Artist info
Genre
Electronic, Indie, Pop
band members
Olivia McCarthy
Influences
The Kite String Tangle, London Grammar, Banks, Japanese Wallpaper, Fleetwood Mac, David Bowie
Unearthed artists we like
Japanese Wallpaper, Vancouver Sleep Clinic, The Kite String Tangle, Nicole Millar
Website
Bio
JOY. is the project of 17 year old singer/producer Olivia McCarthy from Brisbane, Australia.
Brissie beatsmith and vocalist JOY. is one of our Laneway competition winners and will be taking her dreamy pop creations to the Brisbane Showgrounds this Saturday, January 31.
Tell us about your music. How did you develop your sound?
I developed my sound probably though experimenting on Ableton at ridiculous hours of the early morning on school nights instead of doing homework, but that more or less evolved from being a singer songwriter playing acoustic gigs earlier on. I've always played instruments and always liked to muck around on different instruments, and especially with pedals to try and adapt sounds etc. So then that kind of transferred over to the electronic side of things when I started producing, and the sound was just built from there.
What’s your greatest source of inspiration for making music?
I'm not really sure where I gain inspiration from to be honest, I've always played and written music growing up, so I've never really thought about it that much.
You're one of our Laneway competition winners. What can punters at Laneway in Brisbane expect from the JOY. live show?
A lot of dirty trap horns. Well, probably not. My set up is just me on stage solo pressing hundreds of buttons and hoping everything goes well. But I have heard I might be bringing a few special guests out.
What’s the best advice you’ve been given and who was it from?
"You don't make friends with salad" - Homer Simpson
What Australian track would you play to cheer up someone who was crying?
Hayden James - Something About You
What Australian track would you play to someone to make them cry?
Montgomery - Pinata or George Maple - Vacant Space (bc so beautiful)
You’re the DJ at a party. The dance floor is pumping. What Australian track do you put on next?
Peking Duk - High (ft. Nicole Millar)
What was the last local gig you went to? How was it?
OZfest at the Gold Coast last night. Very crazy, hectic line up. The Creases, Allday, Kingswood, The Preatures and Illy played and their sets were all 10/10 epic.
Tell us about the bands or people in the Brisbane music community that inspire you.
There are lots of rad bands and people in the Brisbane community that inspire me. In particular my m8's The Cairos, The Creases and Vancouver Sleep Clinic. The Cairos are all lovely dudes, and mega talented song writers, I really look up to them. I really dig The Creases' sound, it's super refreshing and kawaii and lovely and they're all super cool dudes. Vancouver Sleep Clinic have totally nailed the whole soundscape vibe, incredible incredible polished sounds and just amazing vibes all round.
What are your plans for 2015?
I will be embarking off around 'straya for plenty of shows soon, I am supporting the FLAMINGO boys on their national tour in a couple of weeks, followed by a couple of other small tours. In between shows I am planning to write a bunch of material and hopefully work on a big EP, or mini LP depending on how everything goes, and apart from that, I plan to eat lots of Pringles by the pool in the sun and not have to worry about going to university.
Unearthed in 2015

Congratulations to I Know Leopard, JOY, Sparkspitter, Milwaukee Banks and Dianas
Review
That grand piano break, the jittering flourishes of percussion, the cut-up vocals, the cloudy synths. In short: there's a lot of great stuff happening here.
That grand piano break, the jittering flourishes of percussion, the cut-up vocals, the cloudy synths. In short: there's a lot of great stuff happening here.
Review
Wow. This gets better with every listen, there's a ton of feeling in there. School's out, JOY. is in.
Wow. This gets better with every listen, there's a ton of feeling in there. School's out, JOY. is in.
Review
This is stunning, 2015 will be all about JOY. This girl has some serious talent
This is stunning, 2015 will be all about JOY. This girl has some serious talent