Basement EP

The Basement
Teardrop
The Sea
Heart and Soul

The Basement EP produced by Ian Barter, Amy Winehouse's former guitarist and musical director contains four unique alt-folk songs by local East London singer-songwriter, Art Block. Ian recently produced an album which reached number 4 in the UK chart and has worked with artists such as Hannah Grace, Allman Brown, Paloma Faith and many others. The EP comes in limited edition 12" 180g beautiful transparent violet vinyl pressed by Packaged Sounds with stunning art deco style artwork by Belle Illustration. Fast becoming a collector's item, it has received sparkling reviews by US Tiktok vinyl aficionados and has been curated by the sound archives of the British Library as well as reaching a quarter of a million worldwide streams on Spotify and featuring on major playlists such as Mahogany.

The title song "The Basement" fuses old Roland TR-808 beats, subtle soft synths with Fender stratocaster electric guitar riffs and Art's tender vocal lines creating a truly original soundscape. "Teardrop" is a classic ballad that develops from a grand piano sample recorded at the legendary Hackney studio The Premises, to a fully fledged electric guitar, electronic beats and synth pads merging together. "The Sea" is a more folky ditty inspired by the Norfolk coast and the North Sea in particular featuring a vocal reminiscent of Leonard Cohen. Lastly "Heart and Soul" a mostly acoustic song featuring Barter on backing vocals and accordion, with synths, acoustic guitar and accordion intermingling to reach a majestic conclusion to this magnificent EP mixing electronic sounds with more traditional folk.