Who is it?
Multi-instrumentalists and singers Jamie and Carlos, bassist Jacob and drummer Felix together form Oxford four-piece band LOW ISLAND. While the two singers have already DJed in Leeds’s The Warehouse and on several festivals, the latter has been touring with American fusion collective SNARKY PUPPY. After releasing several singles in late 2016 (we told you about their second single End Piece over at our What’s Your Sound? section), they now dropped their debut EP Just About Somewhere alongside a music video featuring a medley of all four tracks.
Why should you listen to it?
Their self-produced EP packs a staggering amount of different musical directions in only 14 minutes. While opener Anywhere flirts with laid-back beats and glacial guitar work in the vein of THE XX, End Piece and closer Disconnect take a cue or two from RADIOHEAD, fusing tasteful use of synthesizers and extensive vocal sampling. The frenetic Disconnect in particular masters the art of clashing an introspective, angelic delivery and cold sound with a propulsive and intricate rhythm section akin to FOALS‘s vigorous early work – the jumpy guitar lines and rhodes sprinkles as well as cut-up piano snippets bounce against drummer Felix, who holds the track together playing at an insane tempo. Recent takes the band’s electronic leanings, but leads them into a more rock-oriented environment, also featuring the most upfront vocal performance by singer Jamie. The accompanying video, directed by Neron Tuner-Power, shows actor Marcin Rudy wander aimlessly and alienated through night-time London.
What’s next?
LOW ISLAND are currently working on the visuals for their follow-up EP, which they also self-produced in their garage. A headline tour in June is also in the works; if you happen to be in England, be sure to attend their hometown gig at the O2 Academy Oxford.
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