Joyhauser

Born out of a deep passion for electronic music culture, Joyhauser is one of the most exciting, incendiary acts in the world of contemporary techno. Since their emergence in 2017, the notorious duo have smashed dance floors across the world, picking up a huge following and gaining support from many of the scene's most influential figureheads, including Amelie Lens, Pan-Pot, Monika Kruse, and Adam Beyer. Their emotive, high-octane style has led to bookings at many of the world's most respected club spaces, traveling from their native Belgium to North and South America, across Europe, and beyond. Their music has a unique flavor, combining influences from techno, trance, Belgium's own distinct rave lineage, and a myriad of other styles.

Preferring not to rush, the duo cultivated and nurtured their music over many years before finally presenting it to the public. As a result, Joyhauser's music stands in a class of its own with releases on Terminal M, Second State, and Kraftek. Part of Belgium's new generation of exceptional techno talents, Joyhauser are a potent partnership with the drive, determination, and experience to deliver unforgettable experiences each and every time. Poised to release their debut album, In Memero, the duo are entering a new phase of their evolution, driven by their core values, with an expansive vision of their destiny…

The culmination of a friendship formed in 2004, Joyhauser represents the combined talent of Joris Cielen and Stijn Vanspauwen. Both men hail from Bilzen, a small town in Belgium, where they found a common bond through their love of music. Starting out as party promoters, they organized events in their hometown, which filled dancefloors right from the start. Their fate was sealed during a visit to the seminal festival I Love Techno in 2006, when music really began to take over their lives. DJing separately to begin with, their parties gave them the space to evolve and experiment, eventually deciding to team up on the decks.

In 2017, 13 years after they first met, Joris and Stijn conceived Joyhauser as a vehicle for their DJ and production endeavors. From the outset, Stijn, an inherent perfectionist, was adamant they wouldn't release anything until he thought it was good enough. So they took their time, patiently refining their productions, honing a style that was unique to them, and holding off releasing their music until it felt absolutely right. Parallel to their studio work, Stijn and Joris were building their reputation as DJs in Belgium and beyond, with performances at many of Europe's best-known clubs and festivals including Awakenings, Extrema Outdoor, Tomorrowland, and Pukkelpop. They also became part of the family at Labyrinth, one of Belgium's premier electronic music clubs.

Since the release of their debut Galaxy Phase in 2018, support has come from far and wide, the potent sound resonating with fans, peers, and older heads latching onto their music. Their ascendance up the ranks has been swift, though of course, they have been working hard for a long time behind the scenes. Despite their success, Stijn and Joris remain level-headed, maintaining a selective approach with when and where to release their music.

The duo's name combines two influential psychologists: Joy Paul Guilford and Marc Hauser. Curiosity about the inner workings of the human mind lies at the heart of Joyhauser's creative ethos, with Joris' background as a psychologist and Stijn also having a keen interest in the topic. Fascinated by the relationship between the music, performers, machines, and the people on the dancefloor, Stijn and Joris place great emphasis on the synergy created in this unique dynamic. Joyhauser is driven by the interaction between physical, mental, and spiritual planes within the club environment.

This interest in psychology provides the conceptual framework to their debut album, In Memero. Guilford's explorations of intelligence and Hauser's work around primate behavior form two key pillars of Joyhauser's inspiration. Music and dancing are rooted in feeling, the creative drive to express and release our emotions. In its purest form, the creative process goes beyond thought, tapping into a deeper intelligence. As many artists will attest, the best music writes itself and, in that often healing process, connects with the listener to provide a source of therapy.

Running across 12 tracks, In Memero is an album that demonstrates Stijn and Joris' diverse tastes, while holding true to their inherent desire to produce unforgettable moments of peak emotion. There's the ominous atmosphere of opener Leben, with its raucous breaks, which leads into a collection of cuts that embody the sonic power of rave and techno, with segues into lower BPMs and broken beats. From Anamorphic, a spellbinding production with hard-hitting downtempo beats and a spine-tingling vocal clip, to the classic rave stabs and stunning breakdown on Wasted, the whole album is imbued with emotive energy, encouraging us to enjoy a moment of catharsis or to channel our joy and pain. It hits that perfect intersection between intelligence and behavior, marking another step forward in the duo's evolution. Parallel to the unveiling of their album, Joyhauser also revealed a new visual identity, with their logo undergoing a makeover alongside a series of images that represent their album's thematics.

In Memero will be the backbone to Joyhauser's forthcoming live show. A further extension of their Intelligence-meets-Behavior ethos, the show will incorporate live performance alongside an audio/visual show designed to captivate audiences. The symbiotic relationship between musicians, machines, and dancers is crucial to their live concept, providing the ideal context for their album to be performed and understood.

Thoughtful, passionate, hardworking, and talented, Stijn and Joris are bringing fresh energy and ideas to the techno world, inspiring their peers and elders alike. As they take another step forward in their evolution, Joyhauser maintain their core ideals: imbuing their music with a truly human touch, guided by feeling, emotion, and universal intelligence.