Formed in 2019, Lawne is the result of a meeting of minds between old friends and self confessed music nerds Joe Nicklin and Joe Martin. Their sound draws upon myriad influences with dub, electronics, hip hop, psych, jazz, post-punk and Afrobeat all somehow ingrained within the mix.

Heather’s Leather, the second single to be taken from the pair’s debut LP, due for release in the autumn, is in a similar vein to previous single Beta Pan in that it has distinctly different A&B sections. The duo wanted to shift through the gears even quicker this time though, so they looked for inspiration from opposite ends of the pool, as Joe Martin explains:

“Heather’s Leather was something of an anomaly on the album in how quickly it all came together. I’d written the original chord progression on piano years prior but never got round to developing it into a full tune; the switch between the A and B sections feels quite drastic because there’s a change in tempo and key centre, something that we hadn’t experimented with before.

I was obsessed with the opening track from Tranquility Base Hotel & Casino, Star Treatment. You can hear its influence on the first part of the track and Joe’s drumming compliments the feel of it perfectly.”

Joe Nicklin goes on, “We’d learned from the pandemic that working remotely really suited us. You get time to mull over ideas and not run away with things, especially when there’s no added pressure of being on the clock in a studio. Joe (Martin) sent me the song and it was already really far down the line. He usually adds some placeholder midi drums but this time he hadn’t. It’s usually nice to have the midi drums to set you on your way, but I think only being able to work solely off the synths and guitars forced me to come up with something I otherwise wouldn’t have, especially for the B section. You find yourself being reminded of an artist when hearing the demo and then asking ‘what would their drummer do?’”

Comparing Lawne’s sound to that of Mildlife, Nu Genea, Harvey Sutherland and Khruangbin wouldn’t be far off the mark, but such contemporaries form only part of the duo’s sonic soundscape as Fela Kuti, The Beach Boys and Herbie Hancock also weigh heavy on their repertoire, as Joe Nicklin explains:

“I had been working mainly as a live session drummer for a few years and missed being able to get my teeth into a project of my own, collaborating and building something that reflects my influences from the ground up. I knew Joe (Martin) a bit from home in North Oxfordshire but we reconnected after both moving to London and decided to start sending ideas back and forth shortly after. Originally we set out to make dance music with live instrumentation, but a shared love of psychedelic, jazz-funk and hip hop eventually saw our music also reflect these styles.”

Joe Martin goes on, “I’d been engaged on a solo electronic project for a few years but soon began to miss working collaboratively and writing music with instruments rather than creating solely on a laptop. I knew Joe from home and when he asked if I wanted to get together to make some music, it seemed like the perfect time. We’ve spent the last couple of years exploring different sounds and trying our best to work outside of our comfort zone; listening to a wider range of material as well as incorporating that into our own music.”

Is it Balearic? Quite possibly.

Lawne’s debut album will be released in November 2024 on Wah Wah 45s.