SXSW: Disclosure

Tuesday, March 26th, 2013 // Blogs,SXSW

Disclosure – brothers Guy and Howard Lawrence – aren’t merely revivalists. What’s impressive about their music isn’t so much its fealty to golden-age two step, but the finesse they bring to their productions, suggesting the panache of far more experienced producers. They appeared more or less out of nowhere two years ago when their first MySpace demos were picked up for release on London’s Moshi Moshi label, and have continued to hone their skippy, melody-soaked take on house across a pair of EPs and their remix of Jessie Ware’s “Running” (one of my favorite tracks of all time). One listen and its universal appeal is immediately obvious: the effortless way they turn Ware and her co-producers Dave Okumu and Julio Bashmore’s elegant homage into zippy, synth-drenched soul feels like a particularly dizzying sleight of hand.

Original:

Remix:

VIP remix:

I was lucky enough to see the duo perform a live set on Wednesday the 13^th and a DJ set on the night of the 15^th. The live set at Hype Hotel was breathtaking, featuring drum sets, electric bass guitars, keyboards, and mixers. The show pulled heavily from their most recent four-track release (The Face, perhaps their best and most varied record), delivering retro hallmarks and a high-energy mood that demonstrated their skill at crafting electronic pop songs. The vocal cuts in “Boiling” (featuring Sinead Harnett) and “Control” (featuring Ria Ritchie) were particularly good examples of their capacity to re-contextualize classic tropes into tracks with more modern sensibilities.

Though their DJ set on Friday was less exciting, featuring none of their own songs and no live instruments or mixing, it was still imbued with their trademark electronic croons and swollen synths. The darker rendition of their personal brand was a refreshing departure, especially as it took place in a small club (La Zona Rosa) that seemed to cater only to those few that had heard about the show through friends and friends’ of friends.

The Lawrence brothers are currently recording their debut album and participating as support groups for Hot Chip and SBTRKT in the U.S. and the U.K. At 21 and 18 years of age, respectively, Guy and Howard are only at the outset of a promising career in music production.

Be sure to check out more of their music here: https://soundcloud.com/disclosuremusic.

Post by Chloe Lula.