Biography
Multi-instrumentalists Aaron Fletcher and Tim Parkin spent nearly ten years performing together in the Bees before launching a new project called 77:78 as a duo during the latter half of the 2010s. Their first full-length effort under this name, the 2018 album Jellies, displayed the same agile movement across genres and inventive blending of styles that marked their earlier work, though now filtered through a noticeably breezier, sunlit atmosphere.
Following the Bees’ dissolution in the early 2010s, Fletcher and Parkin chose to continue their partnership. Over several years they composed and rehearsed whenever time permitted, including a focused writing retreat in a Dorset barn where they shaped unfinished sketches into finished songs. Recording took place at the Isle of Wight studio belonging to Jim and Rob Homes, who operate under the name Boe Weaver and served as producers. The pair remained uncertain about the project’s ultimate direction until Aaron, after DJing alongside Heavenly Records founder Jeff Barrett, forwarded some early recordings; impressed by the material, Barrett offered the duo a deal in 2016, prompting more dedicated album sessions.
A full-band debut performance occurred in London early in 2018, followed in February by the white-label 45 “Love Said (Let’s Go),” which generated immediate interest and sold out within two days. The buoyant single “Chilli” appeared in June, backed with a Dubwood Allstars remix. Despite initial hopes of charting a markedly different course, these tracks confirmed that 77:78 were once again combining vintage soul, gentle psychedelia, loose-limbed funk, and dub reggae into a cohesive, warmly textured sound reminiscent of their previous band. Jellies arrived the following month.
Following the Bees’ dissolution in the early 2010s, Fletcher and Parkin chose to continue their partnership. Over several years they composed and rehearsed whenever time permitted, including a focused writing retreat in a Dorset barn where they shaped unfinished sketches into finished songs. Recording took place at the Isle of Wight studio belonging to Jim and Rob Homes, who operate under the name Boe Weaver and served as producers. The pair remained uncertain about the project’s ultimate direction until Aaron, after DJing alongside Heavenly Records founder Jeff Barrett, forwarded some early recordings; impressed by the material, Barrett offered the duo a deal in 2016, prompting more dedicated album sessions.
A full-band debut performance occurred in London early in 2018, followed in February by the white-label 45 “Love Said (Let’s Go),” which generated immediate interest and sold out within two days. The buoyant single “Chilli” appeared in June, backed with a Dubwood Allstars remix. Despite initial hopes of charting a markedly different course, these tracks confirmed that 77:78 were once again combining vintage soul, gentle psychedelia, loose-limbed funk, and dub reggae into a cohesive, warmly textured sound reminiscent of their previous band. Jellies arrived the following month.
Albums
Singles
