With a blend of sounds from contemporary R&B, electronica, and 70s to 80s inspired synth-pop, London-based four-piece PREP share their brand new single “15th Floor”, the third instalment from their upcoming EP. Over an array of laid-back sunny beats, “15th Floor” instantly transports listeners into another headspace that traverses every emotion from endless wonder, to nostalgia and loss.
“Someone’s alone in an apartment, 15 floors up, feeling like they’re losing connection with the city and the people around them. Watching TV, missing their ex, making occasional trips down to the lobby to pick up a food order, and dreaming about a different kind of life,” PREP shares.
PREP is no stranger to Southeast Asia. The band has played multiple shows in the region, notably their 2018 Asia Tour that included stops in cities like Jakarta, Singapore, Bali, Bangkok, and Manila. Most recently, the band played a set at Java Jazz Festival 2020 in Jakarta right before the pandemic hit.
The band hallmarks their time building their fanbase in Asia as an important pivot where PREP’s sense of sonic possibility expanded. “At one point we thought PREP would just be a studio project,” Llywelyn elaborates. “But we played gigs that went really well, and we spent some amazing time in Asia.” Indonesia remains the band’s top city based on streams worldwide, followed closely by the Philippines, Thailand and Singapore.
With such a strong vision for the sound and aesthetic, PREP is as much a concept as a band, meaning collaboration is welcome. Sought-after talent like rising electro-pop star Anna of the North, South Korean R&B crooner DEAN, and Paul Jackson Jr, who played guitar on Michael Jackson’s “Beat It”, have all stepped into the world of PREP.
PREP is vocalist-lyricist Tom Havelock, keyboardist Llywelyn ap Myrddin, drummer Guillaume Jambel, and producer Dan Radclyffe. With Steely Dan and Bobby Caldwell as lodestars, PREP is pop music that feels tip-of-the-tongue familiar even though you’ve never heard it before. Stay tuned for an EP coming later in the year.
