One and One Is One

Joi, Joi | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (February 23, 1999)
• Original Release Date: February 23, 1999
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Astralwerks
• ASIN: B00000I3WL
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (18 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #275,657 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #30 in Music > Indie Music > New Age > World Dance

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Feel the Joi, February 6, 2003

By 

DJ ProFusion - WorldFusionRadio.com "DJ ProFu... (Evanston, IL) - See all my reviews

This review is from: One and One Is One (Audio CD)

The Bottom Line: From the heart of the London club scene comes this funky happy world fusion dance album. Great stuff, sure to please.

Your music collection is not complete until you add the greatest group to come out of Bangladesh. Joi are the brothers Farook and Haroon Shamsher, natives of Bangladesh and subsequently of England. Although their claim to be "the original Asian breakbeat fusionists" is overstated (Bally Sagoo and Ananda Shankar precede them), they are undeniably original in their interpretation of Asian fusion music.

"One and One is One" is a mid-tempo electronic album, influenced by the work of Ananda Shankar, British trip-hop, and classical Indian-Bangladeshi music. This is not hard-driving club music, but it is still danceable if you are so inclined. All of it is easy to listen to and get into. "Fingers" starts the CD off with a stirring female trance vocal laid over driving percussion spiced with Bengali flute. On the harder side "Massive," "March On" and "Heartbeat" are above average, but still conventional European techno, although "Massive" slips mid-way into an impressive Eastern rift.

"Mission," "Oh My People" and "India" offer funked up breakbeats reminiscent of Talvin Singh and Thievery Corporation's more world-tinged work. The album also offers a softer side with tracks like "ESY-SHJ" and "Everybody Say Yeah," the type of songs where you break and head for a refill at the bar but still keeps your interest up for more to come.

The highlight of the album though is "Asian Vibes." Downright infectious, this feel-good power pop anthem is pure joy - happy, dancey, and a sure crowd pleaser, thanks mainly to the vocals of Susheela Raman.

On the downside, Joi is too repetitious at times, finding a great hook but hanging onto it too long. This is a problem chronic in today's electronic dance music. There are also occasional lapses where the group's inexperience shows up in muddy transitions. Still, "One and One is One" is head and shoulders above the vast majority of techno music.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Never liked techno:, November 8, 2000

By 

J.P. (Waukesha, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: One and One Is One (Audio CD)

I have never bought a techno music album. I always thought that techno music was souless. But One and One is One is techno music with soul. I loved its combination of synthesized sounds with that of the human voice and the organic sounds of flute, sitar and other traditional eastern instruments. This fusion of the technological and the traditional, the synthetic and the organic, make this album interesting and exciting to listen to. And man, can you dance to it! I highly recommend it.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Future or not?, July 30, 1999

By 

Masatomo Ueda ([e-mail]) (London, UK) - See all my reviews

This review is from: One and One Is One (Audio CD)

I used to go to the Dogstar when they used to play every Wednesday and fell in love with them. Then RealWord came. I also saw them live a couple of times and they're great. So I bought the CD and love it, apart from some songs which mean nothing to me. Unfortunately Haroon died a couple of weeks ago. Will his brother carry on? Hope so... anyway... buy this record and dream listening to Fingers