Jamiroquai

Template:Use dmy dates Template:Use British English Template:Infobox musical artist

Jamiroquai (Template:IPAc-en Template:Respell) are an English acid jazz and funk band from London. Formed in 1992, they are fronted by vocalist Jay 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 from rock, disco, electronic and Latin music genres. Lyrically, the group have addressed social and environmental justice. Kay has remained the only constant member through several line-up changes.

The band made their debut under Acid Jazz Records but subsequently found mainstream success under Sony. While under this label, three of their albums have charted at number one in the UK, including Emergency on Planet Earth (1993), Synkronized (1999), A Funk Odyssey (2001), and the band's single, "Deeper Underground" (1998).

Template:As of, Jamiroquai had sold more than 26Template:Nbspmillion albums worldwide. Their third album, Travelling Without Moving (1996), received a Guinness 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 named Video of the Year at the 1997 MTV Video Music Awards and earned the band a Grammy Award in 1998.

History

1992–1995: Formation, Emergency on Planet Earth and The Return of the Space Cowboy

Jay Kay was sending songs to record companies, including a hip-hop single released in 1986 under the label StreetSounds.<ref name="Kay-2013a">Template:Cite AV media</ref>Template:Sfn During this time, Kay was influenced by Native American and First Nation peoples and their philosophies; this led to the creation of "When You Gonna Learn", a song covering social issues.<ref name="Kay-2013a" /><ref name="Selsman-1993" /> 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.<ref name="Kay-2013a" /> With the track restored to his preference, the experience helped Kay realise he "wanted a proper live band with a proper live sound".<ref name="Kay-2013a" /> The band would be named "Jamiroquai", a portmanteau of the words "jam" and the name of a Native American confederacy, the Iroquois.<ref name="Selsman-1993">Template:Cite news</ref> He was signed to Acid Jazz Records in 1991 after he sent a demo tape of himself covering a song by the Brand New Heavies.<ref name="Gates-2017">Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Kay gradually gathered band members, including Wallis Buchanan, who played the didgeridoo.<ref name="Kay-2013a" /> Kay's manager scouted keyboardist Toby Smith, who joined the group as Kay's songwriting partner.<ref name="Kay-2013a" /> In 1992, Jamiroquai began their career by performing in the British club scene.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> They released "When You Gonna Learn" as their debut single, charting outside the UK Top 50 on its initial release.Template:Sfn In the following year, Stuart Zender became the band's bassist by audition.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

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 with Sony Soho².Template:Sfn<ref name="Dawes-1993">Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="Markwell-1999">Template:Cite news</ref> He was the only member under contract, but he would share his royalties with his band members in accordance to their contributions as musicians.<ref name="Markwell-1999" /> Their label for US releases would be under the Work Group.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>Template:Efn The band released their debut album, Emergency on Planet Earth, where it entered the UK albums chart at number 1.<ref name="O'Donnell-2008">Template:Cite web</ref> Kevin L. Carter of The Philadelphia Inquirer commented that the album "is full of upbeat, multi-hued pop tunes based heavily in acid jazz, '70s fusion, funk and soul, reggae and world music".<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> With it, the band continued to build their acid-jazz sound in the following years.<ref name="O'Donnell-2008" /> The album's ecologically charged concept gave Kay press coverage,<ref name="Odell-1997">Template:Cite magazine</ref> although Mark Jenkins of The Washington Post found the record's sloganeering "as crude as the music is slick".<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

"A man wearing a grey beanie, a dark shirt and a cannabis necklace; singing into a microphone below perspective"

Jay Kay performing with Jamiroquai at the North Sea Jazz Festival in 1995

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.<ref name="Kay-2013b"> Template:Cite AV media</ref> They issued their second album, The Return of the Space Cowboy, in 1994, and it ranked at number 2 in the UK chart.<ref name="Easlea-2011">Template:Cite web</ref> During its recording, Kay was in a creative block, worsened by his increasing drug use at the time, which resulted in its complex songwriting.<ref name="Kay-2013b" /><ref name="Gladstone-1995">Template:Cite magazine</ref> However, the record was said to have "capture[ed] this first phase of Jamiroquai at their very best", according to Daryl Easlea of BBC Music.<ref name="Easlea-2011" /> Josef Woodard from Entertainment Weekly wrote that its "syncopated grooves and horn-lined riffs" were "played by humans, not samplers".<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>

1996–2000: Travelling Without Moving, peak of fame and Synkronized

Released in 1996, Travelling Without Moving reached number 24 in the Billboard 200<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> and number 2 in the UK albums chart.<ref name="Charts-2018">Template:Cite web</ref> With more than 8 million copies sold worldwide,<ref name="larryflick">Template:Cite magazine</ref> it has been listed in the Guinness World Records as the best-selling funk album in history since 2001.Template:Sfn<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The album's lead single, "Virtual Insanity", gained popularity for its music video, which was heavily played on MTV.Template:Sfn Containing symphonic and jungle elements,<ref name="coker" /> Kay aimed for a more accessible sound.<ref name="twm2013">Template:Cite AV media</ref> Ted Kessler of NME saw Travelling Without Moving as an improvement from previous albums,<ref name="Kessler-1996">Template:Cite journal</ref> while critic Stephen Thomas Erlewine commented that it did not have "uniform consistenc[ies]" in comparison.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

While the group were preparing their fourth album, Synkronized (1999), Zender left Jamiroquai due to internal conflicts with Kay.<ref name="Mehle-1999" /> While Zender had not been involved in the album's songwriting, the group chose to scrap his recorded tracks to avoid lawsuits, and Nick Fyffe was recruited for new sessions.<ref name="Markwell-1999" /><ref name="Mehle-1999">Template:Cite journal</ref> This resulted in what was thought to be both a "tighter, more angry collection of songs" for Synkronized,<ref name="Markwell-1999" /> and a change of musical direction from "creating propulsive collections of looooongTemplate:Sic tunes, speaking out against injustice".<ref name="alexyoung" /> Some of the album's tracks, including "Canned Heat", display a hi-NRG and house style, while slower tempos on others were said to "ease the pressure for [Kay's] more romantic musings".<ref name="Bidaye-1999">Template:Cite magazine</ref> The album reached number 1 in the UK albums chart and number 28 in the US Billboard 200.<ref name="larryflick" /><ref name="Kaufman-2017">Template:Cite news</ref> A year prior to Synkronized, "Deeper Underground" was released as a single for the Godzilla soundtrack and reached number one in the UK singles chart.<ref name="larryflick" />

2001–2009: A Funk Odyssey, Dynamite and subsequent activities

A band performing on stage; a male singer wearing a head-dress, along with a guitarist, a drummer, a bassist and three female vocalists

Kay, Harris, McKenzie and Paul Turner performing at the Congress Theater in Chicago, 2005

The group issued their follow-up, A Funk Odyssey, a disco record exploring Latin music influences, in 2001.<ref name="alexyoung">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="Koba-2001">Template:Cite news</ref> It introduced guitarist Rob Harris, whose playing in the album "melts seductively into a mix that occasionally incorporates lavish orchestration", according to Jim Abbot of Orlando Sentinel.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Slant Magazine's Sal Cinquemani claimed: "Like its predecessors, Odyssey mixes self-samplage with Jamiroquai's now-signature robo-funk."<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The album topped the chart in the UK. In the US, under Epic Records,<ref name="Koba-2001" /> it reached number 44 in the US Billboard 200.<ref name="Zellner-2017">Template:Cite magazine</ref> It was the last album to feature Smith, who left the band in the following year to spend more time with his family.<ref name="The Telegraph-2017">Template:Cite news</ref>

Their sixth album, Dynamite, was released in 2005 and reached number 3 in the UK;<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> in the same year, Paul Turner replaced Fyffe as the band's new bassist.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref><ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> Rashod D. Ollison of The 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".<ref name="Ollison-2005">Template:Cite web</ref> Its tracks "Feels Just Like It Should" and "Love Blind" were characterised as "[having] a fatter, dirtier sound than usual".<ref name="Gill-2005">Template:Cite news</ref> In 2006, Kay's contract with Sony ended,<ref name="McLean-2010">Template:Cite news</ref> 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.<ref name="Kaufman-2017" /> The following year, Jamiroquai performed at the Gig in the Sky, a concert held on a private Boeing 757 in association with Sony Ericsson.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> 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).<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

2010–2019: Rock Dust Light Star and Automaton

Rock Dust Light Star was released in 2010 under Mercury Records, where it charted at number 7 in the UK.<ref name="Charts-2018" /> Kay considered the album as "a real band record" that "capture[s] the flow of our live performances".<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Critics have seen this as a return to their organic funk and soul style,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> as it forgoes "the electro textures that followed the band into the new millennium", according to Luke Winkie of MusicOMH.<ref name="musicomhrockdust">Template:Cite web</ref> It also has a sound Thomas H. Green of The Telegraph described as "Californian Seventies funk rock".<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

A band all dressed in dark clothing performing on stage; a singer with a white LED head-dress, two guitarists, a keyboardist, and a bongo player are seen behind fog coloured green from the stage lighting

Jamiroquai performing at the O2 in London, 2017. Left to right: Johnson, Harris, Williams, Kay and Akingbola.

Jamiroquai released their 2017 album, Automaton, through Virgin EMI. It was their eighth studio album and the first in seven years,<ref name="Driver-2017" /> reaching number 4 in the UK.<ref name="Charts-2018" /> It was produced by Kay and band keyboardist Matt Johnson, and it "carefully balance[s] their signature sound with... EDM, soul and trap sounds", according to Ryan Patrick of Exclaim!.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Craig Jenkins of Vulture writes: "Arrangements that used to spill out over horn, flute, didgeridoo, and string accompaniments now lean closer to French house".<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> 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 with Ableton Live.<ref name="members2018">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="OfficialWebsiteNews">Template:Cite web</ref>

2021–present: The Heels of Steel Tour and upcoming ninth studio album

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.<ref>Template:Cite AV media</ref> On 19 March 2024, Kay announced that recording sessions for the new album were underway.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> 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.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Artistry

Musical style and influences

Template:Listen Jamiroquai's music is generally termed acid jazz,<ref name="ctmtvnom">Template:Cite web</ref> funk,<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> jazz-funk,<ref name="farsides">Template:Cite web</ref> disco,<ref name="Goller-2017">Template:Cite news</ref> soul,<ref name="Odell-1997" /> house,<ref name="Lamb-2017">Template:Cite web</ref> and R&B.<ref name="coker" /> Their sound has been described by J. D. Considine as having an "anything-goes attitude, an approach that leaves the band open to anything".<ref name="Considine-1993">Template:Cite web</ref> Tom Moon wrote that the band "embrac[es] old-school funk, Philly-soul strings, the crisp keyboard sounds of the '70s and even hints of jazz fusion", blending these with "agitated, aggressive dance rhythms to create an easygoing feel that looks both backward and forward".<ref name="Moon-1997">Template:Cite news</ref> Ben Sisario facetiously commented that Jay Kay and Toby Smith as songwriters, "studied Innervisions-era [Stevie] Wonder carefully, and just about everything the group has recorded sounds like it could in fact have been played by [Wonder] himself."Template:Sfn

Kay is the primary songwriter of Jamiroquai. When composing, he sings melodies and beats for band members to transcribe to their instrumentation.<ref name="Kay-2013a" /> The band relies on analog sounds, such as running keyboards through vintage effects pedals "to get the warmth and the clarity of those instruments".<ref name="Moon-1997" /> Parry Gettelman of the Orlando Sentinel described Kay's vocals as "not identifiably male or female, black or white".<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Other writers said Toby Smith's keyboard arrangements were "psychedelic and soulful",<ref name="Bidaye-1999" /> and compared Stuart Zender's bass playing to the work of Marcus Miller.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Wallis Buchanan on didgeridoo was met with either praise or annoyance from critics.<ref name="Kessler-1996" /><ref name="Considine-1993" />Template:Sfn<ref name="Powers-2001">Template:Cite news</ref>

Kay was influenced by Roy Ayers, Herbie Hancock, Lou Donaldson, Grant Green, Sly Stone, Gil Scott-Heron, and hip-hop and its culture.<ref name="Odell-1997" /><ref name="coker">Template:Cite web</ref>Template:Sfn He was introduced to much of these influences by British club DJs within the rare groove scene in the 1980s. "I'd been into Stevie and all that... Then I got into the JBs, Maceo Parker and the Meters... I decided around that time to try to make music built around those loose, open grooves."<ref name="Moon-1997" /> A 2003 compilation titled Late Night Tales: Jamiroquai under Azuli Records, also contains a selection of some of the band's late 1970s R&B, disco and quiet storm influences.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Kay and the group have been compared to Stevie Wonder, with some critics accusing the band of copying black artists.<ref name="Markwell-1999" /><ref name="Hillburn-1997">Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="ewsynkronized">Template:Cite magazine</ref> In response, Kay said "we never tried to hide our influences".<ref name="Hillburn-1997" /> 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 sample Barry White or Sly Stone, that's one thing; to get their spirit is different."<ref name="coker" />

Lyrics

Template:Quote box Jamiroquai's lyrics have touched on socially charged themes. With Emergency on Planet Earth (1993), it revolves around environmental awareness and speaks out against war.<ref name="Dawes-1993" /><ref name="Odell-1997" /> The Return of the Space Cowboy (1994) contains themes of homelessness, Native American rights, youth protests, and slavery.<ref name="Odell-1997" />

<ref name="Kay-2013b" /><ref name="Bush-2018">Template:Cite web</ref> "Virtual Insanity" from Travelling Without Moving (1996) is about the prevalence of technology and the replication and simulation of life.<ref name="Moon-1997" /> The lyrics of Automaton (2017) allude to dystopian films and compromised relationships within a digital landscape.<ref name="Driver-2017">Template:Cite web</ref>

However, critics wrote that the band had focused more on "boy–girl seductions" and "having fun" rather than social justice,<ref name="Koba-2001" /><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> and that Kay's interest in sports cars contradicts his earlier beliefs.Template:Sfn<ref name="Markwell-1999" /><ref name="paper">Template:Cite web</ref> Kay was reluctant to release Travelling Without Moving (1996), as it adopted a motorcar concept,Template:Efn but he added: "just because I love to drive a fast car, that doesn't mean I believe in [destroying the environment.]"<ref name="Poulton-1996">Template:Cite journal</ref> He also stated in separate interviews he was tired of being "[a] troubadour of social conscious[ness]",<ref name="Odell-1997" /> and "after a while you realise that people won't boogie and dance to [politics]."<ref name="Markwell-1999" />Template:Clear left

Stage and visuals

File:Jamiroquai Lovebox 2006 (197956097) (cropped).jpg

A montage of Kay dancing on stage in 2006

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.<ref name="Hillburn-1997" /><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="Gittins-2011" /> Robert Hilburn said Kay "establish[es] a rapport with the audience" and has a "disarming sense of humor".<ref name="Hillburn-1997" /><ref name="hillburn">Template:Cite web</ref> Helen Brown of The 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".<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

With their visual style being described as "sci-fi and futuristic",<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Jamiroquai's music video of "Virtual Insanity" made them "icons of the music-video format", according to Spencer Kornhaber from The Atlantic.<ref name="Kornhaber-2017">Template:Cite news</ref> It was directed by Jonathan Glazer, and depicted Kay "perform[ing] in a room where the floors, walls and furniture all moved simultaneously."<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Kay has worn elaborate headgear, some he designed himself.<ref name="Hillburn-1997" /><ref name="washingtonpostfeb1997">Template:Cite news</ref> He said that the headgear give him a spiritual power described by the Iroquois as "orenda".<ref name="Dawes-1993" /> The illuminating helmet that appears in the music video for "Automaton" was designed by Moritz Waldemeyer for Kay to control its lights and movements and to portray him as an endangered species.<ref name="Waldemeyer">Template:Cite news</ref> Kay has also worn Native American head-dresses, in which he was accused of culturally appropriating sacred regalia of the First Nations.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Legacy

Template:Quote box As a prominent component of the London-based funk and acid-jazz movement of the 1990s,Template:Sfn writer Kenneth Prouty said: "few acid jazz groups have reached the level of visibility in the pop music mainstream as London-born Jamiroquai".Template:Sfn The success of the 1996 single "Virtual Insanity" led to the climax of "1970s soul and funk that early acid jazz artists had initiated".Template:Sfn The band were also credited for popularising the didgeridoo.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Artists who mention the group as an influence include Chance the Rapper,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> SZA,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Kamaal Williams,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> the Internet,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Calvin Harris,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and Tyler, the Creator.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> 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."<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Ian Gittins of The 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".<ref name="Gittins-2011">Template:Cite news</ref> Sisario gave a negative review of the band's discography in The Rolling Stone Album Guide in 2004, finding much of their material to be identical.Template:Sfn

Jamiroquai were the third-best-selling UK act of the 1990s,Template:Sfn after the Spice Girls and Oasis. As of April 2017, they have sold more than 26 million albums worldwide.<ref name="The Telegraph-2017" /> 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.<ref name="Azfar-2017">Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The band's studio albums became less frequently released.<ref name="Azfar-2017" /> Kay said in 2013: "I will only put out an album now when I am inspired to do so".<ref name="Ephraim-2013">Template:Cite news</ref>

Awards and nominations

Template:Main Jamiroquai have received 15 Brit Award nominations.<ref name="brit award">Template:Cite web</ref> In 1999, the band won an Ivor Novello Award for an Outstanding Song Collection.<ref name="ivornovello">Template:Cite news</ref> Front-man Kay was given a BMI Presidents Award "in recognition of his profound influence on songwriting within the music industry."<ref name="BMI-2017">Template:Cite news</ref> Jamiroquai received a nomination for Best Pop Album at the 1998 Grammy Awards and won Best Performance by a Duo Or Group for "Virtual Insanity".<ref name="grammys98">Template:Cite web</ref> The band were also nominated for Best Short Form Music Video for "Feels Just Like It Should" at the 2005 Grammy Awards.<ref name="thegrammys">Template:Cite news</ref> For their "Virtual Insanity" music video, Jamiroquai had ten nominations at the 1997 MTV Video Music Awards and four wins: Best Visual Effects, Best Cinematography, Best Breakthrough Video and Video of the Year.<ref name="ctmtvnom" /><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Members

Current members<ref name="members2018"/><ref name="OfficialWebsiteNews" />

Jay Kay – lead vocals (1992–present)
Derrick McKenzie – drums (1994–present)
Sola Akingbola – percussion (1994–present)
Rob Harris – guitar (1999–present)
Matt Johnson – keyboards (2002–present)<ref name="mattjohnsoninterview">Template:Cite web</ref>
Paul Turner – bass (2005–present)
Howard Whiddett – Ableton Live (2017–present)
Nate Williams – guitar, keyboards (2017–present)

Former members

Nick Van Gelder – drums (1992–1994)
Stuart Zender – bass (1992–1998)
Wallis Buchanan – didgeridoo (1992–2000)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Toby Smith – keyboards (1992–2002; died 2017)<ref name="The Telegraph-2017" />
Simon Katz – guitar (1995–2000)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="mattjohnsoninterview" />
Nick Fyffe – bass (1998–2003)Template:Cn