SLUM SOCIABLE announce self-titled debut album
The self-titled long-player – a dynamic and wholly original intersection of jazz, electronica and soul – is due for release on October 13. In additional good news, the Melbourne based duo are also proud to present their new single ‘Castle’, complete with evocative video.
Slum Sociable is a confident and ambitious musical statement that takes the vibrant groundwork laid on 2015’s TQ EP and builds a far-reaching new estate. Recorded between Melbourne and London with esteemed producers Russell Fawcus (The Temper Trap), Rich Cooper (Mystery Jets) and mixed by Ben Allen (Animal Collective, Cut Copy, Gnarls Barkley), the album sees Miller Upchurch and Edward Quinn refining their sound and bringing their musical vision into full existence. It’s an innovative and immersive record, where layered melodies are soaked with colour and mood and vibrant soundscapes expand upon each listen, with the groove always the priority.
‘Castle’ takes a darker turn from the album’s recent first taste – lush, synth-drenched ballad, ‘Don’t Come Back Another 100 Times.’ Premiered on air by triple j Good Nights and online by CLASH, ‘Castle’ blurs genre lines and builds an invigorating atmosphere through melancholic vocals and tight percussion. “It’s a song about the walls people put up around themselves, for whatever reasons, and about trying to break through them with the intent to help” Upchurch says. Instrumentally the track is restrained and raw, exposing themes of introspection and anxiety, while the lyrics feel therapeutic. “The way my favourite bands, my favourite lyrics, had resonated with me, I wanted to build something like that. Something that, when you listened, it told you it’ll be alright”.
Even if you say you want to leave
It would never work like that
You can’t run away like that
Waves of uncertainty
A feeling that you’ve always had
I’ll be there every time you crash
The intimate ‘Castle’ video was directed by upcoming VCA film maker Sarah-Jayne Kernaghan and sees the band stepping out into the limelight. Their performance is pensive and brooding; a stunning visual confrontation of the song’s themes.
"Understanding Castle and then fusing it with the minimal aesthetic was the starting point. I knew there was a hypnotic darkness we needed to capture. The cycling of inescapable relationships some of us fall into throughout life." - Sarah [The Screen Generation]
To date, the band have received love from noted international radio stations including Beats 1, BBC Radio 1 and KCRW along with local favourites triple j and FBi to name a few. They have garnered online praise from the likes of Indie Shuffle, Pigeons and Planes, Noisey and The Line Of Best Fit. The lead track from Slum Sociable, ‘Don’t Come Back Another 100 Times’ is currently spinning on rotation at FBi and has been added to a collection of playlists across Spotify and Apple Music.
From the duo’s humble beginnings to travelling the world to put their thoughts to tape, Slum Sociable is finally ready to step out into the night.
Slum Sociable - Slum Sociable
Out Friday 13 October 2017 through Liberation Music
Pre-order available here
