Guest Singer

“Sharp and savvy” The Sunday Times - Breaking Act

Now Hear This The Independent

“off-kilter and intelligent introspection” The Line of Best Fit 

“a dreamy escape” DIY Magazine

“off-piste pop for the after-party crew” CLASH

“eminently catchy” DORK Magazine 

Doncaster group Guest Singer release new EP Divine Psychic Hotline - through MNRK MUSIC GROUP - today. Accompanied by a thrilling live session video of ‘The Event’. 

Guest Singer is the brainchild of Doncaster based Jake Cope and co-writer France Lahmar. Live, the duo are joined by electro cohorts Max Hodkingson (keys & sampler) and Paul Burdett (Guitar), and will be making their return to the stage in Brighton as part of the Alt-Escape on May 11th ahead of some soon to be announced local dates… 

They compose dark party songs - taut pop hooks, glitchy bass lines, new wave guitar stabs and electronic dance are soaked in the combustible elegance of Cope’s vocal delivery. Thematically they occupy an area in-between despair and optimism, and this liminal mind space is reflected in the sonics and aesthetic they create - as they explain with recourse to the forthcoming EP:

“This collection of songs came together with a clear concept in mind. There had to be a reflective element and also a sense of foreshadowing about it. Like with everything we try to hide the darkness with a counter sounding melody. That way we aren’t going the whole hog in terms of darkness, it keeps things light for those who are more interested in the immediate. That balance has always been important. We do live for the sad though.” 

And on focus track ‘The Event’ they lean into this ‘darkness’ - detailing in their droll manner: 

“It’s a song of two halves.  The initial instrumental idea started with our producer Matt Peel. A large part of it is about how the rich will leave us behind in the face of a catastrophic ‘event’. The second half is just a reminder to look up, look around. We choose what we want to see based on how we want to feel about what we are viewing. Things are really bad for a lot of people! Remember that! Realism, always, forever!” 

Guest Singer fall in-line with retro-modern contemporaries like Nation of Language, W.H Lung and Working Men’s Club in terms of both sound and offbeat societal observations - following also in the lineage of LCD Soundsystem and Animal Collective’s art-rock sensibilities. 

Having shaped ideas and dug the foundations of songs in social isolation, Jake Cope, France Lamar and producer Matt Peel take the raw materials to the studio with one intent: “The objective was to try and cement the notion of the sad banger.”  

Two previous EPs – 2019s ‘I’m Irrelevant Now’ and 2020s ‘Limbo Days’ – won fans at The BBC, DIY, Loud & Quiet, Dork, Clash, The Line of Best Fit, Fred Perry, David Dean Burkhart and Amazing Radio. A mainstay of BBC Introducing in the north, Guest Singer have recorded sessions and played festival stages for the corporation.  

Divine Psychic Hotline the new EP from Guest Singer is out now