The Joy Hotel

By their own admission, The Joy Hotel is an experience rather than a band. The Glasgow-based seven-piece has made musical elusiveness its trademark. Yet there are points of recognition. In the harmony vocals between Luke and Emma, we hear an old and familiar echo of the music that sounded in Laurel Canyon, California, in the ’60s and ’70s. And beyond that? Tasty guitars and keyboards and a motley mishmash of genres. A new band to keep an eye on, then.

Shortly before their show at Bruis (September 2023), the members of The Joy Hotel dove into the Muziekgieterij studio and recorded a Heaven Session. Afterwards, they spoke with Ludo Diels (Heaven Magazine) about playing in a big band, the benefits of drinking and smoking, and about an issue that has concerned bands for decades: how do you get your live sound on an album?

Photo: Hugo Thomassen