Little Joy
Encyclopedia
Little Joy is a Brazil
ian/American
rock
band formed in 2007 by Los Hermanos
singer/guitarist Rodrigo Amarante
, The Strokes
drummer Fabrizio Moretti
and Binki Shapiro. Amarante and Moretti met in 2006, at a festival in Lisbon
where both their bands were performing, and the idea came up to start a new musical project unrelated to their respective bands. In 2007, with Los Hermanos on hiatus "for an undetermined amount of time", Amarante travelled to Los Angeles
to collaborate with Devendra Banhart
on his Smokey Rolls Down Thunder Canyon
album. He and Moretti met during recording breaks and talked about "anything but music." Through mutual acquaintances, they met multi-instrumentalist Binki Shapiro, who encouraged the pair to work on a few songs Moretti had begun writing. The band then moved into a house in the Echo Park
area of Los Angeles to write more original music and record some demos. The band was christened "Little Joy" after a cocktail lounge not far from their house. Their eponymous debut album was recorded with the help of producer Noah Georgeson
and engineer Beau Raymond, whom Amarante met during his sessions with Devendra Banhart. It was released by Rough Trade Records
on November 4, 2008, and was hailed by Pitchfork Media
as "one of the sweetest, most listenable, consistently enjoyable records of the season."
Their debut album was given four stars by Rolling Stone magazine and Nick Hornby
voted it his favourite album of 2008.
announced his second Record Club
covers album, Songs of Leonard Cohen
. Binki Shapiro is listed as a contributor, alongside Devendra Banhart
, MGMT
and Andrew Stockdale of Wolfmother
.
Shapiro also appeared as Beck's "muse" in many of the videos that went along with his record, The Information
, released in October 2006.
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
ian/American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
rock
Rock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
band formed in 2007 by Los Hermanos
Los Hermanos
Los Hermanos is a rock band from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The group was formed in 1997 by Marcelo Camelo , Rodrigo Amarante , Rodrigo Barba , and Bruno Medina...
singer/guitarist Rodrigo Amarante
Rodrigo Amarante
Rodrigo Amarante de Castro Neves , in is a guitarist, occasional bassist, singer and songwriter for the bands Los Hermanos, Orquestra Imperial and Little Joy....
, The Strokes
The Strokes
The Strokes are an American indie rock band formed in 1999 in New York City. Consisting of Julian Casablancas , Nick Valensi , Albert Hammond, Jr. , Nikolai Fraiture and Fabrizio Moretti ....
drummer Fabrizio Moretti
Fabrizio Moretti
Fabrizio Moretti is the drummer of the American indie rock band, The Strokes. Fabrizio’s side project with Rodrigo Amarante of Los Hermanos and Binki Shapiro, entitled Little Joy debuted on Rough Trade Records...
and Binki Shapiro. Amarante and Moretti met in 2006, at a festival in Lisbon
Lisbon
Lisbon is the capital city and largest city of Portugal with a population of 545,245 within its administrative limits on a land area of . The urban area of Lisbon extends beyond the administrative city limits with a population of 3 million on an area of , making it the 9th most populous urban...
where both their bands were performing, and the idea came up to start a new musical project unrelated to their respective bands. In 2007, with Los Hermanos on hiatus "for an undetermined amount of time", Amarante travelled to Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
to collaborate with Devendra Banhart
Devendra Banhart
Devendra Obi Banhart is a singer-songwriter and visual artist. Banhart was born in Houston, Texas and was raised by his mother in Venezuela, until he moved to California as a teenager. He began to study at the San Francisco Art Institute in 1998, but dropped out to perform music in Europe, San...
on his Smokey Rolls Down Thunder Canyon
Smokey Rolls Down Thunder Canyon
Smokey Rolls Down Thunder Canyon is a Devendra Banhart album released September 25, 2007. This album features more instrumentation than the previous records, as well as more genre experimentation...
album. He and Moretti met during recording breaks and talked about "anything but music." Through mutual acquaintances, they met multi-instrumentalist Binki Shapiro, who encouraged the pair to work on a few songs Moretti had begun writing. The band then moved into a house in the Echo Park
Echo Park, Los Angeles, California
Echo Park is a hilly neighborhood in Los Angeles, California, northwest of Downtown Los Angeles and southeast of Hollywood.-History:At the end of the 19th century, when the hills were still covered with native vegetation, a horse-drawn streetcar line served the dirt road that is now Echo Park Avenue...
area of Los Angeles to write more original music and record some demos. The band was christened "Little Joy" after a cocktail lounge not far from their house. Their eponymous debut album was recorded with the help of producer Noah Georgeson
Noah Georgeson
Noah Georgeson is a musician, producer, and solo recording artist. Georgeson's debut album Find Shelter was released through Plain Recordings on November 28, 2006. He is credited as having "written, scored, arranged, recorded, and produced" the entirety of Find Shelter, according to a press...
and engineer Beau Raymond, whom Amarante met during his sessions with Devendra Banhart. It was released by Rough Trade Records
Rough Trade Records
Rough Trade Records is an independent record label based in London. It was formed in 1978 by Geoff Travis who had opened a record store off Ladbroke Grove...
on November 4, 2008, and was hailed by Pitchfork Media
Pitchfork Media
Pitchfork Media, usually known simply as Pitchfork or P4k, is a Chicago-based daily Internet publication established in 1995 that is devoted to music criticism and commentary, music news, and artist interviews. Its focus is on underground and independent music, especially indie rock...
as "one of the sweetest, most listenable, consistently enjoyable records of the season."
Their debut album was given four stars by Rolling Stone magazine and Nick Hornby
Nick Hornby
Nick Hornby is an English novelist, essayist and screenwriter. He is best known for the novels High Fidelity, About a Boy, and for the football memoir Fever Pitch. His work frequently touches upon music, sport, and the aimless and obsessive natures of his protagonists.-Life and career:Hornby was...
voted it his favourite album of 2008.
Appearances
On September 4, 2009, BeckBeck
Beck Hansen is an American musician, singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist, known by the stage name Beck...
announced his second Record Club
Record Club
Record Club is a musical project initiated by Beck Hansen in June 2009.The purpose of the project is to cover an entire album by another artist in one day, using an informal and fluid collective of musicians...
covers album, Songs of Leonard Cohen
Songs of Leonard Cohen
Songs of Leonard Cohen is the debut album of Canadian musician Leonard Cohen. It foreshadowed the future path of his career, with less success in the United States and far better in Europe, reaching #83 on the Billboard chart but achieving gold status only in 1989, while it reached #13 in UK and...
. Binki Shapiro is listed as a contributor, alongside Devendra Banhart
Devendra Banhart
Devendra Obi Banhart is a singer-songwriter and visual artist. Banhart was born in Houston, Texas and was raised by his mother in Venezuela, until he moved to California as a teenager. He began to study at the San Francisco Art Institute in 1998, but dropped out to perform music in Europe, San...
, MGMT
MGMT
MGMT is an American alternative rock band founded by Benjamin Goldwasser and Andrew VanWyngarden. After the release of their first album, the members of their live band, Matthew Asti, James Richardson and Will Berman, joined the core band in the studio...
and Andrew Stockdale of Wolfmother
Wolfmother
Wolfmother is an Australian rock band from Erskineville, Sydney. Formed in 2000, the group was originally a trio composed of vocalist and guitarist Andrew Stockdale, bassist and keyboardist Chris Ross and drummer Myles Heskett. Wolfmother released their self-titled debut album in October 2005,...
.
Shapiro also appeared as Beck's "muse" in many of the videos that went along with his record, The Information
The Information
The Information is the tenth studio album by American alternative rock musician Beck, released in October 2006 on Interscope Records. It was produced and mixed by longtime Beck collaborator Nigel Godrich. Recording began in 2003 concurrently with Guero, but the album was not completed until 2006...
, released in October 2006.