Letherette

Letherette are an electronic duo from Wolverhampton, made up of Richard Roberts and Andy Harber. The pair meet at secondary school at the age of 11 and grow up about thirty minutes apart in the same city. Both are born during a severe December snowstorm that stops ambulances reaching their homes. They begin as childhood friends and keep making music together from their early experiments onward.

Early influences and development

Andy Harber sings in the car with his mother and two older sisters on family journeys to Wales, harmonising to The Carpenters. He also listens to guitar music by Jimi Hendrix, The Beatles, The Moody Blues and T. Rex, buys an MC Hammer tape as his first record purchase, and later becomes drawn to electronic music such as Orbital and Aphex Twin, as well as the work of Stockhausen. Richard Roberts has an early musical awakening after hearing The Four Tops’ “Reach Out and I’ll Be There”; his father has a large soul collection, which he explores in youth. Roberts teaches himself guitar by freezing videotapes and copying chord shapes.

The two start making music by recording improvised sessions for hours at a time, initially creating experimental tracks. They use Andy’s better equipment when Roberts visits his house. Their teenage years also include commercial house music at Wolverhampton clubs such as The Canal and Light Bar, where Harber works as a glass collector at 16 and the pair go clubbing together.

Scene connections and early releases

Letherette become part of a generation of electronic artists linked through the same scene and education. Actress is two years above them, while Alex Nut is in the same year. Nut introduces them to Bibio, who becomes a close friend and contemporary. Roberts and Harber also attend courses at Sonic Arts college, and they meet other artists including Kwes, Machinedrum and Jimmy Edgar through Myspace, alongside Brownswood Records connections.

In 2009 they remix Machinedrum and Bibio. In 2010 they are asked to contribute a track to the Brownswood Electric compilation. Their first live performance is at the launch of that compilation, where technical problems affect the set. A mix for Andrew Meza’s BTS radio and two EPs released by Alex Nut on Hotep are further turning points. Manager Greg Eden later takes them on after they step up their work, and their demos lead to a deal with Ninja Tune in 2012.

Albums and style

Letherette become full-time musicians and release a debut album on Ninja Tune. Their music is described through its playful, 1970s-referencing feel, with a strong beat-driven and electronic character that also draws on club music and experimentation. The duo say they aim to keep making music they are proud of and to avoid becoming stale.

Later work

They later make and release an EP titled Mixed Waste during lockdown. They then complete their first album Fiesta, which they had planned before COVID. The album’s songs predate the EP, but they spend time rewriting, rearranging and tightening them through live performance before recording. They describe the process as similar to communal therapy and say the album is recorded in a way that captures their live energy.

The title Fiesta refers to the bull-fights in Pamplona. They note that they oppose bull-fighting, but are interested in its imagery and in the idea of violence and ritual, which they connect to the physical and expressive nature of concerts.