Jamiroquai | |
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.jpg) Jamiroquai performing at theCoachella Music Festival in 2018 | |
| Background information | |
| Origin | London, England |
| Genres | |
| Years active | 1992–present |
| Labels | |
| Members |
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| Past members |
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| Website | jamiroquai |
Jamiroquai (/dʒəˈmɪrəkwaɪ/ ⓘjə-MIRR-ə-kwy) are an Englishacid jazz andfunk band from London. Formed in 1992, they are fronted by vocalistJay Kay, and were prominent in the London-based funk and acid jazz movement of the 1990s. They built on their acid jazz sound in their early releases and later drew fromrock,disco,electronic andLatin music genres. Lyrically, the group have addressedsocial andenvironmental justice. Kay has remained the only constant member through several line-up changes.
The band made their debut underAcid Jazz Records but subsequently found mainstream success underSony. While under this label, three of their albums have charted at number one in the UK, includingEmergency on Planet Earth (1993),Synkronized (1999),A Funk Odyssey (2001), and the band's single, "Deeper Underground" (1998).
As of 2017[update], Jamiroquai had sold more than 26 million albums worldwide. Their third album,Travelling Without Moving (1996), received aGuinness World Record as the best-selling funk album in history. The music video for its second single, "Virtual Insanity", also contributed to the band's success. The song was namedVideo of the Year at the1997 MTV Video Music Awards and earned the band aGrammy Award in 1998.
Jay Kay was sending songs to record companies, including ahip-hop single released in 1986 under the labelStreetSounds.[1][2] During this time, Kay was influenced by Native American andFirst Nation peoples and their philosophies; this led to the creation of "When You Gonna Learn", a song covering social issues.[1][3] After he had it recorded, Kay fought with his producer, who took out half of the lyrics and produced the song based on what was charting at the time.[1] With the track restored to his preference, the experience helped Kay realise he "wanted a proper live band with a proper live sound".[1] The band would be named "Jamiroquai", aportmanteau of the words "jam" and the name of a Native American confederacy, theIroquois.[3] He was signed toAcid Jazz Records in 1991 after he sent ademo tape of himself covering a song by theBrand New Heavies.[4][5] Kay gradually gathered band members, including Wallis Buchanan, who played thedidgeridoo.[1] Kay's manager scouted keyboardistToby Smith, who joined the group as Kay's songwriting partner.[1] In 1992, Jamiroquai began their career by performing in the British club scene.[6] They released "When You Gonna Learn" as their debut single, charting outside the UK Top 50 on its initial release.[7] In the following year,Stuart Zender became the band's bassist by audition.[8][9]
After the success of "When You Gonna Learn", the band were offered major-label contracts. Kay signed a one-million-dollar, eight-album record deal withSony Soho2.[7][10][11] He was the only member under contract, but he would share his royalties with his band members in accordance to their contributions as musicians.[11] Their label for US releases would be under theWork Group.[12][a] The band released their debut album,Emergency on Planet Earth, where it entered the UK albums chart at number 1.[13] Kevin L. Carter ofThe Philadelphia Inquirer commented that the album "is full of upbeat, multi-huedpop tunes based heavily inacid jazz, '70s fusion,funk andsoul,reggae andworld music".[14] With it, the band continued to build their acid-jazz sound in the following years.[13] The album's ecologically charged concept gave Kay press coverage,[15] although Mark Jenkins ofThe Washington Post found the record's sloganeering "as crude as the music is slick".[16]
The band's original drummer, Nick van Gelder, was replaced in 1993 by Derrick McKenzie, who recorded with the group in one take for his audition.[17] They issued their second album,The Return of the Space Cowboy, in 1994, and it ranked at number 2 in the UK chart.[18] During its recording, Kay was in acreative block, worsened by his increasing drug use at the time, which resulted in its complex songwriting.[17][19] However, the record was said to have "capture[ed] this first phase of Jamiroquai at their very best", according to Daryl Easlea ofBBC Music.[18] Josef Woodard fromEntertainment Weekly wrote that its "syncopated grooves and horn-lined riffs" were "played by humans, not samplers".[20]
Released in 1996,Travelling Without Moving reached number 24 in theBillboard 200[21] and number 2 in the UK albums chart.[22] With more than 8 million copies sold worldwide,[23] it has been listed in theGuinness World Records as the best-selling funk album in history since 2001.[24][25] The album's lead single, "Virtual Insanity", gained popularity for its music video, which was heavily played onMTV.[26] Containing symphonic and jungle elements,[27] Kay aimed for a more accessible sound.[28] Ted Kessler ofNME sawTravelling Without Moving as an improvement from previous albums,[29] while criticStephen Thomas Erlewine commented that it did not have "uniform consistenc[ies]" in comparison.[30]
While the group were preparing their fourth album,Synkronized (1999), Zender left Jamiroquai due to internal conflicts with Kay.[31] While Zender had not been involved in the album's songwriting, the group chose to scrap his recorded tracks to avoid lawsuits, andNick Fyffe was recruited for new sessions.[11][31] This resulted in what was thought to be both a "tighter, more angry collection of songs" forSynkronized,[11] and a change of musical direction from "creating propulsive collections of looooong [sic] tunes, speaking out against injustice".[32] Some of the album's tracks, including "Canned Heat", display ahi-NRG andhouse style, while slower tempos on others were said to "ease the pressure for [Kay's] more romantic musings".[33] The album reached number 1 in the UK albums chart and number 28 in the USBillboard 200.[23][34] A year prior toSynkronized, "Deeper Underground" was released as a single for theGodzilla soundtrack and reached number one in the UK singles chart.[23]
The group issued their follow-up,A Funk Odyssey, a disco record exploringLatin music influences, in 2001.[32][35] It introduced guitarist Rob Harris, whose playing in the album "melts seductively into a mix that occasionally incorporates lavish orchestration", according to Jim Abbot ofOrlando Sentinel.[36]Slant Magazine's Sal Cinquemani claimed: "Like its predecessors,Odyssey mixes self-samplage with Jamiroquai's now-signature robo-funk."[37] The album topped the chart in the UK. In the US, under Epic Records,[35] it reached number 44 in the USBillboard 200.[38] It was the last album to feature Smith, who left the band in the following year to spend more time with his family.[39]
Their sixth album,Dynamite, was released in 2005 and reached number 3 in the UK;[40] in the same year,Paul Turner replaced Fyffe as the band's new bassist.[41][42] Rashod D. Ollison ofThe Baltimore Sun said the album "boasts a harder digital edge ... With heavier beats, manipulated guitar lines and odd digital textures,Dynamite is less organic than Jamiroquai's other efforts".[43] Its tracks "Feels Just Like It Should" and "Love Blind" were characterised as "[having] a fatter, dirtier sound than usual".[44] In 2006, Kay's contract with Sony ended,[45] which led to the issue of the band's greatest hits collection,High Times: Singles 1992–2006. It charted at number one in the UK after its first week of release.[34] The following year, Jamiroquai performed at theGig in the Sky, a concert held on a private Boeing 757 in association withSony Ericsson.[46] The band thus currently hold the Guinness World Record for "fastest concert", performed on the aircraft whilst travelling at 1,017 km/h (632 mph).[47]
Rock Dust Light Star was released in 2010 underMercury Records, where it charted at number 7 in the UK.[22] Kay considered the album as "a real band record" that "capture[s] the flow of our live performances".[48] Critics have seen this as a return to their organic funk and soul style,[49][50] as it forgoes "the electro textures that followed the band into the new millennium", according to Luke Winkie ofMusicOMH.[51] It also has a sound Thomas H. Green ofThe Telegraph described as "Californian Seventiesfunk rock".[52]
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Jamiroquai released their 2017 album,Automaton, throughVirgin EMI. It was their eighth studio album and the first in seven years,[53] reaching number 4 in the UK.[22] It was produced by Kay and band keyboardistMatt Johnson, and it "carefully balance[s] their signature sound with...EDM, soul andtrap sounds", according to Ryan Patrick ofExclaim!.[54] Craig Jenkins ofVulture writes: "Arrangements that used to spill out over horn, flute, didgeridoo, and string accompaniments now lean closer toFrench house".[55] By 2018, the group's line-up consisted of Kay, Harris, McKenzie, Johnson, Turner, percussionist Sola Akingbola, Nate Williams on guitar and keyboards and Howard Whiddett withAbleton Live.[56][57]
Kay announced on the back notes of their 2021 re-released single, "Everybody's Going To The Moon", that the band were working on a new album.[58] On 19 March 2024, Kay announced that recording sessions for the new album were underway.[59] On 18 November 2024, Jamiroquai announced their upcoming UK and Europe 2025 tour, The Heels of Steel Tour, which is set to commence 6 November running through 12 December 2025. It will be their first live tour since 2019.[60]
Jamiroquai's music is generally termed acid jazz,[63] funk,[64]jazz-funk,[65]disco,[66] soul,[15] house,[67] andR&B.[27] Their sound has been described byJ. D. Considine as having an "anything-goes attitude, an approach that leaves the band open to anything".[68]Tom Moon wrote that the band "embrac[es] old-school funk, Philly-soul strings, the crisp keyboard sounds of the '70s and even hints ofjazz fusion", blending these with "agitated, aggressivedance rhythms to create an easygoing feel that looks both backward and forward".[69]Ben Sisario facetiously commented that Jay Kay and Toby Smith as songwriters, "studiedInnervisions-era[Stevie] Wonder carefully, and just about everything the group has recorded sounds like it could in fact have been played by [Wonder] himself."[70]
Kay is the primary songwriter of Jamiroquai. When composing, he sings melodies and beats for band members to transcribe to their instrumentation.[1] The band relies on analog sounds, such as running keyboards through vintageeffects pedals "to get the warmth and the clarity of those instruments".[69] Parry Gettelman of theOrlando Sentinel described Kay's vocals as "not identifiably male or female, black or white".[71] Other writers said Toby Smith's keyboard arrangements were "psychedelic and soulful",[33] and compared Stuart Zender's bass playing to the work ofMarcus Miller.[72] Wallis Buchanan on didgeridoo was met with either praise or annoyance from critics.[29][68][70][73]
Kay was influenced byRoy Ayers,Herbie Hancock,Lou Donaldson,Grant Green,Sly Stone,Gil Scott-Heron, andhip-hop and itsculture.[15][27][74] He was introduced to much of these influences by British clubDJs within therare groove scene in the 1980s. "I'd been into Stevie and all that... Then I got into theJBs,Maceo Parker and theMeters... I decided around that time to try to make music built around those loose, open grooves."[69] A 2003 compilation titledLate Night Tales: Jamiroquai underAzuli Records, also contains a selection of some of the band's late 1970s R&B, disco andquiet storm influences.[75] Kay and the group have been compared to Stevie Wonder, with some critics accusing the band of copying black artists.[11][76][77] In response, Kay said "we never tried to hide our influences".[76] The band references them as Kay maintained Jamiroquai's own sound: "it's about the style of music you aim for, not the exact sound. If you just sampleBarry White or Sly Stone, that's one thing; to get their spirit is different."[27]
"'Virtual Insanity'... was a very prescient song I wrote and things likeDolly the Sheep happened right after. I think the ideas in that song are maybe even more relevant today than they were back then."
Jamiroquai's lyrics have touched on socially charged themes. WithEmergency on Planet Earth (1993), it revolves around environmental awareness and speaks out against war.[10][15]The Return of the Space Cowboy (1994) contains themes of homelessness,Native American rights,youth protests, and slavery.[15]
[17][79] "Virtual Insanity" fromTravelling Without Moving (1996) is about the prevalence of technology and the replication and simulation of life.[69] The lyrics ofAutomaton (2017) allude to dystopian films and compromised relationships within a digital landscape.[53]
However, critics wrote that the band had focused more on "boy–girl seductions" and "having fun" rather than social justice,[35][80] and that Kay's interest in sports cars contradicts his earlier beliefs.[2][11][81] Kay was reluctant to releaseTravelling Without Moving (1996), as it adopted a motorcar concept,[b] but he added: "just because I love to drive a fast car, that doesn't mean I believe in [destroying the environment.]"[82] He also stated in separate interviews he was tired of being "[a] troubadour of social conscious[ness]",[15] and "after a while you realise that people won't boogie and dance to [politics]."[11]
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While critics said the group tended towards 1970s funk and soul archetypes in their performances, Kay's presence received praise, with critics noting his strong vocals and energetic dance moves on stage.[76][83][84][85][86]Robert Hilburn said Kay "establish[es] a rapport with the audience" and has a "disarming sense of humor".[76][87] Helen Brown ofThe Telegraph was more critical, writing of a 2011 concert that there was no "deeply personal emotion" in its set list or in Kay's vocals, and "much of the material is exhilarating in the moment, forgettable thereafter".[88]
With their visual style being described as "sci-fi and futuristic",[89] Jamiroquai'smusic video of "Virtual Insanity" made them "icons of the music-video format", according to Spencer Kornhaber fromThe Atlantic.[90] It was directed byJonathan Glazer, and depicted Kay "perform[ing] in a room where the floors, walls and furniture all moved simultaneously."[91]
Kay has worn elaborate headgear, some he designed himself.[76][92] He said that the headgear give him a spiritual power described by the Iroquois as "orenda".[10] The illuminating helmet that appears in the music video for "Automaton" was designed byMoritz Waldemeyer for Kay to control its lights and movements and to portray him as an endangered species.[93] Kay has also worn Native American head-dresses, in which he was accused of culturally appropriating sacred regalia of the First Nations.[94][95]
"Miraculously, Jamiroquai managed to survive the acid-jazz crash of the early 90's, when kids traded mellow sounds like theBrand New Heavies,Young Disciples andGuru for the bed-of-nails wails ofNirvana,Soundgarden andPearl Jam."
As a prominent component of the London-based funk and acid-jazz movement of the 1990s,[74] writer Kenneth Prouty said: "few acid jazz groups have reached the level of visibility in the pop music mainstream as London-born Jamiroquai".[26] The success of the 1996 single "Virtual Insanity" led to the climax of "1970s soul and funk that early acid jazz artists had initiated".[26] The band were also credited for popularising the didgeridoo.[96] Artists who mention the group as an influence includeChance the Rapper,[97]SZA,[98]Kamaal Williams,[99] theInternet,[100]Calvin Harris,[101] andTyler, the Creator.[102] According to Johnny Sharp of BBC Music, Kay "[became] one of those artists whose music seems somehow fashion-proof, because it's never been in or out of it."[103] Ian Gittins ofThe Guardian said that the group "have long been shunned by music's tastemakers for a perceived naffness, and have shown their utter disregard for this critical snobbery by getting bigger and bigger".[86] Sisario gave a negative review of the band's discography inThe Rolling Stone Album Guide in 2004, finding much of their material to be identical.[70]
Jamiroquai were the third-best-selling UK act of the 1990s,[104] after theSpice Girls andOasis. As of April 2017, they have sold more than 26 million albums worldwide.[39] Despite becoming one of the most popular bands in the UK with high-charting albums, the band did not find as much success in the United States.[105][106] The band's studio albums became less frequently released.[105] Kay said in 2013: "I will only put out an album now when I am inspired to do so".[78]
Jamiroquai have received 15Brit Award nominations.[107] In 1999, the band won anIvor Novello Award for an Outstanding Song Collection.[108] Front-man Kay was given aBMI Presidents Award "in recognition of his profound influence on songwriting within the music industry."[109] Jamiroquai received a nomination forBest Pop Album at the1998 Grammy Awards and wonBest Performance by a Duo Or Group for "Virtual Insanity".[110] The band were also nominated for Best Short Form Music Video for "Feels Just Like It Should" at the2005 Grammy Awards.[111] For their "Virtual Insanity" music video, Jamiroquai had ten nominations at the1997 MTV Video Music Awards and four wins:Best Visual Effects,Best Cinematography, BestBreakthrough Video andVideo of the Year.[63][112]
Former members
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