JOYRYDE gets intensely personal over long-overdue 18-track debut album, ‘BRAVE’ [STREAM]

In what is perhaps the biggest tease in recent dance music memory, JOYRYDE has finally delivered on his highly-anticipated debut album, BRAVE. Originally announced in late 2018, the album somehow became affiliated with Skrillex’s OWSLA label. Taking club music to newer heights, JOYRYDE’s refreshing new sound earned him multiple headlining tours as well as festival performances at HARD Summer, EDC, Lollapalooza, and Ultra Music Festival.

Fans were filled with excitement over a new artist who made waves immediately upon emerging onto the scene in 2016. JOYRYDE was a top breakout artist at the time, and one-to-watch the following year, after all. With Skrillex as a collaborator and mentor, everyone knew this was an artist going straight to the top.

Then something happened. While Skrillex and JOYRYDE’s powerhouse collaboration was still released, five long months would pass until the hot-shot newcomer would release anything from the album. Keep in mind, the UK producer was touting an original release date of late November 2018. Something was up. Record labels knew it. Fans knew it. JOYRYDE would chalk it up to “technical reasons.”

Then, with the release of “I’m Gone” in February 2019, suddenly JOYRYDE had moved his debut album over to HARD Records. Slowly JOYRYDE began releasing new music again, steadily teasing the album over the entire year, and subsequently building more and more anticipation. Now, after years of waiting, fans are getting more pieces of the puzzle with the release of BRAVE, out now on HARD Records. What started as an EP four years ago would see some personal struggles due to injury and addiction.

“In the middle of writing an EP, a disk in my lower back collapsed,” says JOYRYDE in a press statement. “After a successful surgery, I didn’t feel like myself at all. I had to take a lot of opioid pills and nerve damage meds to cope with the pain for 5 months and it threw me into a spiral filled with hallucinations, suicidal thoughts, and more. I wasnʼt in the state of mind to finish the EP anymore. I knew right then it would be a LONG time until I could release music again.”

This was back in 2016 when JOYRYDE had first broken into the scene, and with huge ambitions of cementing his status as a catalyst in the music industry. While the artist has always been very much in his own lane, making his signature culmination of UK bass, grime, hip-hop, trap, and house, the temporary setbacks would set the stage for a highly-praised LP. Right out of the gate, the 18-track project is already enjoying hundreds of thousands of online streams across platforms.

“After a certain point, I tried to get off the meds which was super hard. After battling the shakes, withdrawals, insomnia, and overall pain, I finished one track, then a week later two more,” JOYRYDE says of piecing his life and career back together one day and one track at a time.

That’s really the theme and concept for BRAVE. Normally a cryptic guy, a new and extremely honest JOYRYDE has emerged from the ashes. The producer goes on to say the past 4 years have been a complete struggle.

“That’s life, you handle what youʼre given. The experience gave me a new outlook on music and what I wanna do with the rest of my time alive. My role in life is to create for others. I’ve made peace with that notion.”

After a successful recovery, JOYRYDE now looks to conquer his second-wind. The 18-track project is best viewed as a celebration of life rather than a collection of music. An ode to his roots, the Englishman picked on various frames of mind merging grime, hip-hop, trap and bass house altogether. Featuring verses from Youngs Teflon, NoLay, Kid Sister, MAJILLA, and more, BRAVE is carefully crafted to capture the essence of JOYRYDE both as a musician and a warrior. Simply put, the album is nothing short of brave.