Cool uncles have always gotten kids into all kinds of wonderful mischief, but 22-year-old Peter O'Grady from London, better known as Joy Orbison, was especially blessed—he credits uncle, jungle producer Ray Keith, with introducing him to jungle and U.K. garage long before he could ever hit the clubs. At the age of 13 he took up DJing and eventually moved into production, beginning with Fruity Loops-crafted 8-bar grime loops before shifting into headier territory that combined his love of house, disco, and dubstep with the atmospheric fuzz of bands like My Bloody Valentine, Josef K and The Beach Boys.
His debut single Hyph Mngo, released on Hotflush, has become the most forward-thinking dubstep / 2-step tune of 2009 and has settled O'Grady into the pages of the specialised media as a new artist worth keeping a very close eye on. Justifiably, more has been written about this 12" than practically any other bit of vinyl in the dubstep / post-garage arena in 2009, with writers at Pitchfork, Resident Advisor, Fact Magazine and any other publication of note queuing up to drape compliments over it's shiny chassis.
Orbison has been greeted with almost religious awe, his debut single hailed as the most essential purchase of the season and the best dubstep / post-garage track of the year. He was named the Best New Artist Name of 2009 in Pitchfork, as well as in NME's New Music Tips of 2010 and amongst the best rising music stars in the BBC's Sound of 2010.
Joy Orbison's brand of garage-house has been celebrated for finding a sound that marries elements of house, 2-step, jungle, techno and dubstep. Alongside Hyph Mngo, material on his own imprint, Doldrums, and an incredible remix of Four Tet's Love Cry, notorious mixes for BBC Radio 1 and Ministry have only served to cement Joy Orbison's renown.