Slaves (English band)

Slaves are an English punk rock duo formed in Royal Tunbridge Wells in 2012, consisting of Isaac Holman (lead vocals, drums) and Laurie Vincent (backing vocals, guitar, bass). Their music has been described as "British punk with harsh bluesy garage riffs".[2]

Slaves
Holman crowd-surfing in August 2015
Background information
OriginRoyal Tunbridge Wells, England
Genres
Years active2012–present
Labels
Associated acts
Websiteyouareallslaves.com
Members
  • Isaac Holman (drums)
  • Laurie Vincent (Guitar)

History

Slaves released their first EP, Sugar Coated Bitter Truth, under Boss Tuneage Records in 2012. Their first single, "Where's Your Car Debbie?", was released by Fonthill Records in early 2014; they were then signed by Virgin EMI.[3] They released their first single under Virgin, "Hey", in November 2014, and released "The Hunter" later that month. They gained more exposure in late 2015 when "The Hunter" was featured on the Sky One series You, Me and the Apocalypse. They also appeared on Later... with Jools Holland and were nominated for the BBC's Sound of 2015.[4][5]

The duo released their debut album, Are You Satisfied?, on 1 June 2015.[6] It reached No. 8 in its first week on the UK Albums Chart.[7] The album was nominated for the 2015 Mercury Music Prize and has since gone Silver in the UK.[8][9][10] They released their second album, Take Control, on 30 September 2016. Beastie Boys member Mike D produced the album, and was featured on the track "Consume or Be Consumed". The album fared better in the charts than the first, climbing to No. 6 in its first week on the UK Albums Chart.[11] On 20 March 2018, the band announced its third album, Acts of Fear and Love, was released on 17 August and reached number 8 in the UK album charts.[12] In July 2019, the band released a four-track EP titled The Velvet Ditch and played a headline set at Truck Festival.

Controversy

The duo have faced allegations that their name is racially insensitive, given the historical context of the term and their own white backgrounds.[13] Vincent told The Fader that criticism of the name came as a surprise to them, describing how they chose the name while trying to think of "an abrasive sounding word, like Clash". He further said, "We just liked the word. We weren't trying to provoke."[14] The two also addressed the controversy around their name in a statement on Facebook: "Our band name relates to people not being in control of their day to day lives. Slaves was our way of getting off the paths we didn't want to walk down anymore. The music we make is motivational and aimed at people personally as well as collectively."[13]

Members
  • Isaac Holman – lead vocals, drums, trumpet
  • Laurence "Laurie" Vincent – backing vocals, guitar, bass

Discography

Studio albums
List of studio albums, with chart positions and certifications
Title Details Peak
chart
positions		 Certifications
UK
[15]
Are You Satisfied? 8
Take Control
  • Released: 30 September 2016
  • Label: Virgin EMI Records
  • Formats: LP, CD, digital download
 6
Acts of Fear and Love
  • Released: 17 August 2018[17]
  • Label: Virgin EMI Records
  • Formats: LP, CD, digital download
 8

Extended plays
List of studio albums, with chart positions and certifications
Title Details
Sugar Coated Bitter Truth
  • Released: 19 July 2012[18]
  • Label: Girl Fight Records
  • Formats: Digital download
The Velvet Ditch
  • Released: 18 July 2019
  • Label: Virgin EMI
  • Formats: Digital download

Singles

As lead artist
Title Year Album
"Where's Your Car Debbie?"[19] 2014 Are You Satisfied?
"Hey"[20]
"The Hunter"[21]
"Feed The Mantaray" 2015
"Cheer Up London"[22]
"Sockets"[23]
"Spit It Out"[24] 2016 Take Control
"Take Control"[25]
"Cut and Run"[26] 2018 Acts of Fear and Love
"Chokehold"[27]
"Magnolia"[28]
Title Year Album
"Control"[29]
(Chase & Status featuring Slaves)		 2016 Tribe
"Momentary Bliss"
(Gorillaz featuring slowthai & Slaves)		 2020 Song Machine

Songwriting and production credits
Title Year Artist(s) Album Contribution Written with: Produced with:
"Missing"[30] 2019 Slowthai Nothing Great About Britain
  • Co-writers
  • Co-producers
Kwes Darko
gollark: It would be nice but the claiming would be a nightmare.
gollark: I say no.
gollark: Whose?
gollark: Simply download and run that trustworthy file, nothy.
gollark: https://pastebin.com/RM13UGFa ← potatOS

References
  1. Cliff, Aimee. "Why Would A Band Of White Dudes Name Themselves Slaves?". The Fader. Retrieved 31 May 2019.
  2. Hutchcraft, Jak (22 October 2013). "We talked to punk duo Slaves about LA Haine an being in love". noisey.vice.com. Retrieved 4 January 2015.
  3. "Tunbridge Wells punk band The Slaves signed to Virgin EMI". Kent and Sussex Courier. 4 March 2014. Archived from the original on 4 January 2015. Retrieved 4 January 2015.
  4. "BBC Sounds of 2015". Retrieved 4 January 2015.
  5. "NME News Slaves confuse Bono on debut 'Jools Holland' performance". NME.com. 22 October 2014. Retrieved 4 January 2015.
  6. "Interview: Slaves - "I Think It Has Quite An Instant Feel And Message"". Inveterate. 11 March 2015. Archived from the original on 14 March 2015. Retrieved 11 March 2015.
  7. "SLAVES". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 8 June 2015.
  8. "Mercury Prize 2015 shortlist". BBC. Retrieved 16 October 2015.
  9. Geddes, Clarke (16 June 2015). "Reviews Slaves Are You Satisfied?". Clash Music.
  10. "Slaves". Unrecorded. Archived from the original on 6 February 2016.
  11. "take+control | full Official Chart History | Official Charts Company". Retrieved 28 December 2016.
  12. "SLAVES on Instagram: "Doing an album"". Instagram.
  13. "Slaves respond to criticism over their band name – watch - NME". NME. 5 May 2015. Retrieved 12 April 2017.
  14. "Why Would A Band of White Dudes Name Themselves Slaves?". The FADER. Retrieved 12 April 2017.
  15. "Slaves - UK Charts". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 7 February 2017.
  16. "British certifications – Slaves". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 7 February 2017. Type Slaves in the "Search BPI Awards" field and then press Enter.
  17. "Acts of Fear and Love by Slaves on Apple Music". itunes.apple.com. Retrieved 13 November 2018.
  18. "Sugar Coated Bitter Truth by Slaves on iTunes". itunes.apple.com. Retrieved 26 October 2017.
  19. "Where's Your Car Debbie? - Single by Slaves on Apple Music". Retrieved 18 December 2018.
  20. "Hey - Single by Slaves on Apple Music". itunes.apple.com. Retrieved 26 October 2017.
  21. "The Hunter - Single by Slaves on Apple Music". itunes.apple.com. Retrieved 26 October 2017.
  22. "Cheer Up London (Slaves x Mike Skinner x Jammer) [Remix] - Single by Slaves on Apple Music". itunes.apple.com. Retrieved 26 October 2017.
  23. "Sockets - Single by Slaves on Apple Music". itunes.apple.com. Retrieved 26 October 2017.
  24. "Spit It Out 7" Single". shop.virginemi.com/slaves. Retrieved 13 November 2018.
  25. "Take Control 7"". shop.virginemi.com/slaves. Retrieved 13 November 2018.
  26. "Cut and Run - Single by Slaves on Apple Music". itunes.apple.com. Retrieved 13 November 2018.
  27. "Slaves talk their new album Acts of Fear and Love, first/wrong impressions, and auditioning for a new drummer". The Independent. 31 July 2018. Retrieved 13 November 2018.
  28. "Magnolia - Single by Slaves on Apple Music". itunes.apple.com. Retrieved 13 November 2018.
  29. "Control (feat. Slaves) - Single by Chase & Status on Apple Music". itunes.apple.com. Retrieved 26 October 2017.
  30. "Nothing Great About Britain (Deluxe) / slowthai". Tidal. Retrieved 17 May 2019.
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