Joy Orbison – Still Slipping Vol. 1

Despite being one of the defining figures in the UK underground for more than a decade, ‘still slipping vol. 1’ (written in lowercase) is Joy Orbison’s first ever longplayer.

Ever since his anthemic debut single ‘Hyph Mngo’, that was released by Hotflush in 2009, Joy O. has shown a remarkable versatility in styles and range, but all of his productions have one thing in common - they’re all firmly rooted in the finest UK tradition, echoing decades of UK garage, dubstep, bass, drum & bass and Sheffield-leaning IDM, yet never fully succumbing to any one of those styles.

With guest appearances by Herron, James Massiah, Bathe, Léa Sen, Gumbani and a host of family members (such as his cousin Leighann who introduced the young Joy O. to jungle and UK garage and graces the album’s cover and his parents, sister, uncles and aunties chatting and laughing throughout the album in a series of recorded messages and conversations) ‘still slipping’ is as much a UK as it is a family affair.

With only a few tracks aimed directly at the dancefloor (most notably the garagey ‘swag’ and the sultry Ibiza groover ‘better’, no caps used here), ‘still slipping’ is a grippingly intimate album that reflects both Joy O’s personal journey of the last decade and the last year and a half without serious partying. It’s a highly personal album that has ‘post-everything’ written over it in big letters. (RO)