The Joy, a five-piece acapella group from South Africa is releasing their self-titled debut album which was recorded and captured on film in one take at Paul Epworth’s Church Studios in late 2023. In Hammarsdale in South Africa, where the Zulu tradition of a cappella singing is central to the cultural identity of its people, you’ll have to transcend the sum of your constituent parts to truly command attention. But singing together as teenage boys for the first time, Pastor (Ntokozo Bright Magcaba), Duzie (Melokuhle Mkhungo), Guduza (Sphelele Hlophe), Sthombe (Phelelani Sithole) and Marcus (Sanele Ngcobo) have no reason to pause and consider that. The Joy sing about the big stuff – the power of dreams, religious faith – but actually when they address the harrowing specifics of day to day life, sometimes these are the moments that assume even greater emotional magnitude.