Next Wave #678: Plaitum

Precocious pop with a wild edge...

At the opening drop in ‘LMHY’ – Plaitum’s lead single from their self-titled debut EP – a blood-curling shriek pierces the void before giving way to a volley of pearlescent synth notes and rumbling, clenched fist sub-bass. As far as introductions go, it’s a wholly appropriate baptism for a duo that excel at knitting together the incongruous and get their kicks from subverting electro-pop norms.

Not even of legal drinking age, Abi Dersiley and Matt Canham first came to attention way back in summer 2011 when they turned heads with their precocious witch-house thumper ‘Geisha’. Yet in relation to their friendship timeline, the track still came along relatively late. Speaking to Clash in between rehearsals, Matt explains: “We grew up and went to school together. Music was what we bonded over when we were stuck next to each other at 10 or 11 in the classroom. We were in a lot of really bad bands that would last for like, two weeks where it was just me, Abi and a drummer playing awful indie rock at a school show while hating every minute of it.”

The broodiness so inherent in Plaitum’s music can also be traced back to those young years. As an eight-year-old, Abi’s first ever concert was Anthrax, while Matt played in various metal bands. “I think that’s where the distorted side of our music comes from. We’ve been in so many metal bands where there’s that tendency to make everything way too loud. When we first made R&B and trip-hop, we still had that idea where we wanted it to be in your face,” adds Abi.

After taking several years out to build up their song arsenal, the band now find themselves signed to Paul Epworth’s Wolfe Tone label with the super-producer embracing their eccentricities as they push towards finalising the forthcoming LP. Effusively, Matt says that, “rather than just put some sort of pop influence on the EP he pushed us more towards the darker side. He was like, ‘we don’t need to go into this pop world – make it weird,’ and he kept coming up with ideas. Although he has really clarified ideas, at the same time he’s also like, ‘make loads of random shit’.”

The linguistic discord surrounding the Plaitum name will no doubt rumble on for a while yet (neologism or intentional malapropism?), but it seems set that this friendship still has several chapters left to run.

WHERE: London via Colchester
WHAT: CHVRCHES gone rogue
GET 3 SONGS: ‘LMHY’, ‘Carousel’, ‘Higher’

FACT: The first song Matt and Abi ever wrote together featured a three-string phin (lute), which Abi discovered on a trip to Thailand

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Words: Graeme Campbell
Styling: Justin Hamilton
Photography: Samuel Bradley

Plaitum will release new EP 'Jagwa' on May 20th.

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