SXSW 2012

New Build formed in London in 2011. The band comprises three core members: Al Doyle, Felix Martin and Tom Hopkins. Al Doyle is the lyricist and "voice" of the band. He plays with Hot Chip and the now-retired LCD Soundsystem.  He is a multi-instrumentalist who plays guitar, bass, percussion, strings, and steel pans.  Felix Martin, a fellow member of Hot Chip, is a musician, producer & DJ. Tom Hopkins is a studio engineer and electronic composer who has worked with a number of musicians at Lanark Studio. - New Build are releasing their debut album "Yesterday Was Lived & Lost" in the United States in April. The album is a meeting point for some pretty strange and varied ideas. These are by and large pop songs, both bold and intimate, which draw inspiration from the eccentricities of artists such as
the Human League, Peter Gabriel, Robert Wyatt, Chris & Cosey, Cabaret Voltaire and Eno. New Build tap into these peculiarly English quirks - odd ideas and impulses, sometimes even in conflict, somehow summed into winning pop formulas. Their songs are sinuous, propulsive, well tempered, and though each has its own peculiar character, they are
united by an obscure, ultimately bleak lyrical vision.  As a live unit, New Build are dedicated to realising their music in as full and exciting a way as possible. They are joined by Ben Ubly on bass guitar; Rupert Clervaux on drums; Charlie Michael on percussion, and Hannah Thomson on vocals.  - New Build are releasing music on their own fledgling label, Lanark Recordings, with their first two releases both limited edition 12"s featuring artwork by Felix's father Andy Martin. Their album features artwork by another Martin, Felix's brother Bevis, an artist living in France who collaborates with his partner Charlie Youle. The "family and friends" nature of these releases is no accident and Lanark Recordings hope to release music by some of their close friends, currently lurking in deep obscurity, later in 2012.