No Joy 's new EP, Can My Daughter See Me From Heaven, is out today and features songs from 2020's Motherhood that have been radically reworked in an orchestral style (plus a cover of Deftones' "Teenager"). The EP features experimental harpist Nailah Hunter, Montreal cellist and performance artist Ouri, drummer Sarah Tawer, and french horn player and classically trained opera singer Brandi Sidoryk. You can stream the whole EP below now.
We talked with No Joy's Jasamine White-Gluz about the inspirations behind Motherhood last year, so we wanted to do the same for the new EP. Influences this time include Portishead's Roseland live album, The Eurythmics (via DTV), Korn Unplugged, and more. Check out Jasamine's list, complete with commentary, below.
No Joy - Top 10 things that influenced Can My Daughter See Me From Heaven
No touring
Playing the same songs many nights in a row on tour usually leads to my songs taking on new forms (mostly for the sake of not getting sick of playing them). I missed the improvisation that happens when you are so comfortable with your bandmates and the set. I felt like the songs on Motherhood weren't given a chance to evolve in a live setting, so I wanted to set them up for a different kind of evolution. I missed touring a lot, which is also why a lot of the songs on this list are live versions.
Kaleidoscope Orchestra - "The Prodigy - "Orchestral Medley"
This is an example of how truly great songs can evolve and continue to be wonderful in new ways when given reimagined arrangements.
Distance:
Our original plan was to record this live on the floor. Unfortunately as things go, we had to move the entire production remote. Recording remotely is something I've done before and am comfortable with but had never done it with so much intricate instrumentation like harp, cello, opera, etc. I do think had we all been together even more magic would have happened, whenever I listen to "Dream Rats (from Heaven)" I'm amazed at how locked in and live it sounds.
The Eurythmics "There Must be An Angel (Playing with my Heart)"
This song appeared in an episode of DTV (Aka Disney TV), a series where Disney took footage from their cartoons and edited them into music videos to popular songs. The Valentine's Day episode lived in the back of my mind forever, particularly the scene featuring "There Must Be An Angel (Playing with my Heart)" by The Eurythmics. Something about Annie Lennox's voice alongside cartoon centaurs falling in love and floating baby angels was just the ultimate childhood psychedelia
Korn - Unplugged feat. Amy Lee:
Of all the Unplugged sessions, you could assume this was one of the worst but it's actually very stunning. This was a cool way to rearrange a heavy song to feel more symphonic but still demonic.
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Portishead - Live at Roseland
I was very inspired by how some acts, particularly in trip hop, encorporated strings into their live sets. This is without a doubt one of the best live performances/records I've ever heard.
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Bjork - Live at Royal Opera House
I really loved how much smiling was going on in this performance. The energy in this version reminds me that if you're fully "feeling" something in your performance, the audience can usually feel it too. Tara had received some bad news about a loved one during the recording of this EP, and her performances channel so much emotion, her slide guitar swirls cause me so much pang everytime I hear it.
Jane's Addiction - "Jane Says" - Live at Hammerstein
I love how it's like an acoustic baggy rave. When Perry Farrell screams after the long drawn out psych intro it's really exciting. As with Motherhood, I was intrigued about how dance culture can permeate via other scenes and genres.
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The mid-2000's Orchestral Pop Movement
I wanted to combine some "rock" elements with some more classical instrumentation, but wanted to stay clear from anything that could lead into "hey ho" territory. I'm from Montreal, after all -- I didn't do it then and didn't want to do it now.
Massive Attack - Live on Jools Holland
Some production concepts from Motherhood made it onto CMDSMFH, like how some pieces of music can slip between genres and be uncategorizable in how they make you feel as well. This live version is a good example of that.
