Biography

English DJ and producer Jon Ford creates a rambunctious, bass-heavy fusion of garage, house, and trap as JOYRYDE. Initially associated with the psytrance scene, and then as half of EDM/dubstep duo Lets Be Friends, Ford launched JOYRYDE in 2015 with several self-released tracks. His music quickly caught the attention of headlining DJs such as DJ Snake, Diplo, and Skrillex, and he made appearances at festivals such as Electric Zoo and Lollapalooza. He scored a hit with his 2018 Skrillex collaboration "AGEN WIDA" and released the debut full-length BRAVE, a brash mixture of grime, bass music, and trap, in 2020. Jon Ford was born in England in 1985. His father is John Ford, co-founder of pioneering Goa and psytrance label Phantasm Records, and a well-known DJ and producer as John Phantasm. The younger Ford started to produce music and DJ at an early age, releasing some mixes as Junya and adopting Eskimo as his main production moniker. Beginning with 2003's Can You Pick Me Up?, he released several albums that blended psytrance, acid, and hard house. In 2011, Ford and Oren Emanuel formed Lets Be Friends, moving away from their trance roots into styles such as electro-house, dubstep, and moombahton. They issued two EPs and singles on EDM label Monstercat before becoming inactive in 2015, when Ford began to focus on his JOYRYDE project. JOYRYDE released several singles throughout 2015, including the Candi Staton-sampling "MERCY," which established his aggressive blend of trap and speed garage. His 2016 track "HOT DRUM" was picked up by Skrillex's OWSLA label, who issued additional JOYRYDE singles such as 2017's "I WARE HOUSE" and "NEW BREED" (with Darnell Williams). Ford and Skrillex co-produced "AGEN WIDA," which was released in October of 2018 and reached the Top 40 of Billboard's Hot Dance/Electronic Songs chart. In 2019, JOYRYDE signed to HARD Recs and released several singles in anticipation of the project's debut album, including "MADDEN" and "SELECTA 19." BRAVE was released in 2020, with guests including NoLay, Majilla, and Youngs Teflon, as well as the earlier Freddie Gibbs-sampling single "DAMN" as a bonus track. ~ Paul Simpson, Rovi