Artist of the Day: Little Joy

Binki Shapiro, Fabrizio Moretti from The Strokes and Rodrigo Amarante from Brazilian band Los Hermanos are the driving forces behind the indie, lo-fi sound of Little Joy. Staking their claim in the sunny skies of Los Angeles, California, the trio formed after Amarante and Moretti met during a Portuguese festival in Lisbon where the two separately performed. The two talked for hours and played with the idea of working together on music. A year after this chance encounter, a mutual friend introduced the duo to local Los Angeles musician Binki Shapiro who pushed Amarante and Moretti into working together on their music. The duo turned trio eventually moved into a house in Echo Park to work on the album which would soon be their self-titled debut.

Binki Shapiro is one of those stand-out female vocalists whose voice is relatively similar to that of The Velvet Underground’s Nico. The mix of Shapiro’s light, wispy melodies and Amarante’s low engine-like rumble co-exist in a utopia where the songs sound like The Strokes time warped back to the '70s and spent a year on the coast of Brazil. Needless to say, the sound is unique.

Little Joy just completed a small tour around the US (minus Fabrizio Moretti who is currently in the studio with The Strokes) and are slated to play in Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo in August.

Stand-out songs: “Unattainable” and “Don’t Watch Me Dancing” i.e. the more Shapiro the better!

And check out this home recording of the trio in Los Angeles, California!

Who’s Who: Fabrizio Moretti – (Guitar/Tenor Guitar/Piano/Bass/Drums/ Percussion/Melodica & Backing Vocals)

Binki Shapiro – (Vocals/Guitar/Glockenspiel/Percussion & Backing Vocals)

Rodrigo Amarante – (Vocals/Guitar/Piano/Bass/Ukulele/Organ/ Melotron/ Percussion & Backing Vocals)

Formed: 2008, Los Angeles, Calif.

Latest Release: Little Joy, 2008

Label: Rough Trade Records

Website: www.myspace.com/littlejoymusic

- Jessica Cole

Currently Listening to: "Are You Sure" by Willie Nelson

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