Profile: No Joy
Few bands have a name that describe them as aptly as No Joy does. Hailing from Montreal, No Joy’s self-described Doomgazer pop puts them in a class by themselves. From noisy guitars and soft-spoken vocals to their despondent lyrics, it quickly becomes obvious of where they want to take you once their music begins. But the more I spoke with them, the more it became apparent that I wasn’t simply dealing with a group of dejected amateurs, but rather a group of musicians who knew where their talents lie who unapologetically lay it all out, no matter the cost. I caught up with No Joy in the middle of their month-long North American tour in promotion of their new EP, Negaverse…
Violent Success: What are your musical backgrounds and how did you guys start playing together?
No Joy: I started in my school orchestra playing violin while Jasamine was dabbling in musical theatre and tap dance. Still an excellent tapper, Jasamine decided to expand her skill set into guitar. Soon after, we met and started a theatre troop which later turned into No Joy.
VS: We had a difficult time finding info on you guys online… Is this intentional? Are you afraid that the spotlight will become too intense?
No Joy: I shy away from the spotlight because I don’t want fame to change me.
VS: What are the lyrical themes that define Negaverse or sounds that tie-in all of your releases?
No Joy: Like Sigur Ros, you will never know what the hell is going on lyrically so keep dreamin’. Sound wise, we’re pretty consistent with our guitars.
VS: What are your main influences as a band? Are there artists you all share a love of?
No Joy: We’re all really influenced by the beauty of dance, whether it be interpretative or our communal favorite, River Dance. Ashley MacIsaac is always a lovely musical addition.
VS: When you first got together as a band, how long did it take to find the sound that you have today?
No Joy: 0.69 seconds about
VS: Way to work a 69 reference in. Are there any songs you haven’t released but keep working on because you like the ideas or have you pretty much released all your favorite ideas up to this point?
No Joy: We have about 30 songs we wrote and recorded intending to release but we decided we don’t like them so no one will ever hear them. Maybe we’ll use a couple of them in future releases but for the rest we’re going to dig a hole in the ground and bury them.
VS: You’re in the midst of a pretty lengthy tour right now… do you enjoy life on the road or is it still something you’re getting used-to?
No Joy: I don’t even know what day it is…
VS: People tend to define an artist by one release… For this reason, do you think it’s better to release EPs than LPs?
No Joy: People are limiting themselves if that’s the case because there’s plenty of good stuff from many artists in every kind of format. Do what you feel like doing and don’t listen to what anybody says about it and you’re good to go.
VS: Thanks for taking time out for us today! Is there something your fans might not know about you that you’d like to share with them?
No Joy: We like dogs.