Brighton’s AK Patterson today release their debut EP ‘Shadows’, produced by Charlie Andrew (Alt J, Marika Hackman) and issued via East City Rockers in partnership with Andrew’s own Square Leg Records. The band will play a launch show to celebrate the release at London’s St Pancras Old Church tonight, August, 15 2018, ahead of support slots opening for Alt J at two sold-out Amsterdam dates later this month. The shows will follow summer festival appearances from AK Patterson across Latitude, The Great Escape, Dot To Dot and the Cambridge Folk Festival. Stream the ‘Shadows’ EP in full here.
‘Shadows’ draws together AK Patterson’s previous single releases ‘It’s Not Over Till The Cry’, ‘Lady Greyling’ and the EP title track, alongside new release ‘A Woman’s Word’. Powered by singer Alex Patterson’s quicksilver vocals – which dart here from a whisper to sudden flashes of emotion – the torrid track is fleshed out by the sparing, intuitive playing of bandmates Nat Reading and Alfie Weedon. Speaking about the track, Alex says; “It’s about a relationship between two people and the naïveté and frustration of believing you can fix that person”.
Alex has been dubbed a ‘woman possessed’, disappearing to a place of fierce enchantment each time she sings. An accomplished guitar and fiddle player also, she, Alfie and Nat together build a rich musical world. Classically trained, Weedon provides backing vocals and versatile double bass playing, having previously spent time in Senegal living with the country’s traditional Griot musical storytellers and poets. Cellist Reading’s restless multi-instrumentalism meanwhile, has led him to play everything from Balearic pop to performing with the National Youth Guitar Ensemble.
Speaking about their experiences of making the EP, the band say; “Recorded in pitch black, Shadows is an attempt to capture the energy and emotional intensity with which we perform live. Working with Charlie Andrew was a collaborative dream because we embraced the rawness of tracking live instruments with the careful layering of weird and wonderful sounds, atmospheric backdrops, tailored to support the story of each song. Although each track has a very different narrative, they are tied together with undercurrents of melancholia, and a determination to overcome our demons. We emerge from the darkness with our debut, and present to you, Shadows.”
Watch AK Patterson Perform ‘Shadows’ Live
LIVE DATES
15 August LONDON St Pancras Old Church (headline show)
26 August AMSTERDAM Bos Theater (supporting Alt J) SOLD OUT
27 August AMSTERDAM Bos Theater (supporting Alt J) SOLD OUT