Could anyone but Joy Orbison round off this rundown? I don’t think so. He’s been hyped to the outer stratosphere and back again , but unlike most hype-juggernauts, he’s been able to back up the initial hype following Hyph Mngo with solid tracks. I’ve already hyped his multiple mixes and raved about the upcoming She Dressed In Her Best single, so it shouldn’t surprise anybody that Joy Orbison is one of my top artists of 2009.
What amazes me in his music is, apart from the fact that he’s consistently impressing, is that the way he mixes well-known 2-step elements with breezy keyboards and abrupt vocal samples and ends up having a mix that’s lighter than all individual elements. His music flows seamlessly, and breaking genre gaps almost seems like a logical consequence. For some reason his I never got to hear his tracks on a proper system this year (blame me or blame the events, I honestly don’t know), but I imagine that the proper venue would fully evoke the larger-than-life qualities that hide in the mix.
To avoid hyping Hyph Mngo even more (I think we’ve been there already), I’ll put up a couple of songs to get you going. You should of course stop by his Myspace to give his newest jams a spin, but if you’re new to Joy Orbison (and evidently spent the latter half of 2009 under a rock) Wet Look and his remix of Four Tet’s Love Cry are great places to start. Both showcase the edge between that slightly melancholic twist and the full on 2-step explosion beautifully.
Joy Orbison – Wet Look
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Four Tet – Love Cry (Joy Orbison Remix)
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