“Joy” is the first collection of songs by Supreme Joy. It was recorded in songwriter Ryan Wong's(Cool Ghouls) Denver basement amidst a tumultuous year of pandemic, civil unrest, and a personal identity crisis.
Supreme Joy was actually spurred by a visual inspiration- Provoke Magazine, the experimental Japanese photo journal published in the late 60’s. Documenting the underbelly of Japan in high contrast black and white, it presented Japanese culture in a light rarely represented by western press: wild, seedy, and aggressive.
The album opens with “Peace Curls”, conjuring a sort of pseudo surf wisdom and explodes into a haze of flutes. It all comes to a head with “Body Contact”. “Doldrums” confronts the ennui of isolation. “She Plants a Garden” is an ode to his late Obachan (Sayoko) which leads to an ode to one's motherland in “Palace of Oranges”. “East West” contextualizes the confusion of growing up mixed race, while simultaneously adhering to a white culture. “Yūrei” is essentially a Japanese ghost story (yūrei translating to ghost), quietly addressing the horrors of Hiroshima and the nuclear shadows left behind. It culminates into “Rain”- a gentle reminder that defeat is sometimes unavoidable, but with a careful eye opportunity is always on the horizon.
"Joy" was written & recorded 2020-2021 on a Tascam 388. It was produced entirely by Ryan Wong and features an array of veteran Denver musicians. Mitch Mitchum, Gann Matthews, and Brad Grear (Honey Blazer/Last of the Easy Riders) contributed drums/bass/bird sounds respectively. Jairo Barsallo (Kinky Fingers/Slynger) rounded out drum duties, and Alyssa Maunders & Davey Weaver (Down Time) contributed vocals & flute. The layout was painstakingly crafted by Nick Stockton. The album was mastered by Australian maestro Mikey Young (Total Control/Eddy Current Suppression Ring) and is available digitally and on cassette.
Psych-surf from Denver, Colorado is not a connection you’d naturally make, but The Savage Blush are so good they’ll maye you wonder why. Bandcamp New & Notable Apr 9, 2023