Joint Venture - a podcast by Christian Jean-Francois

This debut album is in a class of its own, taking the listener on a musical journey from blissful dubbed-out soulful grooves to more cinematic scores.

Having met through mutual friends in their native Hornchurch, Jointventure’s Mat Hoxby and Mark Crooks found common ground with their interests and musical backgrounds (both having been reared on a stable diet of Reggae and Ska), it was only a matter of time before they ventured into the studio.

Their first joint project was the cult underground six-piece band Sound Cartel – fusing electronic funk and punk with a touch of psychedelia or to quote Mark’s “skunkdupgangsterpunkfunk”. Eventually the members of the band started to drift; yet Mat & Mark decided to continue as a duo and Jointventure was born.

This debut album ‘Headshop’ is in a class of its own, taking the listener on a musical journey from blissful dubbed-out soulful grooves to more cinematic scores. The name ‘Headshop’ was inspired by the 1960’s term ‘heads’ which was used to describe people who shared similar
recreational activities and also from “these mad headshops in Amsterdam that display an amazing array of goodies, everything from crisps to crack pipes.

Things you’ve never seen before and things that you can’t do without, so we thought it would be a great name for the album as it isn’t just one style of music – it’s an array of Joint venture’s musical influences and inspirations”. The Dam theme even made its way into the music itself from a genuine Customs Officer who attempted to bust Mat on his way back to the UK, “You’re not under arrest and you are free to leave at any time!” Let that be a warning to you!

Further episodes of JFC Recordings

Further podcasts by Christian Jean-Francois

Website of Christian Jean-Francois