Joy Anonymous

Electronic dance duo Joy Anonymous have built community spirit through high-energy production and live performance, spreading their kinetic sound to larger audiences on the albums Human Again (2021) and Cult Classics (2023) and collaborations with Fred again.., the Blessed Madonna, Sugababes, and others. London residents Henry Counsell and Louis Curran were, like many of their fellow musicians and countrymen, shaken by the COVID-19 pandemic of 2020. With live touring grounded, concert venues shut down, offices and schools gone remote, and medical staff struggling to care for the sick and dying, the pair decided to pitch in and add some spirit to a community that needed it badly. Taking their name and community ethos from Alcoholics Anonymous, the pair trudged their keyboards and samplers to the banks of the River Thames and started playing live music as Joy Anonymous for whoever was around to hear it. Gradually, socially distanced crowds found refuge in the pair’s weekly catharsis. This community spirit inspired their 2021 debut, Human Again, which ran original jam sessions and ambient bits of their live sets through samplers and faders, looping and stretching sounds into a new context. (The duo also collaborated with local musicians who would sit in at their ad hoc shows, including Afrobeats artist K4mo and Somali singer FACESOUL.) In the wake of Human Again, Joy Anonymous enjoyed some of their greatest successes as concert-going resumed in England and Europe. The duo performed at the Glastonbury Festival in 2022 and 2023 and supported producer/DJ Fred again.. and U.K. hip-hop act the Streets on tour. The duo’s second album, the upbeat Cult Classics, arrived in 2023, along with collaborations with American dance producer the Blessed Madonna (“Carry Me Higher”) and Sugababes (a cover of their 2005 U.K. chart-topper “Push the Button”). ~ Mike Duquette