‘The Sun’ - The latest EP from LSMarley
May 3rd 2026 - Written by Ellis Brown
“Staring directly at the sun. It’s so bright, I can feel”. ‘The Sun’, the latest EP from Northern England-based musician LSMarley (Luke Samuel Marley) opens with this repeated phrase, a chanted mantra over and over, that sets the tone for the rest of the EP. This project dives into an exploration of vocal performance as well as ritual in repetition, evident in the title track as well as ‘Mechanically Reclaimed Meat’, the latter of which cycles through instances of eerie, fast spoken words, like a whisper in your ear, both enticing and strangely comforting when paired with the sharp stabs of noise present in the rhythm of the track.
The construction of the tracks takes elements from found sound, as well as manipulated live performance, leading to a sound that is conducive to the industrial feel of the sonic compositions. Live performance is very central to Marley’s work, regularly collaborating with contemporary dance companies, visual artists and performance art collectives, including the event series ‘Self’, which he founded with fellow Manchester-based artist VMS Angel.
The second track on the EP echoes loudly with an onward march of booming drums, and a light, autotuned, floating vocal which blankets over the top of the spoken word section. The combination leads to a juxtaposed range of emotions, alluding to a positive outlook through an industrial landscape, mirroring the city of Manchester itself. The listener is led down this journey through the EP, with undulating bouts of militaristic drum patterns and reprises of harmonic resonance, which lies as the calm between storms. While listening, I am reminded of the turmoil of creation itself, trying to keep a momentum of constant output, finding a voice while the world seems to stack taller and taller around you. Marley illustrates a sense of scale through the EP, which reminds me of the Manchester skyline, tall, looming and grey.
The release was punctuated with a live AV performance at Self in Manchester on the 1st of May, further deepening the connections of live manipulation of sound, sampling and improvisation.
The EP closes out with 2 B-side edits from Glasgow’s Noise Hz and fellow Morsel label-mate Tawn. Noise Hz’s ‘Blown Out’ remix of The Sun pushes the industrial exploration to its limits, bringing elements of harsh noise to the track, which are arranged with periodic gaps to create an illusion of rhythm and a beat; a thumping onslaught of distortion that marries the cold mechanical nature of both Manchester and Glasgow.
The final track, an edit of ‘Split’ by Tawn, brings the explosive feeling of the sound back down and in a different direction, with percussive breaks, a much more calming end, but equally as technically minded. The washing synths are reminiscent of a journey through a dystopian city, feeling as though they are driving a character forward, brimming with determination. The track eventually bursts bright with snapping snares and chattering hi-hats provided by Alex Howes, eventually fading out, leaning towards a lighter path through the warmth of the sun.
