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Soft Play

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Soft Play
Vincent (left) and Holman (right) performing in August 2015
Background information
Also known asSlaves (2012–2022)
OriginRoyal Tunbridge Wells,Kent,England
Genres
Years active2012–present
Labels
Members
  • Isaac Holman
  • Laurie Vincent
Websitesoftplayband

Soft Play(stylised inall caps) are an Englishpunk rockduo formed by Isaac Holman (lead vocals, drums) and Laurie Vincent (backing vocals, guitar, bass) inRoyal Tunbridge Wellsin 2012.[1]They were known as Slaves until 2022, when they changed their name due to their original name'sunwanted connotations.[2]

History

[edit]

The band was formed as a duo after Holman and Vincent failed to recruit other musicians to join their punk band, and began sharing songwriting duties. Vincent later stated that this was an unexpected benefit as they could tour easily and cheaply in a small van due to only needing two people's worth of equipment.

As Slaves, the band released their firstEP,Sugar Coated Bitter Truth,under Boss Tuneage Records in 2012. Their first single, "Where's Your Car Debbie?", was released by Fonthill Records in early 2014; they were then signed byVirgin EMI.[3]They released their first single under Virgin, "Hey", in November 2014, and released "The Hunter" later that month. They gained more exposure in late 2015 when "The Hunter" was featured on theSky OneseriesYou, Me and the Apocalypse.They also appeared onLater... with Jools Hollandand were nominated for theBBC'sSound of 2015.[4][5]

In May 2015,The Faderfeatured the group in an article about provocative names for music artists.[6]Vincent toldThe Faderthat 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, likeClash".He further said," We just liked the word. We weren't trying to provoke. "[7]The two also addressed the controversy around their name in a statement onFacebook:"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."[6]

The duo released their debut albumAre You Satisfied?on 1 June 2015.[8]It reached No. 8 in its first week on theUK Albums Chart.[9]The album was nominated for the 2015Mercury Music Prizeand has since gone Silver in the UK.[10][11][12]They released their second albumTake Controlon 30 September 2016.Beastie BoysmemberMike Dproduced the album, and was featured on the track "Consume or Be Consumed". The album fared better in the charts than the first, climbing to No. 6 in its first week on the UK Albums Chart.[13]They released their third albumActs of Fear and Loveon 17 August 2018, which reached number 8 on the UK album charts.[14]In July 2019, the band released a four-track EP titledThe Velvet Ditchand played a headline set atTruck Festival.

In December 2022, they changed their name to Soft Play. They 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]Their fourth studio album (and first under their new name)Heavy Jellywas released on 19 July 2024.[15]

Influences

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They have stated that their earliest mutual influences includethe Clash,Rancid,Ramones,Gang of Four,Billy Childish,andTalking Heads.[16]

Members

[edit]
  • Isaac Holman – lead vocals, drums, trumpet,flute,trombone, violin
  • Laurence "Laurie" Vincent – guitars, mandolin, bass, keyboards, backing vocals

Discography

[edit]

Studio albums

[edit]

As Slaves

List of studio albums, with chart positions and certifications
Title Details Peak chart positions Certifications
UK
[17] 		SCO
[17]
Are You Satisfied? 8 13
Take Control
  • Released: 30 September 2016
  • Label: Virgin EMI
  • Formats: LP, CD, digital download
 6 9
Acts of Fear and Love
  • Released: 17 August 2018
  • Label: Virgin EMI
  • Formats: LP, CD, digital download
 8 8

As Soft Play

List of studio albums as Soft Play, with selected details
Title Details Peak chart positions
UK
[17] 		SCO
[17]
Heavy Jelly
  • Released: 19 July 2024
  • Label:BMG
  • Formats: LP, CD, digital download
 3 1

Extended plays

[edit]
List of EPs, with selected details
Title Details
Sugar Coated Bitter Truth
  • Released: 19 July 2012[19]
  • Label: Girl Fight Records
  • Formats: CD, Digital download
The Velvet Ditch
  • Released: 18 July 2019
  • Label: Virgin EMI
  • Formats: Digital download

Singles

[edit]

As lead artist

[edit]
Title Year Album
As Slaves
"Where's Your Car Debbie?"[20] 2014 Non-album single
"Hey"[21] Are You Satisfied?
"The Hunter"[22]
"Feed the Mantaray" 2015
"Cheer Up London"[23]
"Sockets"[24]
"Spit It Out"[25] 2016 Take Control
"Take Control"[26]
"Cut and Run"[27] 2018 Acts of Fear and Love
"Chokehold"[28]
"Magnolia"[29]
"One More Day Won't Hurt"[30] 2020 The Velvet Ditch
As Soft Play
"Punk's Dead"[31] 2023 Heavy Jelly
"Mirror Muscles"[32] 2024
"Act Violently"
"Everything and Nothing"
[edit]
Title Year Peak
chart
positions 		Album
UK
[17]
"Control"[33]
(Chase & Statusfeaturing Slaves) 		2016 – Tribe
"Momentary Bliss"
(GorillazfeaturingSlowthai& 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

[edit]
Title Year Artist(s) Album Contribution Written with: Produced with:
"Missing"[34] 2019 Slowthai Nothing Great About Britain
  • Co-writers
  • Co-producers
Kwes Darko

References

[edit]
  1. ^Hutchcraft, Jak (22 October 2013)."We talked to punk duo Slaves about LA Haine an being in love".noisey.vice.Retrieved4 January2015.
  2. ^ab"Slaves: British punk band change name to Soft Play after criticism".BBC News.9 December 2022.Retrieved9 December2022.
  3. ^"Tunbridge Wells punk band The Slaves signed to Virgin EMI".Kent and Sussex Courier.4 March 2014. Archived fromthe originalon 4 January 2015.Retrieved4 January2015.
  4. ^"BBC Sounds of 2015".Retrieved4 January2015.
  5. ^"NME News Slaves confuse Bono on debut 'Jools Holland' performance".NME.22 October 2014.Retrieved4 January2015.
  6. ^ab"Slaves respond to criticism over their band name".NME.5 May 2015.Retrieved16 August2022.
  7. ^Cliff, Amy (26 March 2015)."Why Would A Band of White Dudes Name Themselves Slaves?".The FADER.Retrieved16 August2022.
  8. ^ "Interview: Slaves -" I Think It Has Quite An Instant Feel And Message "".Inveterate.11 March 2015. Archived fromthe originalon 14 March 2015.Retrieved11 March2015.
  9. ^"SLAVES".Official Charts Company.Retrieved8 June2015.
  10. ^"Mercury Prize 2015 shortlist".BBC.Retrieved16 October2015.
  11. ^Geddes, Clarke (16 June 2015)."Reviews Slaves Are You Satisfied?".Clash Music.
  12. ^"Slaves".Unrecorded. Archived fromthe originalon 6 February 2016.
  13. ^"take+control | full Official Chart History | Official Charts Company".Official Charts.Retrieved28 December2016.
  14. ^"SLAVES on Instagram:" Doing an album "".Instagram.Archived fromthe originalon 24 December 2021.
  15. ^"Heavy Jelly | CD".
  16. ^Laurie Vincent (Slaves) - In Conversation With John Robb,retrieved29 August2023
  17. ^abcde"Slaves - UK Charts".Official Charts Company.Retrieved27 July2024.Cite error: The named reference "UK" was defined multiple times with different content (see thehelp page).
  18. ^"British certifications – Slaves".British Phonographic Industry.Retrieved7 February2017.TypeSlavesin the "Search BPI Awards" field and then press Enter.
  19. ^"Sugar Coated Bitter Truth by Slaves on iTunes".itunes.apple.19 July 2012.Retrieved26 October2017.
  20. ^"Where's Your Car Debbie? - Single by Slaves on Apple Music".iTunes.6 February 2014.Retrieved18 December2018.
  21. ^"Hey - Single by Slaves on Apple Music".itunes.apple.Retrieved26 October2017.
  22. ^"The Hunter - Single by Slaves on Apple Music".itunes.apple.Retrieved26 October2017.
  23. ^"Cheer Up London (Slaves x Mike Skinner x Jammer) [Remix] - Single by Slaves on Apple Music".itunes.apple.15 July 2015.Retrieved26 October2017.
  24. ^"Sockets - Single by Slaves on Apple Music".itunes.apple.4 September 2015.Retrieved26 October2017.
  25. ^"Spit It Out 7" Single ".shop.virginemi /slaves.Retrieved13 November2018.
  26. ^"Take Control 7"".shop.virginemi /slaves.Retrieved13 November2018.
  27. ^"Cut and Run - Single by Slaves on Apple Music".itunes.apple.12 June 2018.Retrieved13 November2018.
  28. ^"Slaves talk their new album Acts of Fear and Love, first/wrong impressions, and auditioning for a new drummer".The Independent.31 July 2018.Retrieved13 November2018.
  29. ^"Magnolia - Single by Slaves on Apple Music".itunes.apple.12 October 2018.Retrieved13 November2018.
  30. ^"One More Day Won't Hurt (Bob Vylan Remix) - Single by Slaves".Retrieved12 September2023.
  31. ^"Punk's Dead - Single by SOFT PLAY on Apple Music".Retrieved12 September2023.
  32. ^"Mirror Muscles - Single by SOFT PLAY on Apple Music".Retrieved14 March2024.
  33. ^"Control (feat. Slaves) - Single by Chase & Status on Apple Music".itunes.apple.Retrieved26 October2017.
  34. ^"Nothing Great About Britain (Deluxe) / slowthai".Tidal.Retrieved17 May2019.
[edit]
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