TAKING FLIGHT: DISCLOSURE

The Score: Disclosure is the alias of a two very young producers. Some sources have reported they are twins, but that isn’t quite true. Guy and Howard Lawrence are in fact brothers, and they’ve been making music since they can remember. With their debut single recently released on Moshi Moshi Singles Club, these boys undoubtedly have an exciting future ahead of them.

The Sound: Falling into the same indefinable areas as Joy Orbison and George FitzGerald, their tracks blend elements of 2-step/garage, dubstep, house as well as R&B/Soul. The result is a future garage sound which contains strong 2-step rhythms, warm rising synth lines, and disembodied R&B diva vocals which contribute to content and emotional melodies. It’s as suitable to the dancefloor as it is to home listening. 

The Song: The track which really caught my attention was first off their recently released debut single, ‘Offline Dexterity’. The deep, luscious garage beat provides a solid structure for the track, which is patiently built upon. The track slowly builds, with an ever increasing volume of deep sub-bass, beautiful harmonies created by well-arranged synth chords, as well as intricate percussive elements (best displayed at 1:20 and 3:20) and a soft, lamenting diva vocal which you can’t help but connect with. ‘Linstigator’ is a track you also need to here.

File Next To: Joy Orbison, George FitzGerald, xxxy et al. The new line of producers experimenting with garage/2-step/dubstep/house.

We managed to have a quick catch up with the guys to try and gain an insight into their production work as well as finding out if there are more releases on the way shortly. You can check out the interview below.

Interview:

Hi guys. Could you please introduce yourselves for those who are uninformed of your work?

We’re Disclosure: Guy Lawrence (19) and Howard Lawrence (16). We are brothers.

How long have you both been producing for now, particularly the soulful 2-step sound which you create on your ‘Offline Dexterity’ single? How does the collaboration between the two of you work?

We’ve both been composing together for years, mainly on guitars and drums, but making music of some kind our whole lives. We finished the first single you hear now around a year ago.

What is your production set-up like?

We have little studio above our dad’s work. Its an old auction house in a little village called Bletchingly. There is an old abandoned flat above it where we work. Its a pretty great place, especially when its full of old scary stuff! We run logic on a iMac.

Where do you take your musical inspiration from? Your work has been compared to the likes of Joy Orbison and George FitzGerald’s indefinable sounds. Have their releases influenced your work in any way?

We were both brought up on a wide variety of music. Everything from prog-rock, to 90′s hip hop. and yes, definitely everyone making this sort of sound right now influences us. Burial was our entry point for sure. He is a huge influence.

Is the height of garage/2-step, which was experienced especially in the late 90′s, something which has had any bearing on your production styles?

Not so much on production styles, but in terms of sampling and rhythms definitely yes. It was more hip-hop we were listening to at that point. Mainly Nujabes, J. Dilla and Gang Starr.

I find that emotion is prominent with each of your tracks, especially in your manipulation of diva vocal samples and a dreamy sub-bass. Is this an element you try to evoke in your tracks?

We pick our samples quite carefully based on if we feel they’ve been sung with a lot of emotion by the vocalist, or if the lyrics mean something to us, or if we just love the tune…something cheesy like that anyway!

How did the brilliant release on Moshi Moshi come about, and how long did it take you to produce the ‘Offline Dexterity’ single?

Stephen from Moshi Moshi sent us an extremely casual email saying something along the lines of ‘i like the songs on your myspace, can i release them?’ and we got back to him pretty quickly to say an enthusiastic ‘yes’. We made both of the tracks using Guy’s macbook and nothing else, we mixed all of street light chronicle in his car and in our lounge. Its crazy how fast it all moved!

Are you currently working on any new material? Is there any possibility of ‘Linstigator’ and ‘London Town’ seeing releases in the near future?

We are constantly working on new material and have a lot of tracks on the go at present. There will be more releases soon…

Are there any artists, inside or outside the UK bass music scene, that you’re really feeling at present?

We really like Wild Beasts and Everything Everything at the moment, they are both making amazing music. (Guy) I am completely obsessed with ‘Lone’ and ‘Letherette’  right now. 

What are your plans and aspirations for the next year?

Next year we will be releasing an album and getting our live show on the road. Something a little more special than just DJing.

Offline Dexterity – Disclosure by disclosuremusic

Keep an eye of this duo, I have a feeling we’ll be hearing a lot more from them in the near future. You can purchase their debut single by clicking here, and check out  some more of their up-coming material at their myspace page by clicking here.

Written by Ben Roberts