Kieran Shudall, lead singer and guitarrist of Liverpool indie rock favourites Circa Waves, shared the debut single from his side project. The track is called ‘H8 Lovin‘ produced under the artistic pseudonym VEN and licensed under PIAS on behalf of Prolifica Inc. The song is already available to stream or download on all major platforms. The release today was accompanied by emotive music video, and symbolically marked the inception of VEN.
I’m extremely excited to show you the first track from this new project. It’s called VEN.
https://t.co/YkoFF8MRBz pic.twitter.com/Qpw6lOlTnB— @vensounds (@vensounds) November 24, 2020
‘H8 Lovin‘ switches off the signature alternative rock elements of Circa Waves but maintains their gentle melodies and indie sensibility. VEN delivers a personal and minimalistic track with soulflul rhythm and certain R&B feel that replaces live instrumentation for experimental electronics. Lyrically, the track is an intimate romantic conversation with certain relevance to our “normal” lives of recent months: “seven hours on this couch / yeh i should try and leave this house / i lose momentum every sentence / that leaves my mouth“.
Kieran Shudall has been the driving force behind Circa Waves ever since their formation in 2013. He played key part during the composition and recording process during all of their records so far – from their critically acclaimed debut Young Chasers (2015), through its follow-up Different Creatures (2017) and What’s It Like Over There? (2019) to the band’s latest Sad Happy from 2020. Without VEN suggesting any changes to the band, Shudall made sure to reassure his followers while announcing the debut single of his side project today: “I’m still writing Circa Waves bangers don’t worry“.
Earlier this year Circa Waves released their fourth studio album Happy Sad through Prolifica as a double release in January and March 2020. The record received predominantly positive reaction from critics and fans and reached a record fourth place in the main UK Albums Chart alongside a second position in the UK Indie Chart. It was also followed by the surprise EP Sadder, Happier from May, that featured a compilation of acoustic tracks and outtakes from the studio album recorded at Shudall’s home studio.
In a particularly productive year, Circa Waves followed with their uplifting latest single ‘Lemonade‘ featuring Alfie Templeman from August 2020. While being very much Circa Waves in overal sound and arrangement, the single is significantly closer to VEN’s more experimental indie direction. The initial responses to ‘H8 Lovin‘ have been predominantly warm, with fans really embracing Shudall’s new “wonderful adventure“.
Circa Waves return to touring in March 2021 for the re-scheduled Sad Happy UK tour. Originally, the band was supposed to perform throughout spring and summer but naturally had to postpone all their gigs due to the first global wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. At this point, all shows next March are expected to go through if all restrictions are lifted by then.
04/03/2021 – O2 Academy – Glasgow
06/03 – Mountford Hall – Liverpool
09/03 – O2 Academy – Leicester
10/03 – Brixton Academy – London
12/03 – Keele University – Stoke
13/03 – Waterfront – Norwich
14/03 – Tramshed – Cardiff
