‘Mother’ is the latest of a consciously conceived series of EPs released by *JOY* this year. This EP is a playful and energetic collection of beats with a wide variety of textures and moods. ‘Mother’ is primarily sample driven and often reminiscent of ’90s boom bap style hip hop.

The title track is a joyous forward-driving track that’s essentially just a collection of moments of psychedelia, and stuttery samples.With One More Minute, curiously, that ’90s boom bap influence can be heard when the drums and bass are in, but somehow sounds like it’s leaning towards indie pop when they’re not.

The String of the Strength features Mark Vanilau who has performed with the likes of Dave Dobbyn, Ladi6, Trinity Roots and more, adding rich, layered vocals. It also features the piano in addition to what is otherwise an exclusively electronic or sampled instrument array.

This track is probably the most reminiscent of boom bap style hip hop on the EP.

The Drums of Joy is spacious and stuttery and playful in the same way that the title track Mother is.

It is partially steps away from the hip hop vein that permeates the EP and gets dancey, synthetic and spacey with a cryptic message about life and the choices we make looped over the track. It reaches a crescendo with an eruption of drum samples that layer over the driving synth beat.

Aabir Mazumdar