‘Hidden Herd Presents’ is Brighton’s monthly new music discovery night, spotlighting the most exciting emerging artists, ones-to-watch and hidden gems. The four acts that will be performing for the Thursday 30th November bash at The Hope & Ruin will be WOOZE, Welly, Lonnie Gunn and Owners Club.
Let’s meet the acts…..
WOOZE
British-Korean duo WOOZE were formed in 2017 by Jamie She and Theo Spark at Brixton art-space Muddy Yard. With their debut EP ‘What’s On Your Mind?’ and its follow-up ‘Get Me To A Nunnery’, which was produced by The Horrors’ Tom Furse, the band firmly established themselves as one of the most original and exciting new acts in the UK, identifiable by their unique visuals as much as their genre-blending and enigmatic brand of avant-garde pop. Combining 80s pop eccentricity with psychotropic instrumentation, their music is at once anthemic and absurdist, citing an encyclopaedic range of influences from traditional Korean music through to Primus, Japanese funk, ABBA and Led Zeppelin. As a result, the band have received plaudits internationally from Spotify, Apple Music, NME, DIY, Dork, The Line Of Best Fit and CLASH, and have also been consistently championed by BBC Radio 1’s Jack Saunders, KEXP, triple j and Guy Garvey. They’ve also featured in their own video game, supported Metronomy on tour and sold out shows across the UK and South Korea. On their latest four-track collection, ‘The Magnificent Eleven’, the band are at their fuzz-drenched and idiosyncratic best, with their heaviest and most danceable material to date. Merging thick, distorted, groove-heavy riffing with 80s glam-pop vocals, the new tracks see them continue to push the envelope into more anthemic and bizarro territory than ever before.
Welly
From suburban Southampton, Steve Lamacq favourite Welly makes intoxicating pop for the CBBC generation. With his five-strong band of PE-kitted disciples, they crash, bang and wallop guitars, cowbells and synthesizers through hook-packed, dad-danceable songs. Since the release of brilliant Britpop-esque debut single ‘Me And Your Mates’ back in May 2022, Welly and Co have been building an enviable reputation as one of the most exciting live bands around thanks to fun-packed outings at Glastonbury, 2000trees, Victorious Festival and Mutations Festival, as well as support dates with the likes of Walt Disco, English Teacher, Heartworms, Hallan, Pynch, Legss and more. This year, they’ve unleashed an exhilarating live album (‘Welly: Live in a Village Hall’) and stole the show at Great Escape Festival where they played a whopping 7 jam-packed shows, including Platform B’s official opening party. They also recently embarked on Goo Records’ rip-roaring LollapaGOOza tour, hitting five destinations alongside label mates Canned Pineapple and Owners Club.
Lonnie Gunn
Lonnie Gunn is a pioneer of an emerging genre she describes as “Lesbian Fembot Yacht Rock” – music for twenty-something teenagers who feel Too Much. With a rich array of disparate influences ranging from doo-wop to nu-metal, the newly Brighton-based New Jersey-raised crooner enchants with lush melodies that harbour a constant, quiet rage and reveal an insatiable sense of queer yearning. Lonnie’s latest single – the mirrorball-swirling slowburner ‘Honeymoon Suite’ – channels the nostalgia-laced chamber pop and psych-folk of Weyes Blood and Angel Olsen, weaving the charm of retro songsmiths and femme fatales into something modern and indulgent. Alongside a string of other releases since 2021, ‘Honeymoon Suite’ also dreamily echoes peers such as Trudy And The Romance, Ellie Bleach and Viji, who Lonnie has shared stages with at London venues such as The Lexington, The Old Blue Last and The Shacklewell Arms.
www.instagram.com/lonniegunnmusic
Owners Club
Owners Club are a pub rock four-piece whose three thrilling releases so far range from singing about the long-discontinued Double Diamond beer to vampires, the occult and a whole lot more. Their second single ‘Mini Skrrrt!’ was described by The Gryphon magazine as “delightfully playful and exuberant, reflecting the band’s mission statement of ‘smashing out indie floor fillers'”, while its standout follow-up ‘Witchcraft For The Modern World’ is a self-recorded wall of chaos that goes straight for the jugular, instantly bringing to mind the vocals of The Strokes’ Julian Casablancas, the energy of The Walkmen’s ‘The Rat’ and the earworming guitar lines of The Cribs’ Ryan Jarman. Signed to local favourites Goo Records (Welly, Canned Pineapple) and backed by BBC Music Introducing and Sussex Music, Owners Club have already cemented an excellent reputation on the live circuit, sharing stages with L.A. Witch, The Bug Club, Gaffa Tape Sandy, Plastic Mermaids, Mush, We Are Not Devo, The Queen’s Head and more.
Advance tickets are £10 + booking fee and are on sale now. Snap up yours HERE.
