When Haroon and Farook Shamsher were boys in East London, their father ran a traditional music shop and would record tapes in his back room to sell on the street.  Even then, the brothers would manipulate synthesizers and echo chambers for their father, between playing tablas and flutes.  As Farook says, "We still have the same crossover vibe - it's a natural fusion of growing up listening to Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan and being influenced by reggae, hip-hop and soul." That was, and still is, the spirit of Joi.

This fusion of all sounds east and west became the boys' trademark.  In 1983 they conceived a collective called Joi Bangla - shortened from the "League of Joi Bangla Youth Organisation", which was set up to promote Bengali culture to local kids.  Regularly mixing up traditional Bengali music with James Brown riffs and funky breakbeats at underground parties, they quickly established themselves as the best DJ's and party organizers in London's East End.

Early vinyl releases were the natural outgrowth of their growing buzz - the neatly-named Asian acid vibes of TAJ MAHOUSE in 1987, produced by Tony Thorpe (KLF), and the rapping FUNKY ASIAN a year later.  But it was the classic DESERT STORM, released on Rhythm King Records, that brought the band their first taste of critical success, with NME declaring it not only Single of the Week, but also "one of the most inventive records ever made."  The band seemed posed for great things - until they were lost in the aftermath of their label's absorption into BMG.

Understandably cautious, and despite lucrative offers by various other majors, Joi returned to their first love - DJing and running their club nights, with a sound system that allowed the brothers to mix up exclusive DATs with vinyl, and to feature on-line sampling and percussion.  For three years, their rule at the Bass Clef Club (later the Blue Note) every Thursday was little short of legendary, attracting every credible artist of the time, from Orbital to the KLF, Goldie to Bjork. Moving to a monthly session at the Dog Star in 1996, their residency continued for four more years of celebratory nights, with guest appearances by the likes of Plaid, Spring Heel Jack, and Barry Ashworth.

An appearance at Reading's 1996 WOMAD Festival caught the eye of Peter Gabriel, who subsequently invited the brothers to work with Bengali musicians during one of his Recording Weeks at Real World Studios.  This resulted in their 1997 signing to his Real World label - the only label with which they felt comfortable striking a long-term deal.

The debut album, ONE AND ONE IS ONE (a quote from Nobel Peace Prize winning poet Rabindranath Tagore) was released in 1999 - a brilliant melding of table rhythms, electro beats, chants and melodious vocal harmonies, immediately hailed by critics across the board (Q:  "inventive and hard-hitting", Time Out: "a smooth, accomplished collection").  With limited edition remixes of Fingers by Lion Rock and Asian Vibes by Way Out West, and the use of their music in the HBO hit show Sex and the City, Joi's legend began to spread.

Later that year, Haroon travelled to his parents' native Bangladesh to begin work on a second album, collaborating with local musicians and recording village sounds.  Tragically, back in England that summer, 34-year-old Haroon died suddenly of a heart attack.  Following a period of mourning, younger brother Farook went to work completing the album, and began by tracing Haroon's trip to Bangladesh.

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