About the Quays

London/Kent based band The Quays were formed in 2002 when Brothers Stuart and Neil Ansell decided to put years of familial enmity aside and form a band together. The line up evolved over the next 18 months - Lauren Hynes, Simon Pain and Jen Lawrence joining the band, and this line up has survived famine, war, pestilence and the advent of Pixie Lott to bring joy to the world on a regular basis ever since.

Based around Stu’s acerbic yet melodic songwriting skills and Lauren’s soaring vocals, backed up with a powerful rhythm section, great harmonies and scrupulous punctuality, The Quays have been playing up a storm in venues up and down the country and have built up a small but psychotic following.

After releasing 3 EP’s from the back of cars, their debut single ‘Sayonara/ Voodoo doll’ was released in 2008 on their own ‘Obtuse Recordings’ label to positive reviews. It was awarded ‘single of the month’ in ‘Sound on Sound’ magazine, and this in turn enabled the recording of their first full album.

Entitled ‘This is you...’ it was recorded at ‘One Cat Studios’ in Brixton, and was released to universally positive reviews in 2009.

During the Summer of 2009 the band played a series of acoustic shows, showcasing new arrangements of songs from their album. These shows were very popular, and a decision was taken to record an EP of these, which will be released in late 2010.

Stylistically, the band have drawn from influences as diverse as Blondie, XTC, Portishead, Ok Go and The Mars Volta, but would ask that you take these with just a pinch of salt and make up your own minds on the subject.