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One of this year’s best surprises has been Soul Retrieval, the debut solo album from Janine Rainforth, best known as the lead singer and co-founder of seminal post-punk funk outfit Maximum Joy. Ransom Note

Beautiful stuff – Zakia Sewell BBC 6 Music

This is the Maximum Joy rework of one of the tracks from Janine Rainforth’s debut solo album – 
Always With You Maximum Joy mix.  Reworked by Charlie Lleweliin, original founder member and drummer of Maximum Joy, the feel is moody and lush, neo-soul with spacious down-tempo summery beats,.

Janine Rainforth, lead singer and original co-founder of Bristol post-punk band Maximum Joy/MXMJoY released her debut solo album ‘Soul Retrieval’ on the 14th February via London Field Recordings. 

It’s been well received and hints at a new musical future for Rainforth. These ten laid back, pop-centric grooves with Rainforth’s distinctive vocal are buried deep in emotion and feeling. DJ’s such as Gilles Peterson (6 Music /Worldwide FM) and Zakia Sewell (BBC 6 Music) have played her new music and interviewed Janine about the new album.

Deserving to be cited alongside their musical counterparts Gang of Four, A Certain Ratio and ESG, Rainforth co-founded Maximum Joy aged 18 and their spiky, joyful post-punk funk rose up from the fertile Bristol scene of the late 70’s/early 80’s, inspired by the likes of punk, Albert Ayler, I-Roy, Funkadelic and politics. They released a number of cult classic singles including ‘Stretch’, ‘Silent Street’ and /White & Green Place’. The band toured extensively, releasing ‘Station MXJY’ in 1982 – an album part produced by the legendary Adrian Sherwood. Their final single – a cover of Timmy Thomas’ Why Can’t We Live Together & Man of Tribes – was produced by Dennis Bovell.

Rainforth’s career in music and with Maximum Joy was cut short by a near fatal serious violent sexual attack from within her close professional circle. 

After a number of decades out of the music industry, Rainforth slowly forged her way back into performing and recording, with her first solo music EP released back in 2014, then in 2015, she spearheaded the reforming of Maximum Joy to perform at Simple Things Festival with a new line-up. In 2019, under the name MXMJoY, she & Charlie Lewellin released ‘P.E.A.C.E.’ which received critical acclaim from media including Pitchfork, The Guardian and Crack among others.

Always With You Maximum Joy mix

High quality soundboard of Steve Winwood, Eric Clapton, et. al. playing Presence Of The Lord at Clapton's 2007 Crossroads show in suburban Bridgeview. The next best thing to a Blind Faith concert.

Presence Of The Lord -- Steve Winwood, Eric Clapton et al -- Crossroads Chicago 2007

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Pearl Jam 2012-06-27, Amsterdam, Netherlands

main set: Wash, Last Exit, Animal, State of Love and Trust, Severed Hand, Corduroy, I Got Id, Daughter, Nothing As It Seems, Got Some, Dissident, Once, Glorified G, Deep, The Fixer, Bugs, Better Man
first encore: Release, Hail, Hail, Alone, Footsteps, Rearviewmirror
second encore: Crown of Thorns, Sonic Reducer, Alive, Baba O’Riley, Yellow Ledbetter

Daughter ⁄ W.M.A.

"One of this year’s best surprises has been Soul Retrieval, the debut solo album from Janine Rainforth, best known as the lead singer and co-founder of seminal post-punk funk outfit Maximum Joy." Ransom Note

Janine Rainforth  singer & writer & music selector;  original founder of one of the first post punk bands - Maximum Joy/MMJoY
She returned to performing music publicly in 2014 after an absence of decades, her career in music and with the band she’d formed had been cut short by a serious violent sexual attack from within her close professional circle



‘Her new work comprises rich, blurry lullabies which flow sonorously through space, dripping searching keys over shuffling rhythms and, of course, Rainforth’s piercing but pining vocal. It’s a sweeping, ambient sound”
which recalls another strand of 80s alternative in the otherworldly ethereal wave of Liz Fraser’s work with This Mortal Coil, or even the contemporary avant-pop of Zola Jesus or Glasser” – Crack Magazine

Rich, blurry synth laden lullabies flow over shuffling rhythms and, Janine Rainforth’s otherwordly vocal. 

Guardian interview with Janine - March 2019 https://www.theguardian.com/music/2019/mar/06/janine-rainforth-the-cult-post-punk-hero-confronting-sexual-violence

“As Rainforth forges a new musical future, it’s important not to divorce it from her fearless and catalytic past.. Releasing these long-gestated ideas into the public sphere, and especially returning to the stage after over two decades, took some guts..” Crack Magazine http://crackmagazine.net/article/music/rainforth/

“Janine Rainforth’s singing, probably my all-time favourite vocal take, seems to combine an ageless English folk sensibility with both a teenager’s innocence/insouciance and a smoked-out drowsy jazz maturity well beyond her years.” Kiran Sande – Blackest Ever Black - RewindFwd https://rwdfwd.com/products/maximum-joy-i-cant-stand-it-here-on-quiet-nights/

…”Marrying digital technologies with found sounds and otherworldly vocals, she’s dabbling in ambient crescendos and synth-laden melodies to maximum effect.” 
M Magazine http://www.m-magazine.co.uk/features/interviews/interview-janine-rainforth/


more info/bookings: - mail@londonfieldrecordings.com

Always With You Maximum Joy mix

Janine Rainforth

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