Broadcasting direct from London, a lush, lo-fi mix of spacious, alternate-tuned guitars and tape-saturated acoustic and electronic drums, archaic digital effects, keyboard colour, radio murmurs. Let The Sleepless ignite the spark to keep you going
Uplifting melancholia, direct from the dusty corners of life
Although London-based, The Sleepless started life on Merseyside where Martin Carroll (guitar) and Ronan O’Hanlon (drums) begin tuning in to the sounds filtering through from the legendary Probe Records shop in Liverpool. Obscure 60s girl groups, 90s ambient, 4AD, Factory and freakbeat all infected their music. With no bass guitarist, they were free to develop the foundations of what would become the definitive sound of the Sleepless: a rich, gritty soundscape of spacious guitar, bursts of West Coast harmonies, primitive sampling, and deft drums, all captured on a Tascam 688 cassette portastudio. It would first find a home as the sound of Stellar, a quintet formed by Martin and Ronan in mid-90s Liverpool.
Described in a local fanzine as ‘spacious, wirey guitar pop heavy on mood with a pervading aura of melancholy to cuddle up to’, Stellar rapidly established themselves on the Liverpool live circuit as a refreshing change from Britpop, even being acknowledged as such in industry bible Music Week. Moving into Elevator Studios (formerly The Ministry, home to Echo and the Bunnymen), a portastudio demo quickly found its way to 4AD who signed Stellar to their cult offshoot imprint, Detox Artifacts. Following an EP release in October ’96, Stellar ventured further afield, playing gig at Manchester’s Night and Day, the Hacienda, and London’s Disgracelands for the Detox label launch, the latter in the presence of luminaries such as Andrew Weatherall and Liz Fraser.
A move to London signalled a change of direction, with Stellar eventually going their separate ways (an archive release of Stellar material, “One Extended Moment” was released on the Division 68 imprint in 2009). Martin and Ronan continued to evolve and grow their sound. Alternate guitar tunings spiced with arcane digital effects became a rich source of new melodies and textures, underpinned by tape-saturated acoustic and electronic drums that defied categorization. During this period, they spent a brief spell with This Sudden Life, an experimental art rock quartet who wowed Camden audiences with ‘perfectly taut songcraft’. Eventually they settled in at Alaska Studios, writing and rehearsing as a duo once more, finessing a lush yet lo-fi mix of spacious yet edgy alternate-tuned guitars, luminous 80s digital effects, keyboard colour, intermittent radio voices, and devilish grooves. Let The Sleepless ignite the spark to keep you going.
4AD, Durutti Column, Ultramarine, XTC, Aphex Twin, Cocteau Twins, early REM, The Police, Yes, The Who, The Kinks, UK Freakbeat.