purple, The Who and Cream. Around this time, I was extremely interested in drumming, and from there I knew that drumming would be an integral part of my life.
From about 18 to 20, I was getting into more and more different styles of music, everything from punk to jazz, and I made the choice to study jazz and classical music at Malaspina University-College. I continued playing drums, and took up the bass as well. Piano & Keys came next. At this time, electronic music was slowly making its way into my musicality, and by the time I was 23, it had basically taken over. Now I spend most of my time in the writing process and hugely enjoy it.
SHAWN: I began playing piano at the age of five, reaching the level of grade 9 through the Royal Conservatory of Music Classical Piano program. Throughout grade school, I also studied the trombone, playing in school concert and jazz bands. After high school I enrolled in the Malaspina University-College Jazz Diploma Program, completing two years there. While in college, I became interested in electronic music and began DJing at clubs, parties, and other events as well as making radio and TV appearances all under the name DJ Chipper. As the keyboard player for Sonicjoy, I still DJ as well. I play in the Vancouver-based funk band Remedy X (http://remedyx1.tripod.com).
How did Sonicjoy come to be?
JOYELLE: I was performing at an event called the Living Closet, and Sam was doing the sound. We were mutually impressed, and I started recording some of my songs with Sam at his home studio. One day I listened to an electronica tune and thought, “This is a great song, all it needs is some lyrics!” So I wrote some lyrics and brought them in to Sam, and that day we wrote “United” in the studio. It was such an amazing experience, and that song pretty much set the tone for what Sonicjoy would become.
Describe Sonicjoy…the band and the music.
SONICJOY: We are a mixture of pop, ambient, and electronica with world music influences, including Indian melodies and African percussion.
Where did the Sonicjoy name come from?
JOYELLE: My husband, Robert, without whom Sonicjoy would not exist, came up with the name. It’s obviously a play on my name, but it’s also a statement about what we want to create with our music.
What was it like producing your first album and what surprised you most about the process?
JOYELLE: What surprised me was how #$*%& long it took to finish it! We spent three years working on the album, and sometimes it felt like it would never end!
SAM: I have been producing for a while, but Sonicjoy was my first project of its kind. The most surprising for me is the number of great musicians that just came in and recorded the music just for the love of it. That was incredible.
What went into making the first Sonicjoy CD? How hard was the learning curve?
SAM: For the most part, Sonicjoy’s songwriting happened right in the studio. It was a very nonlinear process. Different things would spark our creativity. I would find a cool sound, which inspired a melody, or Joyelle presented an idea and I would try to compliment it. On the song “New Again,” we got a fabulous guitar player in, Robbie Steinenger. He gave us so much great acoustic guitar parts, I stole parts that we didn’t use on that song and used it on “Transformation.” He didn’t even play on that song, and I pitch shifted and time stretched his guitar to fit. Who would know? So many things like that happened throughout the process. Some songs are unrecognizable from their inception to now. It is such a great opportunity to write in the studio because the creativity is unlimited. Now I am free to just try new things all the time and I am confident it will turn out.
The learning curve wasn’t that hard for me, so much as the shear amount of time it took to get it right. Each song must have taken about 150 - 300 hours of studio work. That’s including the song writing to mastering.
What is each members favourite song on the CD and why?
JOYELLE: I love the Sanctuary remix, because it is the one song I can really listen to as if I was listening to someone else’s music. I can just kick back and enjoy it. Also I love Ong na mo because Rick’s guitar on that kicks some serious ass!
SAM: “Ajah jah” & “Furka” are my favorite songs. “Ajah jah” seamlessly overlaps over into “Furka”. I love the driving musical intensity and positive message of Furka. I find it the mostly exciting tune of the album.
SHAWN: My favourite song on the album is Sanctuary. I'm a big fan of breakbeats.
MIKE: I'd have to say Furka. It has so much put into it creatively that it's an
unbelievable piece.
What music has inspired you and what music influenced the sound and creation of Sonicjoy?
JOYELLE: Madonna’s Ray of Light album was a big influence on me because of the way she combined her personal spiritual journey with Indian chants and electronic dance music. When I first heard that album, I thought, “I want to make music like that.” Another big influence for me is the Tea Party, because of their use of traditional Indian instrumentation in their songs.
SAM: African drumming actually is one of my biggest inspirations. Until a few years ago, I didn’t like electronica music much at all. I thought it was stupid because it didn’t seem to progress anywhere musically. However, African drumming opened me up. It is a very unique kind of music that is based on being in the moment, not like pop music where you are always waiting for the hook. This approach led me to see the value in electronica. The band Tulku was also one of my initial influences for this project. Tulku integrates singers from many different indigenous cultures with world beat percussion and subtle flavours of electronica music.
MIKE: Well, at the moment, I'm really into Boards of Canada. I especially like the moody, textured feel their sound has and I've grown to appreciate more simplistic rhythms. After listening to so much Squarepusher & Clifford Gilberto (who I am also obsessed with), it's nice to shift into other types of rhythms and feels.
I also get a lot of ideas listening to Everything But The Girl and a lot of the music from Moontribe (California DJ collective) has made its mark on the writing process for Sonicjoy.
SHAWN: Having played in jazz bands and funk bands, I think a lot of that comes out at our live shows, in terms of my soloing. But obviously, my background as a techno DJ is a big influence on the sound I try to create; In particular, breakbeat producers such as Adam Freeland, the PlumpDJ's, and basically the whole U.K. breakbeat scene.
What inspires the creative process?
JOYELLE: My lyrics are often inspired by something that I am reading. For instance, “Critical Mass” was inspired by The Celestine Prophecy, because I really liked the concept in that book of reaching a critical mass where our consciousness level is raised on a planetary level. Other times though, it feels like divine intervention. When I wrote the lyrics for “Never Never Land,” they just seemed to write themselves. I think most songwriters have had that experience, of the song writing itself through them.
Did you create more than 11 songs for the CD? If so, can we expect the so-called “b-sides” to appear on any future single releases, or will they be made available from your Web site?
JOYELLE: There were a few songs that fell by the wayside. If it didn’t appear on the album it was because we either felt the song wasn’t strong enough or that it didn’t fit with the album. We had a few songs that were really dark in tone, which were necessary to the creative process, but didn’t fit with the positive vibe we were trying to create for this album. Maybe sometime down the road we will put out a Sonicjoy: the dark side EP. Who knows?
SAM: There are several cuts that didn’t make the CD. A few we will develop, but most will be forgotten because we are on to new and better material. Our next initiative is to get a well-known DJ to remix our work. We want to get out on vinyl.
Can we expect a Sonicjoy Video?
SONICJOY: Well that depends on whether the grant application comes through. But if we do get the money, expect lots of naked women and bling bling (just kidding!)
Is a tour expected?
SONICJOY: Eventually, yes. But right now we don’t have the resources to do that. Ideally we would like to tour as the opening act for another band, like Delerium.
Explain what Sonicjoy is like live.
SONICJOY: We like to play around with our live shows, and have lots of improvisational jams on tunes. We are moving back to play Sonicjoy completely live (meaning no samples) in the next few months, because it offers us more freedom to re-interpret songs. We’re not the kind of band that plays songs exactly like they are on the CD. We really like to change things up.
Who would Sonicjoy most like to collaborate with?
JOYELLE: I want to sing a duet with Jeff Martin from the Tea Party. Also, I would love to do a Sonicjoy concert with the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra, the Toronto Tabla Ensemble, and a chamber choir. That would be awesome.
SAM: Leftfield rocks.
MIKE: I think it would be appropriate for us to do something with Everything But The Girl, or Beady Belle (Norwegian Jazz-Electronica Group). I feel that our musical styles would really compliment each other and we would work quite well on a tour together.
SHAWN: Personally, I would love to collaborate with the group Hybrid out of the U.K.
What song would you like to have remixed and by whom?
SHAWN: I think the song critical mass has a lot of remix potential, re-mixed by myself and Sam, of course. Haha. Actually, I would love to get that song into the hands of BT or Max Graham, two techno producers who have done a lot of great work. Plus, I have met and played alongside Max Graham and he's a good guy, fun to work with.
MIKE: I would like to remix Furka with Mathew Jonson (It Is What It Is Recordings). The song is so huge it could be re-interpreted in an infinite number of ways. I like the stuff Matt is doing musically, and he's making a name for himself in Europe & Australia right now, not to mention here in Canada.
SAM: Furka remixed by Bill Laswell.
JOYELLE: Any song by Karsh Kale or dj Cheb i Sabbah
What can we expect from Sonicjoy in the future?
SONICJOY: Long-term, we have visualized a show that’s really interactive, and has lots of visual aspects, such as streaming video and dancers (but not your Britney Spears type dancers, something more culturally based, like traditional African dance and Belly Dance).
What are your music goals?
JOYELLE: Total world domination! Or, I’d just like lots of people to have really good sex to our music. You can laugh, but I think that is the highest complement I can hear (and I have heard it several times already).
What would you hope to accomplish musically with your next release?
SAM: I would like to approach the next album from more of a live/acoustic sense...we want to develop the songs as a band, instead of produce the parts in the studio setting.
Urban Angel is a very “studio” oriented production. We want to focus on developing our musicality and live performances....we will emphasize the arrangements and instrumentation on our next record.
What other interests do each of you have?
JOYELLE: I love yoga, nature photography, and hiking. I’m a real West Coast girl.
SHAWN: Music is a big part of my life, outside of my formal engagements. I play guitar in my spare time, and write a lot of music on my computer. Like I mentioned before, I enjoy and play a lot of other genres of music and keep pretty busy in doing that.
SAM: I run SOS Music, which is an artist development company. We work with hiphop, rock, r&b, jazz, etc. I love producing and working with all these diverse genres.
MIKE: Film scores! I am very interested in writing music for movies. I have already finished two albums of my own music, am working on a third, and they just keep getting more and more refined.
How can people interested in hearing your music learn more about you and buy your CD?
JOYELLE: Buy the CD online at www.sonicjoy.ca. Tell your friends to buy it! Tell your grandmother to buy it! Tell your cousin’s brother’s girlfriend’s sister to buy it!
How do you plan to conquer the world?
JOYELLE: One listener at a time.