Joyeria Turns an Accidental Recording Into 'Live At The Windmill'

Joyeria will release 'Live At The Windmill' on November 20 through Dead Cactus — an album the band didn't know it was making. The 12-track record becomes the first live recording from Brixton's Windmill venue to receive a vinyl release, pressed on limited-edition pink wax.

The story is almost insultingly simple. Five pounds for admission. Whatever amplifiers happened to be lying around. Nobody told the band the tape was rolling. They plugged into the Windmill's house equipment, played the set, had a few drinks and went home. Three days later, an email arrived containing nine recorded stems from the performance. One listen convinced them it was worth releasing.

Joyeria is the songwriting project of Joy, born in Poland, raised in Canada and formed by years in London's independent music scene. The project's sound combines motorik rhythms (the steady, repetitive pulse borrowed from 1970s German experimental rock), jagged guitars and weary observations about modern life. Producer Dan Carey brought that sound into focus through his Speedy Wunderground label, and Joyeria's reputation has grown through sets at The Great Escape, Green Man, Mutations Music Festival and South by Southwest.

What's on the record?

The album draws on Joyeria's debut full-length, 'Decay Decay Decay,' and adds two curiosities: the previously unreleased "Outlived by Rocks" and a cover of "Punks in the Beerlight" by Silver Jews. The pairing fits. Joyeria shares some of the dishevelled storytelling, deadpan humour and guitar-driven unpredictability associated with David Berman, Pavement and the more adventurous corners of indie rock.

The full tracklist:

Side A

• "Here Comes Trouble"
• "Back in the U.K.K.K."
• "The Curse"
• "Outlived by Rocks"
• "Winner"
• "Wild Joy"
• "Recent Discovery"

Side B

• "9 to 5"
• "Duller Grey"
• "The Donkey"
• "Punks in the Beerlight" (Silver Jews cover)
• "I don't know who cares"

Why is there a clown on the run?

There's also a new video for "The Donkey," previously screened only at Joyeria's art show. It follows Joy dressed as a clown on the run. The song and video explore the ridiculous lengths people go to for validation, contrasting the donkey's uncomplicated contentment with a clown desperate for an audience's approval. It's funny, uncomfortable and surprisingly philosophical — a pretty excellent combination for an indie rock song about a donkey.

The album captures the project in its natural habitat, per the announcement: loud, loose and comfortable with things getting a little messy.

Where can you see them?

Joyeria celebrates the release with three November UK dates:

• November 12 — Altar, Leyton, London
• November 19 — Dash the Henge, Camberwell, London (in-store)
• November 27 — The Windmill, Brixton, London

That final date returns the band to the scene of the accidental recording. Given that the original capture happened without the band's knowledge, one question hangs over the November 27 show: who's checking whether the tape recorder is running this time?

By Daniel Okafor