A remarkable achievement of progressive and sometimes leftfield folk and afrobeat, jumping between emotions, genres and qualities with a stream-of-consciousness flow. Bristol collective, Me and My Friends’ latest single ‘You Came Into My Life’ ticks all the right boxes and sets the stage for the band’s upcoming album ‘Before I Saw the Sea’ due in January 2023.
“In that first year or so, there is so much change so fast that it can feel like sand slipping through your fingers… I was grappling with the realisation that with each magical step of development they are moving further away into their own personhood” – singer and guitarist Nick Rasle.
Me and My Friends was started over a decade ago, growing from the basements of Leeds to tours across Europe. The quintet’s unique blend of Afrobeat-inspired grooves, rich vocal harmonies, languidly graceful cello and playfully funky clarinet has carved out their very own niche of sun-drenched music for the soul, gaining support from the likes of Gilles Peterson, FiP, Soundway Records, Nubiyan Twist and Quantic.
Before I Saw The Sea is an album about anticipation and change. The moments in which we feel the certainties that hold us securely in place come adrift. Out 27th January, Me and My Friends’ new release is an immersive set of nighttime meditations conceived during lockdown, replete with laidback grooves combining bittersweet nostalgia with hypnotic rhythmic interplay. This is a record made to accompany journeys when none could be made, as we awaited the parting of the stormy clouds.
2023 Tour dates:
03/03 – Brudenell Social, Leeds
04/03 – Victoria Hall, Settle
10/03 – Cornish Bank, Falmouth
11/03 – Jam Jar, Bristol
17/03 – Cowley Social Club, Oxford
18/03 – The Jago, London
31/03 – Cobalt Studios, Newcastle
01/04 – Liverpool Philharmonic
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