It was in 2016 that we were first introduced to Stables, the indie-folk duo featuring singer/songwriter Matthew Lowe (Keston Cobblers’ Club) and Daniel Trenholme (The Lost Cavalry). They released 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.
After almost three years of constant touring, the duo have made the most of their forced quarantine (which cancelled their whole Spring, European tour) to concentrate on finishing their new album Silhouettes in Matthew’s converted ‘studio’ room. An album of 14 tracks, which perfectly balances Matthew’s songwriting with the raw energy they 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.
Today we get to share the accompanying video for their fourth album single Curtain Call, a tongue in cheek love song with superb harmonies, uplifting melodies and summer coursing through its veins. There is also a little cameo from Tom of Cobblers.
Curtain Call is the 4th single from our upcoming album Silhouettes. A tongue and cheek love song for the summer; we wanted to create a track not to be taken too seriously, in the style I first started writing for with Keston Cobblers Club 10 years ago. The track is a simple fusion of two of our favourite artists; the picking and stripped feel of Tallest Man on Earth, with the syncopated instrumentation of Paul Simon in the drops. As with the whole of our soon to be released album, our intention is to create tracks the two of us can strip down for folk clubs and small venues across Europe, but with added production for when we scale up for bigger festivals and concerts. Stables has always been a duo, but we didn’t want that to limit our songwriting and scope for this album.
On the album, Matthew says. ‘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 is that sound.’
The duo are realistic about the current state of the music industry. Focusing on creating a long-term project around touring, they write and produce all of their tracks, book all their own gigs, do their own PR, management, promotion, accounts, branding, music videos, tour managing and… press releases. In 2019 they added to their miscellany, starting Stables Coffee Co. (https://www.stablescoffee.com/) roasting their own coffee to sit alongside their merchandise.
Daniel says ‘We always wanted to create a project that is self-sufficient, we knew that’d mean juggling our music with spreadsheets and emails if we wanted to make a career out of Stables without a major. You deal with the two of us. There is no smoke and mirrors.’
Stables will be touring their album across Europe in October and November, with a special album launch in London’s iconic Lexington on the 9th October.
Silhouettes is out on Friday 9th October.
For the latest tour dates and festival announcements please visit https://www.stablesmusic.com/live.html
Pre-order the album on CD or Vinyl here – https://www.stablescoffee.com/musicshop