Posted by Gotts Street Park have a sound all of their own.
The Leeds based group pursue neo-soul strains to sub-zero levels, with their frosted songwriting and sublime sense of vintage techniques coming to empowering effect.
New EP ‘Volume Two’ is out now, another snapshot from their studio crypt, one that features a select batch of hand-picked guests.
Indeed, Gotts Street Park have built an exceptional reputation for their collaborative ability, working everyone from BRIT Award winners to left-field MCs.
Clash spoke to the Leeds group about the art of the partnership…
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Pip Millet – ‘Change My Ways’
All written and recorded in one room in an afternoon. Pip writes very quickly so by the time the arrangement is figured out she’s got the bulk of a song done.
I think I did two instrumental takes and three vocal takes max. We added her BVs and some horn parts and the production was mostly done. We mastered a lot of the songs on a C37 valve tape machine and this was the one we hit the hardest.
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Zilo – ‘Bad’
This one was a bit more of a modern approach. Sonically and the way it was made. The beat is mostly made up of loops from a jam.
Our keys player Tom Henry was writing with Zilo at the time and we brought her in that way. We worked on it remotely but all met when she came to Leeds for the video shoot.
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Rosie Lowe – ‘Everything’
This was actually an instrumental from one of our very first jams. My setup was basic and it’s a raw sound recorded in my old bedroom in Armley with one mic on the drums. We tried to re-record it but couldn’t quite capture the same vibe.
We had some sessions booked in with Rosie but lockdown meant we had to send stuff remotely. She picked this and we all loved her writing on it..
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Celeste – ‘Lately’
Celeste’s didn’t have a lot of material out and I wasn’t sure what to expect. She walked into the basement on the first day and we wrote ‘Lately’ and ‘Both Sides’. They were both single live takes. I did the horn and string arrangements and my friend Todd Simon tracked them out in LA. I’ve got to know Celeste and writing live with a band is what excites her the most. I don’t think she had been given that opportunity until then.
We have quite a few tracks in that same world with her that will hopefully see the light of day.
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Grand Pax – ‘Sugar’
I’d been working a lot with Grand Pax on her EP and we all thought this instrumental would be great for her. I think we were at SARM at the time and we spent the evening working on it. She has a character and an atmosphere that lends itself perfectly to our dark side.
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Benny Mails – ‘This World’
Benny caught all of our attention from hearing some of his freestyles online. His flow and lyrics stood out. Initially we met in London. Made some beats together firstly for his own solo stuff, then came up to Leeds a few times too.
‘This World’ existed as an Instrumental for a while. Definitely felt like a track for an MC. Benny added loads of energy to the verses. The double time flow just added loads of extra bounce to the track. Nicely contrasting his more laid back choruses.
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Photo Credit: Netti Hurley
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