"Joy O always appears to play by his own rules, with Slipping being no exception to this ethos"
Since the genius of ‘Hyph Mngo’ put a spell on us in 2009, Joy Orbison has become an underground figure of revered power, advocating his forward-thinking beats and sonic autonomy. Peter O’Grady returns with a quiet confidence to his and Will Bankhead’s label Hinge Finger for 6-track Slipping; we find an intoxicating brush with all of Joy Orbison’s trademark elements of dubstep and house, whilst running with an endearing personal touch.
We may feel as if Joy Orbison is opening himself up to a new method of A&R with a sepia-toned photo of his grandma on the sleeve and his dad’s voice on the track ‘w/ Dad’, but his step away from a more anonymous guise only intrigues us more, as if we’re beginning to see a break-away to a more personalised side of Joy O.
Slipping is playful, varied and packed in all the right ways; groovy synths and confined break-beats move together with a languid sensuality; woozy house elements engulf the track ‘Walworth Waltz’, with the vocal refrains of hip-hop artist Intimate giving a mellow touch.
Snippets of audible conversation provide a collaged effect, illustrating Joy O’s experimental side. ‘Under’ is equally cloudy with Keyah Blu’s vocals giving the track a bedroom recording effect which brings to mind the lush murmurs of singer/songwriter Tirzah. ‘Breathe In’ is a murky snippet of broken-beat techno that calls to attention his dancehall influences, contrasting nicely with the softer tracks on the EP.
Mansur Brown features on ‘Burn’ & ‘YI She’s Away’ the former a hard-hitting dance track, conformist in its arrangements, whilst the latter closes the EP with a cohesive piece of future garage. Joy O always appears to play by his own rules, with Slipping being no exception to this ethos.
‘Slipping’ is out now via Hinge Finger. Order a copy from Bandcamp.
- WATCH: Inverted Audio produced film – Sole Selectors Joy Orbison
TRACKLIST
1. Burn (Ft. Infinite & Mansur Brown)
2. Under (Ft. Keyah Blu)
3. w/ Dad
4. Breathe In
5. Walworth Waltz (Ft. Infinite)
6. Yl She’s Away (Ft. Mansur Brown)
Discover more about Joy O and Hinge Finger on Inverted Audio.