James Brute + Laura Fell

James Brute

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James Brute is the solo project of James Steel, former frontman of The Brute Chorus. Written after relocating from London to Hastings with his young family, his debut solo album Move To The Ghost explores memory, displacement and longing. Drawing on folk, post-blues and alt-Americana, the songs pair acoustic and heavily saturated electric guitars with vintage drum machines, tape delay and spacious arrangements to create an intimate, emotionally direct sound.

Over the past year his live work has grown from Hastings open mic nights to sold-out shows in London, appearances at Fat Tuesday Festival, Brighton’s Alt Escape and an Eat Your Own Ears showcase, before supporting Soul Asylum on their 2026 UK tour. Recent praise has included Punktuation calling the performances “wonderfully unsettling.”

About the album

Written after moving from London to Hastings with his young family, Move To The Ghost documents a period of profound personal change. Relocation, new parenthood and the slow process of beginning again find their way into a collection of songs haunted by memory, displacement and the uneasy feeling of standing between one life and the next.

Drawing on folk, post-blues and alt-Americana, the album pairs acoustic and saturated electric guitars with vintage drum machines, tape delay and understated arrangements that favour atmosphere over perfection. Recorded with producer Sean Woodlock in East Sussex, many performances were captured live before being gradually expanded through instinctive contributions from longtime collaborators including John J Presley (pedal steel), Paul O’Keeffe (backing vocals) and Dave Ferrett (bass).

Across its ten songs, familiar places become strange, former relationships linger in empty streets and moments of hope quietly emerge from uncertainty. Rather than offering neat resolutions, Move To The Ghost inhabits the space between leaving and arriving, asking whether we are haunted by the places we’ve left behind or whether, over time, we become the ghosts ourselves.

Released on 16 October 2026, the album follows the singles Fire Of Love and Turn You On (If I Could Still) and will be accompanied by a series of films by David Fishel that extend its world of fading light, liminal spaces and quiet isolation.

Move To The Ghost will be released on Digital and Ltd Edition LP on October 16.

Laura Fell

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Following the success of her debut album ‘Safe From Me’ in 2020 on Balloon Machine Records, Fell took a 3-year hiatus from music before returning in 2024 with a trio of introspective songs on EP ‘At Least I Tried,’ an ethereal ode to heartbreak and an evocative journey through the theme of loss.Making up for lost time, Fell also released another EP in May 2025 – ‘Talk It All Apart’ – where she navigates us through the various phases of romantic relationships; exploring the patterns that repeat themselves, the resulting frustration and confusion as to how to do it differently, and grappling with and striving to overcome barriers to intimacy and connection. Her 2025 EP ‘Talk It All Apart’ marked a new sound for Fell, enlisting her friend – Berlin-based singer-songwriter and drummer Robert Kretzschmar (Anna Erhard, Albertine Sarges, Kat Frankie) – to produce the EP. resulting in something lighter and more playful than her previous releases – crunchy electric guitar, sparse bass and melodic synth lines reminiscent of Aldous Harding’s production – offering a juxtaposition to the depth and introspection of Fell’s lyrics.Fell is currently working on her next release with Mercury-Prize winning producer Mike Lindsay (Tunng, LUMP, Speech Debelle, Anna B Savage) set to be released in 2026. Fell’s talent for lyrical craftsmanship permeates every song; simultaneously forceful yet fragile, they invite listeners to delve beneath the surface to unearth the profound meanings within.