The past few years Launder’s John Cudlip has fully immersed himself into writing and arranging an overflow of ideas. While embracing sobriety, he redirected his once-destructive addictive tendencies into studio craft — all his thoughts and resources lobbed into gear, every lyric, buzz, hiss, and hum of this record became his entire world.
The resulting set sprawls across a double LP release; it’s a considered beast of a debut and he’s proud of it, living with it, finally. Through its thirteen songs, Happening is timeless, grappling with something bigger than just melody, the cathartic and the tender, indebted to indie rock greats while informed by modern and prudent self-reflection.
On his new single ‘Intake’, Launder aimed to record something uplifting, he explains, “‘Intake’ carries the rhythm of someone and something new, anticipating all the best and all the worst. These themes inspired a faster tempo and ascending chords. I let this track be indulgent in all the best ways and really leaned into all of the cleaner guitar sounds and single note guitar interplay similar to the early Launder songs. For those reasons, this track is a total joy for me and was a lot of fun to rehearse and record.”
Listen to ‘Intake’ HERE
After nearly three years and sixty demos, Cudlip and collaborators — including Chase Meier (bass), Bryan DeLeon (drums), Nathan Hawelu (lead guitar), French artist Soko (who takes the lead vocal duties on last single ‘Become’) — joined co-producer, engineer, and mixer Sonny DiPerri (My Bloody Valentine, Nine Inch Nails, DIIV) to record at New Monkey Studio (vintage analog/modern digital recording studio in Van Nuys, CA once owned by Elliott Smith.
Where debuts often feel full of rough-hewn potential, Launder has crafted a deeply honed collection that is happening right now. A process-oriented album, the work of a person maturing with their art, the sound of a songwriter pushing through their limits with thrilling and anthemic outcomes.
Happening is out 15th July via Ghostly across all digital retailers and vinyl format. Pre-order HERE
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