Inkhouse

Andrew James, Laurence Kelly and Sabiyha Rasheed are the trio that make up the alternative art-rock group, Inkhouse, which formed in the winter of 2011 in Croydon. The band emerged from the ashes of The Red Route, Andrew and Laurence’s old band, who created solid indie tracks but parted ways mid-2011. With the addition of the singer-songwriter, Sabiyha, Inkhouse was created and we ventured in a new musical direction, moulding Laurence and Andrew’s traditional indie vibe with Sabiyha’s folk and country driven style.

Inkhouse started writing acoustic tracks with Sabiyha and Andrew sharing lead vocals and rhythm guitar, and Laurence on lead guitar. However, when demos of our first songs began to move into a different, experimental dimension, we decided to let go of any limitations and see just where our minds would wander. The result is the long anticipated, five-track debut EP, ‘INKHOUSE’

With musical inspirations ranging from the bleak, sultry echoes of Alt-J, to the colossal sound of The Maccabees’ ‘Given To The Wild’, from the catchy melodies of Cloud Control to the beautifully harmonised vocals of Bon Iver, we believe this EP showcases us as a band that has taken it’s time to develop it’s sound. Influenced lyrically by the emotional transparency of Frightened Rabbit, we are confident our combination of open experimentalism and attractive melodies marks Inkhouse as a band well worth a listen.

Throughout the process of writing the EP we did not have a drummer so instead enlisted the help of William Jones, an up and coming producer, to programme drums for the tracks. During the production stage Andrew met the incredibly talented drummer James Vettese who has since been added to the line up.

All five tracks on the debut were recorded in Andrew’s makeshift bedroom studio and then collaboratively mixed and produced by William Jones and Andrew. Mastering was completed by William Jones.