Sleaford Mods

British hip-hop/punk act Sleaford Mods began in 2006 as the recording project of Nottingham vocalist and musician Jason Williamson. The initial seed of the band's aggressive, no-nonsense, blue-collar sound was worked out by Williamson over the first couple of years both in the studio and at occasional gigs, where he would rap over pre-recorded beats and samples. After relocating to London for a time, he returned to Nottingham, where he met Andrew Fearn, a veteran musician who was DJing at the time. The two joined forces in 2010 with Fearn taking on most of the backing tracks, freeing up Williamson to further evolve as a vocalist and lyricist. Their first recorded collaboration was on the CD-R release Wank, which appeared in 2012. Their minimalist combination of either lo-fi drum machine beats or live drums, mixed with pounding bass guitar and Williamson's ranting wordplay, set the tone that would define the band's sound. A prominent festival appearance led to their signing with the abstract-punk label Harbinger Sound, which released Sleaford Mods' 2013 album, Austerity Dogs, their first proper label release and first to receive widespread distribution. The album was critically well-received and the band's reputation and profile were raised significantly as they toured the U.K. and Europe. Their follow-up album, Divide and Exit, was released in April 2014. That October, the previously digital-only singles collection Chubbed Up was given a physical release with three bonus tracks. The following month, the duo capped off a triumphant 2014 with the Tiswas EP, which expanded on the Divide and Exit cut with previously unreleased tracks.