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They came from the trees.
Now settled in fertile east London, Snapped Ankles maintain the feral energy of the forest. Fight or flight. Primal motorik rhythms, the rush of white noise and post-punk angles; an aural onslaught played out on homemade log synths, electrified guitars and sticks beating hell on taut animal skin.
Snapped Ankles have flourished in the sub-tropical climes of warehouse and squat parties, moving onto performance art collaborations with filmmakers and shows in unlikely locations such as barber shops, games arcades and the forests they once called home. They plough a singular furrow at improbable angles. The woodwose have discovered electricity and they’re not afraid to use it.
https://www.snappedankles.com/
Kiran Leonard’s unique and ambitious body of work spans more than a decade of releases on labels such as Moshi Moshi and Hand of Glory, limited-run noisy DIY fare, and everything in between. The adolescent guitar/chamber prog of early records such as ‘Bowler Hat Soup’ (2013) and ‘Grapefruit’ (2016) earned praise from Pitchfork, the Guardian and the Quietus, and produced several BBC 6Music-playlisted singles. More recent work has seen Kiran attempt to synthesise interests in situated/home recording, collage, his live practice, and a combination of songcraft with graphic scores, as documented on the monumental (i.e. two-hour-long) and abstract ‘Trespass on Foot’ (2021) and ‘River Holds Peace, Some Live’ (2023), a collection of new and old material arranged for an ensemble of multiple electric guitars, cittern and double bass.
Returning this year after half a decade of songs without choruses at the ripe old age of 28, Kiran will release new album ‘Real Home’ on 17th April via Memorials of Distinction. Preceded by two singles, ‘Treat Me a Stranger’ (a 44-second country-tinged ode to domesticity and the Singing Brakeman himself, Jimmie Rodgers) and ‘My Love, Let’s Take the Stage Tonight’ (a more standard-length three-minute quote “guitar pop banger”), ‘Real Home’ is the most concise and well-honed summary so far of his multivalent oeuvre (in other words, it’s his best!) Following a sold-out show at Windmill Brixton in early March, he will be supporting the album’s release with a short UK tour in May, with a new band featuring members of caroline, Shovel Dance Collective, and Historically Fucked.
