Bleep

At this point, Joy O is a national treasure and should be recognised for his service to electronic music. From the heady post-dubstep breakout HYPH MNGO to the present day, every new release feels like a micro-cultural event - simultaneously reinterpreting contemporary music movements in his inimitable style, while influencing the output of countless producers for the year to follow.

Even so, Still Slippin’ Vol. 1 is a true landmark for Joy O. It’s his first full length release, which is remarkable for someone who has retained an untouchable status for over a decade. Presented as a mixtape rather than an album in the traditional sense, it touches on many styles and BPMs while feeling purely UK, and purely Joy O, throughout.

Interspersed with recordings of several members of his family, it’s both his most personal and most accessible record so far. ‘Better’ featuring the velvet vox of Léa Sen is his smoothest house cut since ‘Donell’, and ‘Runnersz’ is a melodic, clean piece of instrumental cloud rap. His style has undoubtedly been darker and techier in the last few years, and those looking for the moodier bits to dip into will dig trax like ‘Rraine’ & the hybrid dancehall of ‘Sparko’ ft. Herron.

There’s a feeling of continuity with recent bits too - ‘Glorious Amateurs’ and ‘Froth Sipping’ both feature the core of recent trax, repurposed to be taken on fresh new journeys (‘Noh Mas’ under his Sin Falta alias and ‘81b’ respectively). Club gear for the post-covid landscape comes in the form of the swung 2-step of ‘Swag w kav’ feat. James Massiah and Bathe, and the liquid micro-house of ‘Born Slipping’.

Essential business, like pretty much everything Joy O has crafted so far.