Little Joy

Little Joy took shape around the combined abilities of Rodrigo Amarante, singer and guitarist in the Brazilian indie rock band Los Hermanos, Fabrizio Moretti, drummer with the Strokes, and Binki Shapiro, a singer based in Los Angeles. The trio first connected when Amarante and Moretti crossed paths by chance at a festival in Lisbon, Portugal. After Amarante had already settled in Los Angeles to contribute to Devendra Banhart’s Smokey Rolls Down Thunder Canyon, the three musicians eventually shared a house in the city’s historic Echo Park neighborhood. They took the band’s name from a nearby cocktail lounge and began shaping new material together. Their self-titled debut appeared on Rough Trade at the end of 2008.