HONESTY

The Leeds-based collective HONESTY today announce their debut album, U R HERE via Partisan Records, out 7 February 2025. Following last year’s WHERE R U EP and this year’s BOX mix, the first taste of U R HERE is the propulsive new single/video “MEASURE ME”.

A fluid and exhilarating collection of club music with a deeply introspective twist, U R HERE is HONESTY’s attempt at sonically mapping the psychological impact of the modern age and harnessing the vitality and freedom that comes with new beginnings. Building upon the collective’s wide range of experimental influences, U R HERE represents a renewed sense of creative expression amidst a world that can sometimes seem like it's crumbling apart.

Speaking about their debut album, HONESTY said: “This album became an organic collaborative effort at sounding like passing the aux cable around at an afterparty. Being inspired by such a wide range of music from Shoegaze, to UK bass, we all decided to never let ourselves get boxed in by one genre. We wanted the listener to feel like they are free to roam through our very own map of soundscapes, yet the whole time clearly labelling a ‘U R HERE’ pinpoint.”

The first peak into this world is “MEASURE ME”, where frenetic synths and percussion begin to paint a picture of alternative electronic euphoria, one that was initially inspired by a dream vocalist Softlizard experienced where her brain was being weighed and measured. The one of a kind video for the track, produced by creative studio *UNCANNY, invites you into a taste of HONESTY’s brilliant live show visuals with a powerful mix of cityspaces, projections and annotation
 
They also spoke about the new track, explaining that: “Measure me was one of the first songs we completed in a collaborative effort with Liza bringing lyrics and synth-work to the mix. The song kept some of our post punk abilities from our previous bands whilst pushing it sonically into what we now know as HONESTY.

Lyrically, Liza came in the studio and told us that she had a weird dream / nightmare where she was seeing herself weighing her own brain to work out how it measures. A sort of existential dream of panic that flows within the beat in motoric measurements.”

 

HONESTY is not a band in the traditional sense. With four core members - George Mitchell, Matt Peel, Josh Lewis and Imi Marston – and a rotating cast of collaborators which have included musicians and visual artists like Kosi Tydes, Softlizard, Rarelyalways, Florence Shaw, and Liam Bailey, the Leeds-based collective emerged as an exercise in doing things differently on a journey towards self-acceptance.

HONESTY’s debut album U R HERE will be released on Partisan Records on 7 February 2025. With influences that range from Mount Kimbie and My Bloody Valentine to Björk and Burial, U R HERE represents a renewed sense of creative expression amidst a world that can sometimes seem like it's crumbling apart.
The songs on U R HERE are a fluid, exhilarating, and uniquely introspective take on club music – sonically mapping the psychological impact of the modern age and harnessing the vitality and freedom that comes with new beginnings. U R HERE, right now, and that is all that matters.

Since their debut single release in September 2023, excitement & intrigue around HONESTY has been steadily building. Rolling Stone, Loud & Quiet, So Young & The Line of Best Fit have all written features on the collective, with Crack, Brooklyn Vegan & NME also showing support for HONESTY’s releases to date. On BBC Radio 6 Music, HONESTY have picked up plays on Huw Stephens, Emily Pilbeam & The New Music Fix show. In 2023 and early 2024 HONESTY played their debut live shows, captivating audiences with their unique and powerful live electronic set up. HONESTY’s mesmerising live show saw them covered as one of the most exciting acts of Eurosonic Festival 2024 by Mixmag & Clash, with Clash calling HONESTY “one of the buzziest bands of the evening”.

HONESTY will now play a tour across the UK starting this month, including dates at The Social in London, Gullivers in Manchester, and both Brudenell and The Attic in Leeds. The tour will also see a range of festival performances, with the collective bringing their exhilarating brand of club music to Sheffield’s Float Along Festival, Brighton’s Mutations Festival, and more.

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