Jacana People unveil radiant new EP "Sunblind" & latest single "Liana" with Lawrence Hart

The release follows recent single “Twist Forever” with Antony Szmierek

EP and single arrive 9th June via Hide The Moth

Rising UK production duo Jacana People announce much anticipated new EP Sunblind and single “Liana” featuring Lawrence Hart. The EP and single hit are out via Hide The Moth on 9th of June.

This year has already been a bumper one for Jacana People, kicking things off as Mixmag’s tip for 2023, the duo have been embraced by both R1 and R6 in spades and become a firm favorite of tastemakers from Jaguar to Mary Anne Hobbs for their signature brand of bittersweet electronica. So to say their latest EP is eagerly anticipated is an understatement.

Sunblind opens with the blissful chill of new single “Liana”, which sees the duo team up with producer, multi-instrumentalist and R1 Dance fave Lawrence Hart. Arpeggiated synths, delayed piano stabs and trumpets that swirl between pitched vocals create a soundscape of longing and promise like a red sun disappearing into the sea before the best night of your life.

On Liana:

“At the start of last year we got chatting with Lawrence and it seemed like a no-brainer to jump into the studio together. Immediately there was this great energy in the room; we all love playing with old synths and drum machines, chopping up samples and making weird sounds, so the track started to come pretty effortlessly. It was lovely to get some live trumpet on the record from Lawrence – we all come from that background of playing instruments and playing in bands, and as soon as we heard that, Liana started to have a real momentum and life to it. It feels like a really interesting blend of our combined styles and tastes and we think people are going to dig it.”

Which sets us up nicely for track two: with minimal house leanings, driving percussive elements, trippy pads and more stirring vocal stabs, “Ladybird” is a deliciously headsy dancefloor cut. A hit with crowds at live shows, the track shows Jacana People equally adept at club magic as they are at mellow euphoria.

Track three is the radiant recent single “Twist Forever”: a hypnotic collaboration with “Manc Mike Skinner”, poet, rapper and R6 fave Antony Szmierek. With echoes of both Real Lies and The Streets, Szmierek’s keenly observed lyricism burns with melancholic euphoria and nostalgic warmth. Jacana People provide a mesmerizing backdrop of flawless beats and blissful melodic loops, carrying us to become lost in the dance as we “fall through the sky man, you can’t miss”.

In fact, none of the tracks on Sunblind miss, as track four “Find Her Hand” attests. Heavenly plucked harps, synths and textural detail are complemented by elegant percussion that propel the track as it melts seamlessly into the EP’s closer “Now That You Have Reached The Sky”. Taking us to still more heavenly territory, this final tune sees us out with transcendent ambience and mesmeric pads, shimmering with etheric beauty.

Sunblind radiates with emotion, warmth and spot-on production from start to finish. A testament to their musical nous and talent for both pulling at heartstrings and making dancefloors sing, it’s no wonder Jacana People are so many peoples “ones to watch” this year and beyond.

Jacana People say:

“When we’re putting together a longer-form body of work, we want to share different sides to what we’re about. Sunblind is another example of that. As the name suggests, the theme of the sky and sunlight kept coming up when we were refining all these moments – we love accidentally landing on an idea that just subconsciously brings pieces of music together. The tracks on Sunblind seem to look upwards towards the sky and ask questions in different ways. On the EP we range from some of our clubbiest work to more understated, introspective moments. With every release we’re trying to push ourselves in our production and writing and have been ambitious with the scope of some of these tracks. This EP has definitely been a labour of love but still has a real optimism running through it – that feels good for whatever comes next.”

Tracklist: