LAWNE / BETA PAN

Formed in 2019, Lawne is the result of a meeting of minds between old friends and self confessed music nerds Joe Nicklin and Joe Martin. Their sound draws upon myriad influences with dub, electronics, hip hop, psych, jazz, post-punk and Afrobeat all somehow ingrained within the mix. Comparisons to Mildlife, Nu Genea, Harvey Sutherland and Khruangbin wouldn’t be far off the mark, but such contemporaries form only part of the duo’s sonic soundscape as Fela Kuti, The Beach Boys and Herbie Hancock also weigh heavy on their repertoire, as Joe Nicklin explains:

“I had been working mainly as a live session drummer for a few years and missed being able to get my teeth into a project of my own, collaborating and building something that reflects my influences from the ground up. I knew Joe (Martin) a bit from home in North Oxfordshire but we reconnected after both moving to London and decided to start sending ideas back and forth shortly after. Originally we set out to make dance music with live instrumentation, but a shared love of psychedelic, jazz-funk and hip hop eventually saw our music also reflect these styles.”

Joe Martin goes on, “I’d been engaged on a solo electronic project for a few years but soon began to miss working collaboratively and writing music with instruments rather than creating solely on a laptop. I knew Joe from home and when he asked if I wanted to get together to make some music, it seemed like the perfect time. We’ve spent the last couple of years exploring different sounds and trying our best to work outside of our comfort zone; listening to a wider range of material as well as incorporating that into our own music.”

Beta Pan, the debut single to be taken from the pair’s debut LP, due for release in 2024, is in many ways the perfect introduction to their sound, as Joe Martin continues –

“The two sections allowed us to essentially write two fairly different and distinct pieces of music; the four to the floor, Fela-inspired groove of the outro is quite a departure from the trippy, dubby feel of the intro that comes before it, but I find that shift in feel really satisfying. As always, Joe’s vocals took it to another level, once those were sitting in the mix nicely – it felt totally complete. It’s a favourite of mine from the album for sure.”

Joe Martin goes further to explain exactly how Beta Pan came about, “We went through a phase of writing tunes with really separated A/B sections. This concept is all over the album and Beta Pan is a good example. The lyrics came from a really frustrating day of moving my canal boat where I live. I thought after such a long search I’d finally found a place to moor, only to find a sign saying ‘Keep clear, regatta this weekend’. I started running down the towpath, at my wits end to try and find another spot. Joe had come up with this melody a few days before and it had been stuck in my head since, so whilst running along I started singing it but with the words ‘The feeling you’ve got it, down on the water, got a regatta tomorrow.’”

Beta Pan is not the duo’s first musical outing together, with the gorgeous Tina being released on Wah Wah 45s’ sister label Allison Recordings back in 2021 and receiving love and praise from Huey Morgan on BBC 6 Music, as well as support on Jazz FM, Worldwide FM and Universal Rhythms.

Radio Play & Reactions

Radio play from Deb Grant (sitting in for Mary Anne Hobbs, BBC 6 Music), The New Music Fix (BBC 6 Music), Mark GV Taylor (Totally Wired Radio, UK), Enrique Domenech (CKUT 90.3FM, Canada), Tiago Santos (Radio Oxigenio, Portugal) https://www.oxigenio.fm/lawne-beta-pan/

“Ah, how good is that? Tempted to hit Rewind…. I love that record so much. It’s finally, finally here!” Deb Grant (BBC 6 Music, UK)

“Good stuff.” Robbie Vincent (Jazz FM, UK)

“Fucking amazing!” Bill Brewster (Low Life, UK)

“Straight on PBB RADIO’s playlist.” Laurent Garnier (PBB Radio, France)

“Smokey, Funky, Dubby. I like it!” Kei Dazzle Drums (Block Party, Japan)

“Very beautiful.” Ahu (Various, Istanbul / London)

“Beautiful opener.” Jan Hagenkoetter (Infracom!, Germany)

“Great!” Martijn Barkhuis (Jazz de Ville, Netherlands)

“Beautiful track! Gorgeous progression, very unique.” Jason Palma (Footprints, Canada)

“Really good, sweet still with a groove and dance vibe. Great for Radio Oxigenio, airplay right away on my daily morning show.” Tiago Santos (Radio Oxigenio, Portugal)

“Cool track!” DJ Angola (Wonderwheel, USA)

“Lovely!” Khillaudio (KhillaCast, Belgium)

“Brilliant!” Rustam Ospanoff (Jazzystan, USA)

“Amazing work!” Eric Tchaikovsky (Nightlight Radio Show, Ukraine)

“Incredible tune!!!” Marcus Milz (Radio Corax, Germany)

“Very nice summer into autumn vibe! love it! Will be playing!!” Raj Selli (Solar Radio, London)

“WOW!!!” Junior (Record Breakin’, USA)

“Just brilliant!” DJ Kobayashi (Batov Records / Soho Radio, London)

“Fantastic track – varied, openminded and groovy :)” Rolf Aeschimann (Open Broadcast, Switzerland)

“Delicious!” Veronique Prebolin (Radio Krim, France)

“Oooh yeah this is very tidy, nice one!” Chris Knight (Kilburn Garden Party, Scotland)

“A beautiful and atmospheric track.” DJ Mr Lob (Melbourne, Australia)

“On air a must!” Olgierd (Sofa Surfing, Poland)

“Lovely groove – supporting.” Andrew Haig (Bay FM, Australia)

“Beautiful!” David Hanke (Motor Jazz / Bathurst, Germany)

“You can hear the many influences all blended in to this one track. Lovely stuff.” Steve Johns (Solar Radio, UK)

“Psyche nice. Superbe riddim.” Jean Marc Baehler (Couleur 3, Switzerland)

“Tasty gear, nice ‘n’ dreamy the way I like it.” Bean Noodler (Soul Buggin’, UK)

“Like this a lot, especially the first half of the track.” Steve KIW (1BTN, UK)

“Love it!!!” Tony Heynen (Global Riddims, Belgium)

“Love the long intro and then the segue into the rest of the track.” Bob Hill (Illicit Grooves, UK)

“Pretty darn sublime. Props to all involved.” Dan Deep Tenor City (Soho Radio, UK)

“Nice one.” Tjerk Coers (Armada Music, Netherlands)

“Wow, didn’t expect that change of pace and a deep Balearic dub disco boogie…has to be ‘Single Of The Week’.” Gerry Hectic (YATM, UK)

“Amazing psychodelic jazz funk track!” Enrique Domenech (Freeform, Spain)

“I like it, this will make for a nice transition into upbeat tracks from a chilled / mellow set. Thanks, looking forward to supporting.” DJ Nelito (Power FM, UK)

“Brilliant!” Olivier Cavaller (Del La Bonne Musique, France)

“Nicely done guys: clever!” Cal Gibson (Various, UK)

“Yep, like it!” Lorenzo Aldino (Jockey Club Ibiza, Spain)

“Yes, like the instrumental very much…” Marky Johnson (1BTN, UK)

“Wonderful!!!” Karsten John (Vinyl Vibes, Germany)

“WOW. WHAT A GROOVE!!!!” Mr Shiver (Various, UK)

“What a super track. Could be somewhere between Grace Jones’ ‘Libertango’ and ESG.” Nick Emancipation (The Alternative 9, UK)

“Excellent.” Robert Lochmann (Radio X, Germany)

“We are loving this beauty!!!” Aja Allsop (Ketch A Vibe, UK)

“Can’t wait for the album. A slice of sonic soothing, solid groove real universal rhythm.” DJ Expression (What’s Hot Radio, UK)

“VERY NICE!!” Sven Thomschke (Radio Z, Germany)

“Like this with the vocal – gives it a better feel.” DJ Abbo (Stomp Radio, UK)

“Imaginative & engaging, the transition from one half to the other is superb, the sounds used and the slow build-up to vocals which sit well within the soundscape all converge in something quite new and interesting. Nice Pearl & Dean ending too ;)” Drummie Dave (Various, UK)