The Attendant 2020 – present

‘Suburban surrealism, psychedelic urbanity, Stephen Duffy living on a hill with Wire as house guests, taking the world apart and reassembling it beatifically off-kilter.’
International Times

I started The Attendant during the strange days of early of 2020. Surrounded by empty city streets and silent threats, it seemed like the right time to start working on the best way to frame the poems I’d always written. The still and productive days made the writing more focused and intense, with the curious, unexpected space outside somehow giving me the space to speak out the words I’d always written and not quite known what to do with.

I started talking over primitive drum machine and guitars – off grid recording. I played them to a very close and trusted friend unsure about what I’d made – whether it was anything…she said it was and that was enough for me to go forwards.

I then contacted long-time collaborator/ producer Ian Button (Death in Vegas, Go Kart Mozart, Thrashing Doves) and The Attendant became a thing with words and tracks tumbling out over the long, disembodied months of 2020 and 21. We exchanged ideas via conversations on Zoom and over emaiI, bouncing recordings and ideas between us throughout the Spring and Summer: recording, re-recording, improvising words and music until the tracks were done.

We released our first six tracks over a series of three lathe-cut 7inch singles, which sold out straight away. We then compiled these on a 10”, Audit, also sold out. We are currently working on a full length album.