Slate share new single ‘Shade In Me’, from debut EP Deathless out May 17th on Brace Yourself Records
SLATE
SHARE NEW SINGLE ‘SHADE IN ME’
LISTEN HERE:
https://lnk.to/ShadeinMe
FROM DEBUT EP DEATHLESS
OUT MAY 17th ON BRACE YOURSELF RECORDS
EP RELEASE SHOWS IN CARDIFF & LONDON ON-SALE NOW
FESTIVAL DATES INC THE GREAT ESCAPE, FOCUS WALES & GREEN MAN
“Across their first two singles, Slate have already presented a signature sound and even more definable energy. To make music this intense while not sacrificing an inch of the power in its storytelling is a real feat.” – NME
“Alongside austere yet poetic indie rock Slate infuse this with a sharp-edged awareness of Welsh culture and identity… An imposing introduction, Slate break from the pack on a song packed with ambition, and a desire for individuality.” – CLASH
“Comprised of volcanic builds and gothic landscapes, [‘Tabernacl’] bleeds of an emotional journey between anxiety battles and dealing with regrets, so for a band that have just entered their early twenties, it’s a deep one.” – So Young
Today, Welsh quartet Slate return with a second taster of their incoming debut EP, Deathless, which lands May 17th on Brace Yourself Records. Following the EP’s slow-burning lead single and opener ‘Remoter Heaven‘, which was premiered by Huw Stephens on BBC 6 Music last month and drew support from publications including NME, The Line of Best Fit and So Young, this time it’s ‘Shade In Me‘ getting a moment in the sun.
‘Shade In Me’ is a song of compassion. It’s a double entendre: offering refuge for someone, whilst also acknowledging that this shade also implies an internal darkness. The band were inspired by a speech from Chung Mong-hong’s film A Sun (2019), and a monologue where the character talks of how his friends can always find shade to shelter from the glaring absurdities of life, but he can never find it himself. He can’t hide from the sun.
Expanding further on it, vocalist Jack Shephard offers “When someone needs refuge, you can offer them your shade. The song itself, ended up gentler in sound compared what we have been used to writing. Sentimental songs like this one can make you feel vulnerable. But perhaps that is appropriate for a song about opening up yourself for someone.”
Listen to ‘Shade In Me’ here: https://lnk.to/ShadeinMe
Produced by long-time collaborator Buzzard Buzzard Buzzard‘s Tom Rees, Deathless begins in a dream state of hypnotic repetition on ‘Remoter Heaven’, one that mounts in intensity, with Shephard presiding over it all with his distinctive, poetic drawl. His protagonist is revisiting a memory of the pain inflicted by a thorn as a child; “I was awake with feeling”, he confesses, before the song takes on the momentum that feels like a triumph over the numbness attendant to adulthood.
Recorded in one take, the narrative across the EP’s six tracks takes place within a single room – or, perhaps, one mind. It begins with what the band feel is some of the darkest material they will ever write, to reaching, in its second half, a place of transformation and epiphany. On the EP’s vinyl edition, the lyrics are written out like a diary entry, each one penned in another member’s hand.
Pre-order Deathless here: https://lnk.to/Slate-Deathless
The band’s trio of singles to date – Deathless‘ opening salvo ‘Remoter Heaven’ as well as non-EP tracks ‘Tabernacl’ and ‘St Agatha’ – have earned Slate rave write-ups and support from publications including NME, CLASH, So Young, The Line of Best Fit, DIY, Buzz Magazine, The Most Radicalist and more, as well as early radio plays from the likes of Huw Stephens and Steve Lamacq on BBC 6Music, Matt Wilkinson on Apple Music 1, John Kennedy on Radio X and Jack Saunders on BBC Radio 1.
Revisit ‘Remoter Heaven’ here: https://lnk.to/RemoterHeaven
Emerging from the depths of Cardiff’s burgeoning music scene and heirs to their country’s lineage of storytellers, Slate are barely touching their twenties, but together, they have command of post-punk which rings with the gravitas of a death knell; a grasp of atmosphere and melody which touches on the ethereal.
The band was formed by vocalist Shephard and drummer Raychi Bryant, with the later addition of bassist Lauren Edwards and guitarist Elis Penri who completed the band at the end of 2021. The four bonded over the written word playing poetry games over pints, with an affinity for the surreal works of Arthur Rimbaud and the Welsh poets R. S. Thomas and Dylan Thomas, whose reverence for their country and its people bleeds into Slate’s own lyrics.
Following string of dates opening for Buzzard Buzzard Buzzard and some much talked about shows in the dark corners of London’s live circuit, live dates for the band this summer include showcases at The Great Escape and Green Man Festival as well as EP release shows at Cardiff’s Clwb Ifor Bach on May 31stand the Brixton Windmill on June 5th. Please find a full touring itinerary further below.
Watch this space for much more from Slate in the coming months.
Slate – Deathless// Brace Yourself Records – 17/05/24
| 1. Remoter Heaven 2. The Heir 3. Sun Violence 4. Deathless 5. Shade In Me 6. Hailstone |
Tour dates:
May 9th-11th | Wrexham, UK – Focus Wales
May 16th-18th | Brighton, UK – The Great Escape
May 18th | Sheffield, UK – Get Together
May 31st | Cardiff, UK – Clwb Ifor Bach
June 5th – London, UK – The Windmill
Aug 15-18th | Brecon, UK – Green Man Festival
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