Disclosure
The English electronica duo is noted for their blend of house, garage and dub step with a side order of sampling.
The English electronica duo is noted for their blend of house, garage and dubstep with a side order of sampling. They are also in-demand producers and wily collaborators who have worked in tandem with Kelis, Scritti Politti’s Green Gartside, the prodigy Sasha Keable, Jessie Ware and London Grammar’s Hannah Reid. Such an eclectic range of artistry might be problematic for some but Disclosure’s talent matches their ambition.
The debut album Settle was nominated for the 2013 Mercury Prize and while it narrowly missed out there the solace of hitting the top of the charts, turning Platinum and then spawning the must-have Settle: The Remixes – where elements of grime and hip hop trap beats – trip-hop if you will – were mashed up with deep R&B, fast-paced snares and overviews from Wookie, DJ Premier and a Mary J. Blige remix on “F for You” boosted the entire package. Released as a single and aimed at the American market it was nominated for Best Dance Recording at the 57th Annual Grammy Awards.
The Settle smash has evidently got legs but there is a new album scheduled for Autumn 2015. Caracal features “Holding On’, the new single with Gregory Porter on board, plus mouth-watering collaborations with Brendan Reilly (“Moving Mountains”), Sam Smith (he sang on the breakout single “Latch” and now graces “Omen”)) Nao (“Super Ego”) Lion Babe and Kwabs “Willing and Able”). Disclosure’s Howard Lawrence recently spilt the beans: “A caracal is an incredible wild cat that I became fascinated with while on tour last year; I just love the way they look, their physical capabilities and their anonymity. It felt like a perfect fit for our Wild Life brand too, so the caracal made perfect sense as the lead visual for the new album and over the course of recording, it also felt like a natural title for the new record too.”
Evidence of their popularity and the appeal of the UK scene abroad are proven by the announcement of dates at Madison Square Garden in NYC and at the Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena to tie in with Caracal. Coast to coast cats…
Howard and Guy Lawrence hail from Reigate in Surrey and though still only in their mid-twenties, the brothers have wasted no time in establishing their phenomenally successful brand, having won a deal with Island and also set up their own label Method Records with a roster including Friend Within, versatile star-in-waiting Karen Harding, Lxury and Tourist.
National radio picked up on their early tunes – “Tenderly”/”Flow”, the June 2012 EP The Face (whose stand-out “Running” remix by Jessie Ware made a splash in the Flemish lowlands) and then the aforesaid “Latch”, a smart #11 in the UK. The ground set, they were truly off with “White Noise” where a heady alliance with electronic duo AlunaGeorge set the digital download market buzzing. The bass, synths and beeps made commercial sense and follow-up “You & Me”, featuring Eliza Doolittle was a huge club hit across Europe.
“F for You” is the first track from the Settle disc to not feature a guest and that’s Howard stepping up. The English art-rock trio London Grammar come on-side for “Help Me Lose My Mind” – their vocalist Hannah Reid co-wrote too.
Once they revisit “F for You” with the famous Mary J. Blige as guest heads will wag across the ocean. Back to the garage for the deep sounding “The Mechanism” keeping them funky in 2014 and then to “Bang That” and “Holding On”, most people’s first taste in terms of discovering the imminent Caracal. Here they’ve gone into the writing room with Grammy Award-winning English song man Jimmy Napes whose own “The Making of Me” is also recommended.
The overview on Settle is so positive now that we heartily suggest you discover it via the Deluxe edition and the total remix special Digital edition that remains bang on-trend. In America, there has been a huge buzz surrounding “Holding On”, the combo of the youthful Disclosure and the US jazz singer Porter striking all the right notes.
Disclosure are all about the team and the right sound and they haven’t put a foot wrong yet. Watch them soar this year.
Words: Max Bell
UK English
