Soft Play
Soft Play | |
---|---|
Background information | |
Also known as | Slaves (2012–2022) |
Origin | Royal Tunbridge Wells, England |
Genres | |
Years active | 2012–present |
Labels |
|
Members |
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Website | softplayband |
Soft Play (stylised in
They were known as Slaves until 2022 when they changed their name to Soft Play after deciding that their original name had unwanted connotations.[2]
Formation and influences
Holman and Vincent met in Kent, which they claim did not have a very active punk music scene. The band was formed as a two-piece after they tried and failed to recruit other musicians to be in a punk band, sharing songwriting duties. Vincent later stated that this was an unexpected benefit, as they could tour easily and cheaply in a small van since they only needed to haul two people's worth of equipment.
They have stated that their earliest mutual influences include The Clash, Rancid, The Ramones, Gang of Four, Billy Childish, and Talking Heads.[3]
History
As Slaves, the band released their first
In May 2015, The Fader featured the group in an article about provocative names for music artists.[7] 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."[8] 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."[7]
The duo released their debut album,
In December 2022, they changed their name to Soft Play and explained, "The name 'Slaves' is an issue [and] doesn't represent who we are as people or what our music stands for any longer."[2]
Members
- Isaac Holman – lead vocals, drums, trumpet, flute
- Laurence "Laurie" Vincent – backing vocals, guitar, bass guitar, keyboards
Discography
Studio albums
As Slaves
Title | Details | Peak chart positions |
Certifications | |
---|---|---|---|---|
UK [16] |
SCO
[16] | |||
Are You Satisfied? |
|
8 | 13 | |
Take Control |
|
6 | 9 | |
Acts of Fear and Love |
|
8 | 8 |
Extended plays
Title | Details |
---|---|
Sugar Coated Bitter Truth |
|
The Velvet Ditch |
|
Singles
As lead artist
Title | Year | Album |
---|---|---|
"Where's Your Car Debbie?"[19] | 2014 | Non-album single |
"Hey"[20] | Are You Satisfied? | |
"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] | ||
"One More Day Won't Hurt"[29] | 2020 | The Velvet Ditch |
"Punk's Dead"[30] | 2023 | TBA |
"Mirror Muscles"[31] | 2024 |
As featured artist
Title | Year | Peak chart positions |
Album |
---|---|---|---|
UK
[16] | |||
"Control"[32] (Chase & Status featuring Slaves) |
2016 | – | Tribe |
"Momentary Bliss" (Gorillaz featuring Slowthai & Slaves) |
2020 | 58 | Song Machine, Season One: Strange Timez |
"—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory. |
Songwriting and production credits
Title | Year | Artist(s) | Album | Contribution | Written with: | Produced with: |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
"Missing"[33] | 2019 | Slowthai | Nothing Great About Britain |
|
|
Kwes Darko |
References
- ^ 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.
- ^ a b "Slaves: British punk band change name to Soft Play after criticism". BBC News. 9 December 2022. Retrieved 9 December 2022.
- ^ Laurie Vincent (Slaves) - In Conversation With John Robb, retrieved 29 August 2023
- ^ "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.
- ^ "BBC Sounds of 2015". Retrieved 4 January 2015.
- ^ "NME News Slaves confuse Bono on debut 'Jools Holland' performance". NME.com. 22 October 2014. Retrieved 4 January 2015.
- ^ a b "Slaves respond to criticism over their band name". NME. 5 May 2015. Retrieved 16 August 2022.
- ^ Cliff, Amy (26 March 2015). "Why Would A Band of White Dudes Name Themselves Slaves?". The FADER. Retrieved 16 August 2022.
- ^ "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.
- ^ "SLAVES". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 8 June 2015.
- ^ "Mercury Prize 2015 shortlist". BBC. Retrieved 16 October 2015.
- Clash Music.
- ^ "Slaves". Unrecorded. Archived from the original on 6 February 2016.
- ^ "take+control | full Official Chart History | Official Charts Company". Official Charts. Retrieved 28 December 2016.
- ^ "SLAVES on Instagram: "Doing an album"". Instagram. Archived from the original on 24 December 2021.
- ^ a b c "Slaves - UK Charts". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 7 February 2017.
- ^ "British certifications – Slaves". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 7 February 2017. Type Slaves in the "Search BPI Awards" field and then press Enter.
- ^ "Sugar Coated Bitter Truth by Slaves on iTunes". itunes.apple.com. 19 July 2012. Retrieved 26 October 2017.
- ^ "Where's Your Car Debbie? - Single by Slaves on Apple Music". iTunes. 6 February 2014. Retrieved 18 December 2018.
- ^ "Hey - Single by Slaves on Apple Music". itunes.apple.com. Retrieved 26 October 2017.
- ^ "The Hunter - Single by Slaves on Apple Music". itunes.apple.com. Retrieved 26 October 2017.
- ^ "Cheer Up London (Slaves x Mike Skinner x Jammer) [Remix] - Single by Slaves on Apple Music". itunes.apple.com. 15 July 2015. Retrieved 26 October 2017.
- ^ "Sockets - Single by Slaves on Apple Music". itunes.apple.com. 4 September 2015. Retrieved 26 October 2017.
- ^ "Spit It Out 7" Single". shop.virginemi.com/slaves. Retrieved 13 November 2018.
- ^ "Take Control 7"". shop.virginemi.com/slaves. Retrieved 13 November 2018.
- ^ "Cut and Run - Single by Slaves on Apple Music". itunes.apple.com. 12 June 2018. Retrieved 13 November 2018.
- ^ "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.
- ^ "Magnolia - Single by Slaves on Apple Music". itunes.apple.com. 12 October 2018. Retrieved 13 November 2018.
- ^ "One More Day Won't Hurt (Bob Vylan Remix) - Single by Slaves". Retrieved 12 September 2023.
- ^ "Punk's Dead - Single by SOFT PLAY on Apple Music". Retrieved 12 September 2023.
- ^ "Mirror Muscles - Single by SOFT PLAY on Apple Music". Retrieved 14 March 2024.
- ^ "Control (feat. Slaves) - Single by Chase & Status on Apple Music". itunes.apple.com. Retrieved 26 October 2017.
- ^ "Nothing Great About Britain (Deluxe) / slowthai". Tidal. Retrieved 17 May 2019.