Stealing Sheep

Liverpool trio Stealing Sheep comprised Emily Lansley (guitar, vocals), Rebecca Hawley (keys, vocals) and Lucy Mercer (percussion, vocals) who met during 2010 and then formed the band in the city over a cup of tea at the Mello Mello café. The group set about writing and rehearsing that summer and began to produce their haunting psych-folk sound, drenched with otherworldly harmonies, jaunty guitars, and almost tribal, hypnotic beats. With a handful of songs written, the band launched into recording what would become their debut EP, What if the Lights Went Out. They found help in first-time producer Joe Wills, who set up in a school in Toxteth, Liverpool to record the band’s early compositions. Wills’ valuable input encouraged some experimental techniques and ultimately helped mold their diverse sound.

Citing a variety of influences from Twin Sister to Broadcast, alongside Krautrock and freak-folk music, their three-part harmonies and droning synths created a dark and brooding sound that nodded to Efterklang and Mice Parade. Following the release of their second EP, Noah and the Paper Moon, the band began to receive radio play from some of BBC 6 Music’s influential DJs such as Lauren Laverne and Jarvis Cocker. The trio’s innovative vocal interplay took on a bewitching nursery rhyme quality at times, while their three-part harmonies could be equally haunting and beautiful. The single from the EP “I Am the Rain” was recorded during one fleeting midnight visit to Abbey Road studios.

The band was then snapped up in the U.K. by Heavenly Records following the release of their second EP and the radio hype that ensued. They have toured with the likes of St. Vincent, tUnE-yArDs, and Emmy the Great and “Shut Eye” — the first fruit from sessions for their debut album — was released in May 2012.