My first encounter with Maximum Joy was around 2001 when Chris Farrell .. boss of the Idle Hands shop and label there (and still fresher-faced than most) - played me the song ‘Silent Street / Silent Dub’, the lesser-spotted B-side of their Stretch 12”. .. Quite honestly, I've never heard anything that comes close - before or since. 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. Charlie Llewlin’s drumming is broken beat some 20 years ahead of schedule, Dan Catsis’s bassline is heavy-as, and Tony Wrafter’s free-soaring trumpet channels Don Cherry with aplomb. All bound together and ultra-intensified by Dick O’Dell’s vertiginous dub mix.
Kiran Sande- Blackest Ever Black 

Formed in 1979, Bristol band, Maximum Joy was originated by Janine Rainforth (singer /violin/clarinet) and Tony Wrafter (saxophonist/trumpeter, previously of another Bristol band, Glaxo Babies), Charlie Llewellin (drummer – previously in Glaxo Babies), Dan Catsis (bass – also previously in Glaxo Babies) and John Waddington (guitar – previously in the Pop Group) were also founder members. . In the wake of the infamous Pop Group and taking from the hot bed of musical influences driving the Bristol scene at the time – punk, reggae, funk, soul and Jazz- the band developed their own unique version of the post-punk Bristol sound. Sometimes soothing, occasionally challenging, their groove combined funk, punk, soulful jazz and wild impro with daring and, often, panache. 

Fuelled by Thatcherism, inner city race riots and growing protest amongst young and old, Maximum Joy’s songs and melodies were about getting conscious and waking up to life, « …stay positive, stay plus, pulsate, pulsate no terminate, no end, it’s only just beginning… » ('Stretch'). 

They were quickly signed by Y records, distributed by Rough Trade. Maximum Joy’s first single, 'Stretch' came out in 1981. It was a big underground seller in Europe, Japan and the States, spent weeks in the NME Indie charts and became an underground Post Punk/Funk classic in the fashionable night clubs of New York when the disco re-mix was released on New Yorks '99 Records'. The band’s next single was White and Green Place the slick production was orchestrated by maestro Y Record’s Dick O’dell, string quartet and all, nothing but the real thing! 

Kev (Ebo) Evans joined as bassist and the band went on to record the jazzy, ethereal All in the Air. In 1982, the band brought out their LP, 'Station MXJY', fit was overseen by producer extraordinaire, Adrian Sherwood. Later that year they recruited Nellee Hooper to add to the line up,  Trumpeter Jeremy Hirsh also joined the band at this time. 
Maximum Joy’s last single was a haunting version of Timmy Thomas classic 'Why Can’t We Live Together', on the flip side of which was 'Man Of Tribes'. Produced by producer and prolific musician in his own right Dennis Bovell, he dug the B side song so much that he joined Janine on the choruses and contributed to making it one of Maximum Joy’s best recorded tracks.  The finally released version featured singer Peta on the A'side as Janine had left the band then – (the original version featuring Janine’s vocal was re-mastered recently and released in Japan as a bonus track on Station MXJY on Beatink). 
John Peel was a fan, they recorded a couple of BBC Radio 1 sessions for him & Kid Jensen and they toured Europe extensively.
May the joy be with you!
Any further questions: mail@londonfieldrecordings.com

Green Gartside is back, having been away, once again, for some time. Back with his first album in seven years, back on Rough Trade after 24 (Nonesuch/Rough Trade in North America), back on stage after 26. The man who is Scritti Politti has always been inclined to absence more than presence, questions more than answers, contradictions he spends years happily lost in. His is a story, after all, that begins watching the Sex Pistols in Leeds in 1977; continues for a period in early 80s Camden squat land, where attempts at a pop commune produced Peel-loved, post-punk singles; made a daring break into pop with the deathless “The ‘Sweetest’ Girl”; moved to New York to become a full-fledged MTV star, and sonic inspiration to future R&B; almost went mad from the effort; retreated to Wales and returned making hip-hop; and now, aged 50, has produced one more intricate, self-questioning pop master class, White Bread Black Beer, recorded alone, in his Hackney back room.

Traditional dance music from Louisiana: two-steps, waltzes and a bit of blues brought to you by a core trio of women on accordion, fiddle and guitar

The Haywood Billy Goats are an Old-time string band out of Chatham County, NC. The band’s tight, hard-driving sound has earned them top finishes in a number of string band contests and put them in demand to play for square dances throughout North Carolina. Members of the group have won blue ribbons at individual and twin fiddle contests in the US such as the Mt. Airy, Union Grove, and Fiddler’s Grove Festivals, and first place at the 2015 Australian National Bluegrass Mandolin Championship.

2020 STARTING JULY ONE SINGLE A MONTH. 
Tamara Williamson has been a mainstay in the Toronto music scene since the early 90’s. She released 3 albums with her band Mrs. Torrance on the major label BMG. Mrs. Torrance toured extensively in Canada opening for such acts as Oasis, The Beautiful South, Talk Talk, and Jewel. They toured with bands such as The Crash Test Dummies, The Pursuit of Happiness, The Waltons, The Rheostatics, Hayden and King Cobb Steelie.  Mrs. Torrance were pushed to radio with their single “Porn” and were on Much Music rotation. 
In 2000 Mrs. Torrance disbanded and Tamara started a solo career. Her music is ethereal and sensitive. Using many effects and layers she was one of the first artists to start live looping and was known for her experimentation using both vocal effects and looping. Tamara was featured in The New Music Show in 2000 and her first independent single went into rotation on MUCH Music. Her first recording “Nightmare on Queen Street” was very well received and Tamara played at many folk festivals such as Hillside, The Regina Folk Festival, and NXNE. She also went down the West Coast touring with Bob Wiseman and Matt Nathensen.
In 2003 Tamara was voted fourth best concert of the year by NOW magazine ahead of Greenday, and behind Bjork.
Tamara is the only voice until this year to be recorded on a Do Make Say Think album. She also fronted the trip hop band Microbunny, which won the CBC new band search in 2002. 
In 2006 Tamara signed to a French label and toured France extensively as part of “Le Femme S’en Mêlent” tour. She played alongside Feist and Shannon Wright. She was interviewed and recorded live to French National Radio. She also played shows in Spain and Italy.
From 2007 until 2016 Tamara has released four albums and toured in Canada and France. In 2015 Tamara started focusing on playing smaller more intimate festivals and venues such as house concerts. 
Tamara was recently featured in the Globe and Mail Broadsheet, an end of year collection of songs written about 2014. Tamara’s song “The Next One” is about women coming forward to speak out about their experiences of sexual harassment and violence and was recorded with the band Absolutely Free. This song was released on a compilation put out by the label Arts and Crafts. Her latest album “Sister Mother Daughter Wife” pays homage to women survivors from around the world. 
Tamara is a member of the Canadian Alternative Cover band AVRO,  and recently started a ukelele duo project, CROW, with the amazing songwriter Patty Ewaschuk.
Tamara lives in Uxbridge with her son Angus where she has a business creating music for dressage horses. She also paints and has recently commissioned her paintings to The True North Records/Gallery.
http://music.cbc.ca/#!/artists/Tamara-Williamson
https://www.facebook.com/tamarasingsloud/
http://exclaim.ca/music/article/tamara_williamson-victoria

Letters of Recommendation....

"In Toronto in the late 1990’s there was an intelligent, unassuming, earnest musical force that cut right to my heart. Tamara Williamson was no small influence on me and I am thrilled and relieved that she’s making music again.” Charles Spearin, Broken Social Scene. 


"I’ve admired Tamara for years; she cut a certain path of determination for me by having musical conviction long before I understood those stakes for myself." Feist

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