INAD - Thé EP
Brighton-based artist Inad releases her debut single - the Thé EP - on super limited edition CD (50 only; in hand-painted sleeve) and digital download through Hello Thor Records on Monday 11 May 2015.
Thé showcases four tracks – each a slice of dreamy, slightly tropical future-pop showcasing a beautiful voice and a sideways mind.
"...it oozes undeniable charm with its combination of minimalistic, somewhat cutesy instrumentation, and the distinctive heart-melting voice of Inad herself..." The 405
"playful and personal...the sound of a sad robot sharing its thoughts, vocoder-drenched lines being shaped by deft, minimal production..." DIY
Six years ago, to celebrate the release of We Show Up On Radar’s single Mountain Top, we put on a gig in Nottingham Central Library, on a Saturday afternoon. One of the many moments of magic on that very special (and slightly odd) afternoon was provided by a young girl-boy duo called Alloy Ark, who’d travelled up from somewhere near Bury St Edmonds and who blew us all away with their gentle, breezy indie-folk-pop.
We’d come across Alloy Ark on Myspace (yeah, it was a while ago) - all we had to go on was a line drawing, a slightly abstract photo and a handful of super catchy lo-fi pop songs. These songs burned themselves into our heads - their stripped down musicianship, their straight-up sincerity, and the beauty and power of the ethereal voice at their heart.
Years past, Alloy Ark expanded into an equally brilliant and slightly more muscular, grungy four piece (and, weirdly, returned to play another library gig for us in 2011) and then we lost touch with them. They probably got fed up with us putting them on in libraries.
Anyway, why are we telling you this? Because Inad is the new project from one half of Alloy Ark and because we think it’s very special indeed! We heard the demos – a few herbaceous song sketches crafted lovingly by the sea – and we were hooked. We wanted to hear more; we wanted to work with her.
The four tracks on Thé sublimely mix beguiling lovelorn lyrics with minimal dance-pop production and (re)introduce the world to a fascinating young voice.
Influences include Stanley Brinks, Go Satta, Cassiya, Bill Withers, Nico and Françoise Hardy.