Joya Mooi

Joya Mooi
Born (1990-12-09) 9 December 1990
Genres
Instrument
  • Vocals
Years active2010–present
Websitewww.joyamooi.com

Joya Mooi (born 9 December 1990) is a Dutch singer-songwriter and producer.

Early life

Mooi was born to a South African Tswana father from Soweto and a Dutch mother.[1][2] Her father was a member of the African National Congress (ANC) and fled the Apartheid government to Angola, where her mother was working at a hospital. Mooi's three older siblings were born there before the family moved to the Netherlands,[3] settling in Deventer.[4] At age 15, Mooi began studying jazz music at the ArtEZ Conservatorium.[5]

Career

Mooi's debut album Hard melk was released in 2010. Produced by Kubus, she was commissioned to create a soundtrack for a reprint of the novel Lord of the Barnyard by Tristan Egolf. As the reprint plans fell through, Mooi and Kubus decided to release the songs they had written for it as an EP titled Mister Sinister in 2011.[6][7][8] In 2013, Mooi's second jazz album Crystal Growth, which Mooi produced herself with Dennis Maks. She embarked on her first headline tour dates in 2014.[9]

While mourning the loss of her brother in 2014, Mooi took a hiatus off from releasing music. She returned in 2017 with her third album The Waiting Room, dedicated to her brother, much of it written for solace in the last few months of his life in the titular waiting room at the hospital.[10][11] Mooi's fourth album The Ease of Others, released in 2019, muses on her identity, multiculturalism, and her father's history in South Africa. It was produced by Blazehoven and Sim Fane. This was followed by the EP Blossom Carefully the following year.[12][13] Mooi was named a 2020 3FM Talent by NPO 3FM.[14]

After the COVID-19 lockdown, Mooi released the singles "Remember",[15] "My Favourite"[16] and "Most Frail" in 2021.[17] She supported Benny Sings on tour, traveling around South Africa and the Netherlands, and performed at the Motel Mozaïque and Valkhof Festival. Over 2022 and 2023, Mooi released the double-album What's Around the Corner.[18] She collaborated with the Mauritshuis on the 2023 track "Black Horses", based on the Rembrandt van Rijn painting Twee Afrikaanse mannen.[19] In 2024, Mooi released the singles "Don't Count Me In", "Don't Answer" and "Poster Child",[20] and the EP Open Hearts,[21][22] which she collaborated on with Johannesburg-based duo Easy Freak and Bastian Langebaek.

Artistry

Mooi grew up with and began her career focused on jazz, including standard, Bebop, bossa nova and Angolese Semba. She learned saxophone at a young age and also drew upon her South African heritage. As her music progressed through the years, she increasingly incorporated other influences, including neo-soul and R&B, as well as dream pop and indie. In her youth, her parents would played Abdullah Ibrahim, Alice Coltrane, Oscar Peterson and Ella Fitzgerald. Mooi also listened to Etta James and Georgia Anne Muldrow. Other artists she has named include contemporary Nana Adjoa and Beach House, SZA and Spellling.[10][13][23]

Discography

Albums

  • Hard melk (2010)
  • Crystal Growth (2013)
  • The Waiting Room (2017)
  • The Ease of Others (2019)
  • What's Around The Corner (2022–2023), double-album

EPs

  • Mister Sinister (2011)
  • Blossom Carefully (2020)
  • Open Hearts (2024)

Singles

  • "Remember" (2021)
  • "My Favourite" (2021)
  • "Most Frail" (2021)
  • "Don't Count Me In" (2024)
  • "Don't Answer" (2024)
  • "Poster Child" (2024)
  • "Technicolour" (2025), feat Ric Wilson
  • "Lookalike" (2026)
  • "Only Water" (2026), feat Lady Donli

References

  1. ↑ Pisart, Timo (26 September 2019). "Joya Mooi is meer dan de som van haar delen". 3voor12 (in Dutch). Retrieved 4 January 2025.
  2. ↑ Young, Daniel (29 July 2024). "Joya Mooi Unveils 'Poster Child': A Blend Of Introspection And Celebration". Finessed Media. Retrieved 4 January 2025.
  3. ↑ Vuijsje, Robert (28 October 2019). "Zangeres Joya Mooi: 'Het leek alsof alle andere families meer dan honderd jaar in Deventer woonden. Beklemmend'". De Volkskrant (in Dutch). Retrieved 4 January 2025.
  4. ↑ Soudagar, Roxane (30 August 2024). "Zangeres Joya Mooi: 'Activist zijn? Dat zou ik mezelf niet aandoen'". One World (in Dutch). Archived from the original on 26 December 2024. Retrieved 4 January 2025.
  5. ↑ "Joya Mooi". NPO Radio 2 (in Dutch). Retrieved 4 January 2025.
  6. ↑ Griffioen, Ingmar (20 September 2010). "Kubus & Joya Mooi maken soundtrack bij Amerikaans boek". 3voor12 (in Dutch). Retrieved 4 January 2025.
  7. ↑ "Kubus & Joya Mooi - Mister Sinister". Puna (in Dutch). 25 June 2011. Retrieved 4 January 2025.
  8. ↑ Jansen, Tamara (28 June 2011). "Kubus brengt samen met Joya Mooi ep Minister Sinister uit". 3voor12. Archived from the original on 14 January 2025. Retrieved 4 January 2025.
  9. ↑ "Joya Mooi". Songkick. Retrieved 4 January 2025.
  10. 1 2 Disseldorp, Rajko (22 August 2019). "Joya Mooi: 'Hier ben ik een mens van kleur'". Het Parool (in Dutch). Retrieved 4 January 2025.
  11. ↑ Door Souf Kinani (27 October 2017). "'I'm Not There Yet' van Joya Mooi is een prachtig lied over haar overleden broer". Vice (in Dutch). Retrieved 4 January 2025.
  12. ↑ Door Malou Miedema (16 October 2020). "Joya Mooi - Blossom Carefully". 3voor12 (in Dutch). Retrieved 4 January 2025.
  13. 1 2 Archontis, Sophia. "Joya Mooi - Blossoming with intention". Metal Magazine. Retrieved 4 January 2025.
  14. ↑ "Joya Mooi is 3FM Talent". NPO 3FM (in Dutch). 17 August 2020. Retrieved 4 January 2025.
  15. ↑ Shumba, Ano (17 June 2021). "Listen to Joya Mooi's new single Remember". Music in Africa. Archived from the original on 19 December 2024. Retrieved 4 January 2025.
  16. ↑ Warner, Solly (6 August 2021). "The Making of "My Favourite" with Joya Mooi". Notion. Archived from the original on 26 December 2024. Retrieved 4 January 2025.
  17. ↑ "NATIVE Premiere: Joya Mooi honours the fight against injustice with "Most Frail"". Native. 30 November 2021. Retrieved 4 January 2025.
  18. ↑ Gumede, Bongeka (13 March 2023). "Joya Mooi explores social change in new album". Mail & Guardian. Retrieved 4 January 2025.
  19. ↑ "Joya Mooi schrijft lied voor Mauritshuis: bekijk het museum met je oren". Winq (in Dutch). 23 March 2023. Retrieved 4 January 2025.
  20. ↑ Hussain, Shahaib (19 April 2024). "Joya Mooi Shares Affirmation Anthem 'Don't Answer'". Clash Music. Retrieved 4 January 2025.
  21. ↑ Lindsay, Ed (5 September 2024). "Joya Mooi - Open Hearts (EP)". Wordplay Magazine. Retrieved 4 January 2025.
  22. ↑ "Joya Mooi's new EP Open Hearts is a graceful fable of overlooked tales from the diaspora". Texx And The City. 5 September 2024. Retrieved 4 January 2025.
  23. ↑ Rehana Harmony (27 March 2022). "Get To Know: Joya Mooi". New Wave. Retrieved 4 January 2025.
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