Hyde & Beast released their debut album ‘Slow Down’ on 15 August, through Tail Feather Records. They are two drummers from the North East, Dave Hyde (Hyde) from Futureheads and Neil Bassett (Beast) from Golden Virgins. Together they have made a magnificent record by accident, ‘Slow Down’, with Hyde on vocals and both Hyde & Beast writing, recording, producing and mixing the album themselves, resulting in a very special project born out of a labour of love and a wonderful detour from the pair’s usual musical output.
The two drummers recorded at Beast’s Sunderland studio at the rate of one song a day, with Field Music’s David Brewis and solo artist Lucas Renney also providing some beautiful bass and guitar on two tracks ‘Lord, Send For Me’ and ‘You Will Be Lonely’. A sprawling, gentle psychedelic meander, ‘Slow Down’ harks back to a more experimental approach to songwriting, with some of the songs seemingly writing themselves as they recorded live in the studio. Inspired by the music Hyde & Beast love listening to, ‘Slow Down’ recalls a golden age of mainstream pop meeting the sonic adventurism and kaleidoscopic music from the late 60s and early 70s, with more than a nod to the greats of that era Captain Beefheart, Velvet Underground and T Rex.
