JOY. is the pseudonym for a musical project by Brisbane youngster Olivia McCarthy, which has seen her thrust into the atmosphere and an entirely new direction in life. The initial spark for this rocket ship was ignited with the release of her debut single Captured, with more fuel added to the fire later with follow up mini-EP Stone. Following the release of Stone, JOY. went on to secure festival slots during Laneway Festival and Field Day 2015.
With this success, McCarthy has had to make some life altering decisions. “Music was always just a side project for me. I wanted to go to uni and study medicine, but with it going so well, I decided to defer my paramedics and psychology courses to focus on my music instead,” said McCarthy.
Despite pursing this new direction exclusively for a relatively short period of time, JOY. has already achieved some incredibly rewarding and fulfilling milestones. Releasing the mini-EP was the first of such milestones. “It was fun to put out a body of work rather than just singles all the time. It has also made me that much more driven to put out a full EP too,” McCarthy said.
The festival circuit was another big moment McCarthy described. “It was awesome. It was the first festival I got to play my own show with my band and I was opening, so I thought no one would be there but the tent was packed so it was crazy and super fun.”
Closing out last year, JOY. saw her name popping up on multiple ‘acts to watch out for in 2015’ and this week, fans in Sydney will get the opportunity to check her out as she will be part of a stacked line-up with two other rapidly rising acts in Tkay Maidza and UV Boi. “I’m just excited to be joining them. They’re both really upbeat acts so I’m keen to see how I can make my set fit in and play with them, it should be really fun,” said McCarthy.
In terms of what fans can expect to see from JOY. during the show, she said laughingly “It’s just me solo at the moment so you’ll probably see me on stage doing trap arms. I’m kind of just playing all new material at the moment with a bit of older stuff, but also experimenting with new vibes and getting groovy.”
Apr 16-17, Goodgod Small Club, 55 Liverpool St, Sydney, $15+b.f, goodgodgoodgod.com
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