Song of the Day: Maximum Joy “Building Bridges”

Maximum Joy were yet another brilliant UK post-punk act to emerge from the greater Manchester area in the late ’70s. Emerging from the decaying industrial scape of Bristol in 1977 (which would later become the unofficial capitol of trip-hop a decade later), the group was the brainchild of Janine Rainforth (singer /violin/ clarinet) and Tony WrafterThe Pop Group.

Maximum Joy focussed on horn-forward and dance-ready post-punk. Fusing elements of Gang of Four, Quando Quango, The Slits and dub music, the band were very much of the scene from which they emerged, but also a truly unique act. Though the band was short lived, releasing only one full-length, Station M.X.J.Y. in 1982, they remain a formidable part of the post-punk canon.

“Building Bridges” is the b-side to Maximum Joy‘s 1982 single, “White And Green Place”. The song features an extended dub read on a staccato, horn-forward bent dance track. With lyrics built around the old “Tinker, Tailor, Solider, Sailor” nursery rhyme, the song then advocates for the wider concept of building a bridge between people and cultures. The song is also notable for its inclusion of an early house music piano line. Indeed, the song can be said to be building bridges to the future as well.