LEEDS band HONESTY home town show on July 15th at Belgrave Music Hall
“The Leeds quartet draw from ambient, electronic and dance music with an intriguing, exploratory nature” - Rolling Stone UK
“'U&I' is a minimalistic, high-contrast cut that morphs from flickering living-room beats to expansive, stratospheric strings in its outro, and their ambition is equally as sprawling.” - DIY
“The music sits in a space between the club and solitary headphone listening; a place where dreamy soundscapes wrap themselves around beats as subtle melodies unfold.” - Loud & Quiet
The Leeds-based collective HONESTY have released their latest work ‘BOX’, a 34 min continuous mix of new material and their first release since last year’s acclaimed debut EP, ‘WHERE R U’.
To mark the new release, the Leeds based collextive are putting on an immersive listening event at The Nave on 30th May. Performing a 30-40 min live set, the show will be accompanied with bespoke visuals with the attending audience due to listen-in with a customised headphone experience.
STREAM ‘BOX’ HERE || LISTEN TO “BOING” FEAT. FLORENCE SHAW HERE
‘BOX’ sees HONESTY venture further into an introspective, subversive, melting-pot version of club music and features appearances from Florence Shaw (Dry Cleaning), vocalist Ryan Cooke as well as verses from rising UK rappers Rarelyalways and Kosi Tides. The mix is out now via Partisan Records.
Speaking about the new mix, which features the previously shared haunting and ethereal track “CEASE.”, HONESTY said:
“BOX is like a prequel. It's an audio mood board, and an examination of the processes that we go through when we're experimenting and writing music. It's a journey through the origins of this band emotionally and sonically, the dying embers of our old projects and the beginnings of this one.”
Watch the accompanying video directed by *UNCANNY here: https://youtu.be/r5-_A9ldMWw
With four core members - George Mitchell, Matt Peel, Josh Lewis and Imi Holmes – and a rotating cast of collaborators, HONESTY emerged as an exercise in doing things differently. The project was born in 2020, initially as a remedy to Matt and Josh’s frustrations with the creative restrictions of their previous bands. Out went defined parts and play-by-numbers riffs, in came fluid roles and studio experimentation. Tapping up friend George Mitchell who Matt had worked with in Mitchell’s previous band Eagulls, they went on the hunt for vocalists. Step up Imi Holmes who moved in over marathon track edits and late-night McDonalds sessions. Based in Matt’s Leeds studio The Nave, HONESTY became friends through making music, hanging out their way to a sound that they still can’t put their collective fingers on.
These are the boundaries that HONESTY have set for themselves - the sound can go where it wants, as long as the sentiment supports it. Making this music, in the way they’re making it, is about much more than mining for renewed creative expression; there is a concerted effort to harness the vitality of new beginnings, and the urgency it demands - you are here, right now, and that’s all that matters.
Songs from their 2023 debut EP ‘WHERE R U’ pulse with the exhilaration of discovery, totally uninhibited by the weight of anything that’s come before. Listen to the EP here and watch the visualisers for “U&I”, “TUNE IN TUNE OUT”, “NIGHTWORLD”, and “SEAMS”.
Since releasing their debut body of work, HONESTY have captured the attention of key tastemakers, with press support from Rolling Stone UK, Loud & Quiet, Brooklyn Vegan, Stereogum, The Line of Best Fit, DORK, So Young & DIY. Apple Music 1’s Matt Wilkinson premiered recent single “CEASE.”, saying, ‘this song is important, this band are important’. On BBC Radio 6 Music, HONESTY have picked up plays on Huw Stephens, Emily Pilbeam & The New Music Fix show. In 2023 and early 2024 HONESTY played their debut live shows, captivating audiences with their unique and powerful live electronic set up. Their Eurosonic set was once of the most talked about at the festival, with Clash calling HONESTY “one of the buzziest bands of the evening”.
HONESTY will be performing live on Tuesday 21st May at Rough Trade East in London as part of the Partisan Records showcase, plus lining up an innovative and immersive AV show at Leeds’ the Nave on 30 May. Dates and details are as follows:
HONESTY - UK TOUR DATES
14 July 2024 - Brighten The Corners Festival, Ipswich
15 July 2024 - Belgrave Music Hall, Leeds
STREAM ‘BOX’ HERE || LISTEN TO “BOING” FEAT. FLORENCE SHAW HERE
FOR MORE INFORMATION
WEBSITE: http://honesty.lnk.to/website
FACEBOOK: http://honesty.lnk.to/facebook
INSTAGRAM: http://honesty.lnk.to/instagram
TIKTOK: http://honesty.lnk.to/tiktok
TWITTER: http://honesty.lnk.to/twitter
SPOTIFY: https://honesty.lnk.to/spotify
APPLE MUSIC: https://honesty.lnk.to/applemusic
YOUTUBE: http://honesty.lnk.to/youtube
BANDCAMP: http://honesty.lnk.to/bandcamp
