Australian label Sweat It Out! has a knack for breaking young artists, having nurtured the careers of acts like RÜFÜS, Motez, and What So Not while always channeling the feel-good vibrations of their home continent. This time around, the label is debuting a new Los Angeles trio by the name of Overjoy, whose two-track Breakfast EP cradles the listener in a blanket of addictive house rhythms, velvet synths, and some superb lyrical work from the group's vocalist, Lex Famous. In addition to a full stream of their new EP for the label, we caught up with the trio to hear what's up.
Métty & Hoff: We worked together DJing in the LA club scene for about the last decade—we realized we both produced and thought it would be a good idea to do some studio collabs, thus Overjoy was born in early 2013. It was always our goal to work with many different vocalists, but later on that year we met Alexis through our mutual friend Plastic Plates. From there we all started hanging out and had instant synergy. After a few releases with Alexis as guest vocalist, we decided to become a trio and haven't looked back since.Tell me a bit about your studio process
It usually starts with an idea from one of us three - whether its a beat, vocal or chord progression—we then send that rough sketch to the others and if they vibe with it we flush it out. There's often a good amount of solo work going in before we get together as a team. It can also go the other way though as a few of our recent tracks were written together in the midst of late night after-hours. We record all of our vocals at our private studios, Méttys being in the city and Hoff's by the beach, and later re-record everything at our mixer Justin Hergett's studio in the San Fernando Valley. He's got lots of recording experience with artists like Beyonce and Lady Gaga—so we trust him with the vocals. Each of us has our strong points and we kind of let each other get as weird as we want in our own respective fields—Métty's being the drums, production and song structure, Hoff's being the keys and guitar, and finally Alexis writes all the lyrics and sings everything - although from time to time we each step into the other's territories and it ends up adding to the music in a positive way.What's next for you guys after this EP? do you have a live show or gigs in the works?
Funny you ask—we're actually just about to wrap up another EP. Expect to see this out sometime in the first quarter of 2016—it's a three track EP that takes what you will hear on Breakfast and goes a little bit further out. We are beginning to move more in the direction of becoming a full-on live band. Currently we are in rehearsals for some live shows that will take place in 2016, the first of which will be at SXSW for the Wreakroom Records showcase with our friends from Brooklyn which we are beyond excited for.Lyrically, tell us a bit about what these songs are about?
Lex Famous: Everything I write is about love, I'm never not writing about matters of the heart. It's the deepest spring to get sprung. "Airport" is about finding someone to love on the low for the 45 minutes while you're waiting at the terminal. You never actually talk to them, probably never see them again, but it was nice to know them… especially without actually knowing them. "Love For Breakfast" is kind of a shout out to the new dismal dating environment brought on by dating apps. So much fuckery—just tell me you love me, right?Overjoy is on Facebook // SoundCloud // Twitter
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THUMP: Can you tell me a bit about how you guys got together?
Métty & Hoff: We worked together DJing in the LA club scene for about the last decade—we realized we both produced and thought it would be a good idea to do some studio collabs, thus Overjoy was born in early 2013. It was always our goal to work with many different vocalists, but later on that year we met Alexis through our mutual friend Plastic Plates. From there we all started hanging out and had instant synergy. After a few releases with Alexis as guest vocalist, we decided to become a trio and haven't looked back since.Tell me a bit about your studio process
It usually starts with an idea from one of us three - whether its a beat, vocal or chord progression—we then send that rough sketch to the others and if they vibe with it we flush it out. There's often a good amount of solo work going in before we get together as a team. It can also go the other way though as a few of our recent tracks were written together in the midst of late night after-hours. We record all of our vocals at our private studios, Méttys being in the city and Hoff's by the beach, and later re-record everything at our mixer Justin Hergett's studio in the San Fernando Valley. He's got lots of recording experience with artists like Beyonce and Lady Gaga—so we trust him with the vocals. Each of us has our strong points and we kind of let each other get as weird as we want in our own respective fields—Métty's being the drums, production and song structure, Hoff's being the keys and guitar, and finally Alexis writes all the lyrics and sings everything - although from time to time we each step into the other's territories and it ends up adding to the music in a positive way.What's next for you guys after this EP? do you have a live show or gigs in the works?
Funny you ask—we're actually just about to wrap up another EP. Expect to see this out sometime in the first quarter of 2016—it's a three track EP that takes what you will hear on Breakfast and goes a little bit further out. We are beginning to move more in the direction of becoming a full-on live band. Currently we are in rehearsals for some live shows that will take place in 2016, the first of which will be at SXSW for the Wreakroom Records showcase with our friends from Brooklyn which we are beyond excited for.Lyrically, tell us a bit about what these songs are about?
Lex Famous: Everything I write is about love, I'm never not writing about matters of the heart. It's the deepest spring to get sprung. "Airport" is about finding someone to love on the low for the 45 minutes while you're waiting at the terminal. You never actually talk to them, probably never see them again, but it was nice to know them… especially without actually knowing them. "Love For Breakfast" is kind of a shout out to the new dismal dating environment brought on by dating apps. So much fuckery—just tell me you love me, right?Overjoy is on Facebook // SoundCloud // Twitter