“As Rainforth forges a new musical future, it’s important not to divorce it from her fearless and catalytic past.. Releasing these long-gestated ideas into the public sphere, and especially returning to the stage after over two decades, took some guts..” Geraint Davies – Crack Magazine
Original co-founder and front woman of post punk band Maximum Joy, Janine Rainforth is now taking live bookings.
Janine returned to performing her music in public in 2014, after her music career was cut short following assault and trauma.
One of her first return live performances was supporting the Pop Group at Islington Assembly Rooms. See a few live clips below from Janine performing solo to Janine performing with her band.
Janine formed the band Maximum Joy when she was 17 along with other players. They toured Europe and the UK; released 4 singles (Stretch; White & Green Place; In the Air and Why Can’t We Live Together) and an LP – Station MXJY (recently reissued) and built up a solid fan base. The music still has a solid growing fan-base today over 40 years later and has been repeatedly reissued. They are a DJ’s (BBC 6 Music; NTS -Tom Ravenscroft; JD Twitch; Giles Peterson; Zakia Sewell) favourite.
After being approached by Simple Things in 2015 she spearheaded the reforming of Maximum Joy. More live footage here. And here. From there she was at the forefront of making a new Maximum Joy album, released in 2019, and was invited to play at Dimensions (live footage) and We Out Here (live footage) amongst other live performances.
Janine Rainforth (of Maximum Joy ) is now taking bookings for live gigs with her band.
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It’s singer Janine Rainforth that best embodies Maximum Joy’s exuberance: Having co-founded the group when she was just 18 years old, she channeled her inspirations —into her own shape-shifting style ..It’s a quality you won’t find in any of their contemporaries. Pitchfork
‘Maximum Joy is pivotal to the history of post-punk… ‘I Can’t Stand It Here on Quiet Nights’ combines the three EPs Maximum Joy recorded for Y Records in 1981 and 1982, acknowledging the group’s rightful place in the post-punk canon as pioneers of the Bristol Sound. Bandcamp Daily’
Janine’s writing on Substack link below
“(P.E.A.C.E.) feels like a celebration of togetherness ..sliding, airy vocals, lending a spooky quality to the tracks, like a ghost slipping in and out between worlds” Crack Magazine 7/10
