Sleep Party People - I'm Not Human At All
Sleep Party People is the alias of musician Brian Batz, hailing from Denmark. Sleep Party People was formed in 2008 as a project of Brian Batz, influenced by artists like Boards Of Canada, David Lynch and Erik Satie, starting a unique proposal of the Danish music scene. Since its beginning, the one-man project has been characterized by wearing rabbit masks in his photoshoots and live performances. Of course, Rabbit Voices. Contrary to the misconception that Sleep Party People is a band, Brian Batz is the sole member of Sleep Party People. Kaspar Kaae, Jacob Høegh, Ask Bock, Casper Hegstrup, Anders Stig Møller, Hans Hvidberg, Per Lyhne, Rasmus Lindahl, Line Felding, and Frederik Thybo have all performed with Batz in live shows. Batz explains in an interview with Motion Pikczer, "It's a bunch of good friends that's playing with me. So, it's not a band, it's just me and my bunnies, in a way." Quickly gaining acceptance, Sleep Party People was featured in Soundvenue, a magazine covering the Danish music scene. After this, the record label Neh-Owh Records chose two of his songs to be featured in a compilation EP. In the end of 2009, Batz signed with the label A:larm Music. In 2010, he released his self-titled debut album with 10 songs. With this success, Batz was featured in Dutch and British magazines. In April 2012, Sleep Party People released a new album titled, We Were Drifting On a Sad Song. In 2013, they toured the United Kingdom. In 2013, Batz traveled to San Francisco to start to craft the third album in the company of producers Jeff Saltzman and Mikael Johnston. Batz recorded and wrote everything there and returned to Denmark with a nearly finished album. The album, Floating, was released in Scandinavia and Asia on May 30, 2014, and worldwide on June 2, 2014.
Sleep Party People was signed by Joyful Noise Recordings in February 2017.
Studio albums
Sleep Party People (2010)
No. Title Length
1. "In The Morning Sun We Stand" 1:41
2. "Our Falling Snow" 3:22
3. "10 Feet Up" 4:02
4. "Notes To You" 3:11
5. "An Iris Pseudocorus" 3:49
6. "The Dwarf And The Horse" 3:11
7. "A Sweet Song About Love" 2:52
8. "Third Drawer Down" 4:11
9. "I'm Not Human At All" 6:29
10. "Everything Has An End" 9:18
Total length: 42:05
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We Were Drifting On a Sad Song (2012)
No. Title Length
1. "A Dark God Heart" 4:34
2. "Chin" 4:32
3. "We Were Drifting On a Sad Song" 4:57
4. "Melancholic Fog" 3:22
5. "Heavy Burden" 4:48
6. "Gazing At the Moon" 4:35
7. "Heaven Is Above Us" 3:54
8. "Things Will Disappear Like Tears in the Rain" 6:00
9. "The City Light Died" 6:36
Total length: 43:18
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Floating (2014)
No. Title Length
1. "Change In Time" 3:51
2. "Floating Blood of Mine" 4:30
3. "A Stranger Among Us" 4:20
4. "In Another World" 4:07
5. "Death is the Future" 3:08
6. "I See the Sun, Harold" 4:05
7. "I See the Moon" (feat. Lisa Light) 7:50
8. "Only A Shadow" 4:31
9. "Scattered Glass" 4:28
Total length: 40:47
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Lingering (2017)
No. Title Length
1. "Figures" 4:14
2. "The Missing Steps" 3:55
3. "Fainting Spell" 3:35
4. "Salix and His Soil" 4:08
5. "Lingering Eyes" 4:31
6. "Dissensions" (feat. Luster) 4:12
7. "Limitations" 3:01
8. "The Sound of His Daughter" 4:05
9. "The Sun Will Open Its Core" 3:47
10. "We Are There Together" (feat. Beth Hirsch) 4:11
11. "Odd Forms" 4:06
12. "Vivid Dream" 5:06
Total length: 48:51
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Lingering Pt. II (2018)
No. Title Length
1. "4th Drawer Down" 3:33
2. "The Mind Still Travels" 4:10
3. "The Fallen Barriers Parade" 3:45
4. "Moving Cluster" 4:56
5. "Renhoh 93" 1:27
6. "Outcast Gatherings" 3:37
7. "Push the Walls Aside" 3:57
8. "Towering Trees" 3:19
9. "Echoing Childhood" 4:31
Total length: 33:15
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Singles
"A Dark God Heart" (2010)
"Remixes" (2011)
"Chin" (2012)
"Gazing At the Moon" (2012)
"In Another World" (2014)
"Floating Blood of Mine" (2014)
"The Missing Steps" (2017)
"Fainting Spell" (2017)
"The Sun Will Open Its Core" (2017)
"4th Drawer Down" (2018)
"The Mind Still Travels" (2018)
"The Fallen Barriers Parade" (2018)
"Moving Cluster" (2018)
"Renhoh 93" (2018)
"Outcast Gatherings" (2018)
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The Current wrote: "As band names go, Sleep Party People is pretty apt. This Danish five-piece – who wear rabbit masks on stage to overcome shyness – create music for the early hours, when you're about to go to sleep but you've got a nice mug of tea to finish first. Combining a love of ambient music and old instruments, Sleep Party People draw on the post-rock soundscapes of Mogwai and Sigur Ros, with pretty melodies building to brutal climaxes.
Strawberry Guy - Without You
Strawberry Guy - Without You
When Alex Stephens (A.K.A. Strawberry Guy) self-released his debut single last year, he was merely doing it out of a love for songwriting. What he wasn’t expecting was a million Youtube streams and an avid fanbase. Now, the South-Wales born, Liverpool-based songwriter is ready to release a full EP of his compelling, lushly produced dream-pop.
Born outside Cardiff, Strawberry Guy moved to Liverpool to study music and grow as a writer. ‘I knew that it was a very artistic city with all it’s creative history, it seemed like the perfect place to move to.’ he says. Whether it’s playing keyboards in The Orielles or just being part of the city’s growing musical scene, Alex plays music for the love of music, something that heavily translates into his adept songwriting.
‘I put out the first single ‘Without You’ on Soundcloud not really expecting much from it.’ he explains, speaking to us about his journey to this release. ‘To actually have a fanbase now from it is surprising and amazing.’ These passionate supporters are already strong in number & character and Youtube is becoming increasingly filled with various fan-made videos for his tracks.
The intense emotional feel of the tracks he writes is down to Alex’s songwriting process, recording the entire EP in his bedroom & producing it himself. ‘I feel that it’s important to me to only write/record when you’re channeling some kind of emotion, so I would only work on it when I was in the right mood to do so.’ He answers when asked about the isolated environment into which he put himself for the recording process.
Much of the inspiration for Alex’s work comes from experience rather than other artists. ‘When something significant happens to me, all I want to do is make music.’ In terms of musical touchstones however, there’s the obvious dream-pop contemporaries such as Beach House and Weyes Blood, coupled with great songwriters of old like Nat King Cole or Harry Nillson. Sonically, a blend of orchestral & synthesized melodies layer together to act as a platform for his heartfelt lyrics.
Opener ‘Without You’ is a fine example of this, a break-up song of sorts, with an infectious keyboard melody and swirling synths over which Alex contemplates whether it’s even possible to find lasting love. The lyrics ‘Do you really have to talk about the things you do with him? Do you really have to talk about your love?’ hit particulary heavily.
Contrast this with the final track, the titular ‘Taking My Time To Be’, a powerful song of self-discovery. Beginning with downtempo piano and drums, the song breaks out into a saxophone and synth solo that wouldn’t go amiss on a Badalamenti soundtrack. ‘The song is about me learning to be comfortable with myself, but then wondering if I’ll be accepted for being myself’ Alex imparts. It’s a fitting closer to a EP driven by emotion and experience.
Currently playing his live shows with a full band of ‘berries’ he’s hoping to get a full tour going, and says this is just the beginning. ‘I won’t stop making music, I can’t help but just write, it’s something that I have to do. An album will be coming at some point, I can say that for sure.’
