9.49°C On Saturday, 20th April 2013, there’s a rare opportunity to see Southend’s finest rave export, N-Joi, play Colchester again at The Twist.
Formed in 1990 by Nigel Champion and Mark Franklin, then just 20, N-Joi emerged at a time when dance music was barely represented in the national charts and warehouse parties were still largely illegal. That’s where you would have found them in the late 80s.
Their first release on Deconstruction Records, Adrenalin, delivered a hard-hitting techno sound and became one of the first instrumental dance tracks to break into the UK charts, entering at No.19. They even performed it – without lyrics – on Top of the Pops.
Soon after, they teamed up with vocalist Sam Sprackling (aka Saffron), adding a vocal edge to their underground sound. Anthem stormed the charts at No.8 and topped the Billboard Dance Chart in the USA. Follow-up Live in Manchester also charted, and the band toured extensively across the UK, USA, Europe and Australia.
During this period, they remixed Annie Lennox’s “Little Bird” and famously turned down a remix request from Madonna due to touring commitments. Their manager also worked with a then-unknown rave act called The Prodigy, who later invited N-Joi to support them on tour.
N-Joi’s new live show promises to take the crowd on a journey from their old skool origins through to their present-day sound, alongside a dynamic stage performance.
Support on the night comes from DJs SW1, Cyberdog, Worzal, Quicklung and Andy Burr, plus an exclusive DJ set from N-Joi themselves.
Tickets are £5 in advance via Fatsoma.
