Whitelands

Originally sparked by a Slowdive performance captured for KEXP, the musicians in Whitelands merge their varied musical histories into a fresh, hazy reinterpretation of shoegaze that amplifies voices from the margins. Launched in the late 2010s by U.K. musician Etienne Quartey-Papafio as a solo endeavor, the project issued its first proper full-length recording as a group with the 2024 release Night-Bound Eyes Are Blind to the Day.

Etienne Quartey-Papafio, who had performed in a school ensemble during his teenage years, initially launched Whitelands alone. The name derives from the college at London's Roehampton University where he delivered his earliest gig; his unfocused self-titled debut surfaced in 2018, blending jagged indie rock with grungier, hazier material. In 2019 a recommended-video suggestion led him to footage of the re-formed Slowdive's 2017 Live on KEXP appearance, sharpening his direction. He then recruited drummer Jagun Meseorisa, formerly a choir participant who had been creating R&B; bassist Vanessa Govinden, who had toured with Black feminist punk band Big Joanie; and guitarist Michael Adelaja, whose prior experiments spanned genres such as techno. The four shared experiences navigating neurodivergence and racial identity.

After issuing a run of echo-washed self-released singles firmly planted in shoegaze, including "How It Feels" and "Born in Understanding," the quartet joined Sonic Cathedral. The revamped group's first album under the label, the self-produced Night-Bound Eyes Are Blind to the Day, appeared in February 2024. Saturated with recurring motifs of light, struggle, and acceptance, the record drew its title from Kahlil Gibran's 1923 volume of prose poetry, The Prophet.