After almost three years of constant touring, London-based music duo, Stables, released the album, ‘Silhouettes’. Stables was born after a late night of drinks between Matt Lowe and Daniel Trenholme when Lowe played Trenholme what would become Stables’s first single, “Steam,” released four months after that interaction. They have made the most of their forced quarantine, which cancelled their whole Spring European tour, to concentrate on finishing Silhouettes in Matthew’s converted ‘studio’ room. An album of 14 tracks, which perfectly balances Matthew’s songwriting with the raw energy the duo have become known for at their gigs. There are elements of lavish production throughout the album, but with the underlying sound of two friends performing remaining consistent from start to finish.
The LP ‘Silhouettes’ isn’t necessarily an quintessential summer-ish, gleeful, cheery record – it sits in a comforting middle, a more discerning, safe and loving place – like laying under the sun, but under the shade of a lush green tree.
“We have always tried to capture the energy of our live gigs. Two mates with big harmonies and a few instruments to switch around, that’s the backbone of what we do. In this album we aimed to encapsulate that ethos with moments of intricate scoring intertwined along the way. I grew up in orchestras and that has always been present in my writing and producing, but Stables was always a project for two that we could add to when we wanted, but not lose anything when we stripped back to just us. Silhouettes are that sound.” – Matthew Lowe
Furthermore, they recently came out with a mellow track, Bossa Nova Hangover, that Matthew wrote earlier this summer. It’s a song that ‘plays with the sensations of having a hangover on new years day after an expected all night gathering with friends’.
The indie-folk duo was formed by Matthew Lowe (Keston Cobblers Club) and Daniel Trenholme in January 2016 as a side project. Releasing their debut album just four months after going public in August ’16, with a sell out launch at London’s Lexington, completing their first UK headline tour the same year and gaining a strong industry and fan following, including the championing of BBC DJ Steve Lamacq, Tom Robinson, BobHarris and featuring on BBC Radio 6’s Music Recommends programme as well as many others the duo soon grew into a full time project.
Since 2017 Stables furthered their reach, playing many festivals including Glastonbury, Cambridge Folk, Broadstairs main stage and Underneath The Stars and completing 7 headline, European tours in just 3 years. The duo have toured the British folk circuit honing in their live approach with switching of instruments and storytelling between songs.
Adds Mathew, “I was already in a pretty successful touring band for 5 years before we started Stables, but nothing prepared me for the baptism of fire that touring in a duo would give me. We travelled across Europe in a polo, performing in people’s living rooms in Belgium, trying to compete with the noise of punters in German pubs with no amplification or setting up in big venues in Switzerland, just the two of us. We realised we had to rely on our energy and ability to make a room take note over any clever production. We switched instruments, kept the flow of the set dynamic and made sure we could get the audience dancing or sitting in silence when needed.’
