Enigmatic soul collective, EJOY, unveil ‘playful’ single: LOVE BUGS

EJOY's influences blend generations and genres, from Motown to Funkadelic, gospel to jazz, classical music, hip-hop, disco and electronica.

Four musicians, four distinct personal and creative histories, one shared fascination with soul, rhythm and the possibilities of sound. UK groove collective, EJOY return with the dappled sway of Love Bugs, the latest glimpse into a musical world built on instinct, curiosity and love for the records and cultures that have shaped them.

Drawing deeply from the historic and contemporary fronts of funk and soul, EJOY resist constraint. Their stated influences stretch across generations and genres, from the vast vaults of Motown to Funkadelic, the towering presence of Isaac Hayes and gospel to jazz, classical music, hip-hop, disco and synth-borne electronica. Nature, cinema, family, global culture and the experiences of everyday life all find their way into the band's distinct creative process.

By being difficult to neatly categorise, EJOY’s mission is partly accomplished. Pulling naturally wide of existing scenes within and beyond their home city of Liverpool, without calculation or pretence, they have alchemised something all their own. Their debut, self-titled EP, released earlier this year, including the streaming success of lead heartache single, Are We Through? was accompanied by EJOY’s first publicised live appearance, taking to the stage of their home city’s Philharmonic Music Room for one night only.

Glinting guitar lines, layers of faraway backing vocals and tight, woody bass lines bring dreamy magic to Love Bugs. The follow up to the percussive daydream of their July single, Heaven, EJOY’s latest single is about being lost in the freedom of being completely yourself. It’s everything the band know about, disappearing entirely into their own creative space, allowing ideas to find their way to resolution and inspiring each other without working with a specific audience in mind.

Love Bugs is the latest evidence of an approach to music made because the secretive EJOY love making it. With restrained outward confidence but total belief that their listeners will find their way in, the single is an unambiguous statement and leap towards the band’s second EP release later this year.

“The whole ‘Love Bugs’ idea is quite playful and childlike,” explains singer, lyricist and songwriter, Ellen. “It’s about being happy in your own little creative space, playing around with ideas, being yourself and not performing for anyone. It’s also about love arriving unexpectedly, that feeling of excitement and wonder of having someone new running around in your mind.”

EJOY’s music is made collaboratively, with each member bringing their own musical and cultural vocabularies to the room, their personal heritage, experience of diverse communities and skills in the art of listening all pushing them together as a group. The collective is one of different histories, different reference points and different ways of seeing the world blended to become unity.

Alongside Ellen as essential members of the EJOY family are guitarist, bassist, songwriter, engineer and producer, Ryan, drummer, songwriter, producer and visual artist Benji, and synth and keys player Drew.