Whitelands
Shoegaze band from London, England
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Whitelands is a shoegaze band from London, England. Originally formed as a solo recording project by Etienne Quartey-Papafio, the current lineup is also made up of Michael Adelaja, Vanessa Govinden, and Jagun Meseorisa. The band is currently signed to the record label Sonic Cathedral.
Whitelands | |
|---|---|
Whitelands at Islington Assembly Hall in April 2025 | |
| Background information | |
| Origin | London, England |
| Genres | Shoegaze, dream pop, alternative rock |
| Years active | 2016–present |
| Label | Sonic Cathedral |
| Members |
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History
Formed in 2017 originally as a solo recording project by Etienne Quartey-Papafio (vocals and guitar), it is now a full band completed by Michael Adelaja (guitar), Vanessa Govinden (bass), and Jagun Meseorisa (drums).
Their first full band live performance was at First Timers 2017, at DIY Space for London.[1]
Their first full-length album Night-Bound Eyes Are Blind to the Day was released on Sonic Cathedral in February 2024.[2][3][4][5][6] In June 2024, NME called it one of the best debut albums of the year so far.[7] In November 2024, Rough Trade listed the album as number 64 on their top 100 albums of 2024.[8]
On 18 June 2025, the band released the single "Heat of the Summer".[9] On 30 September, the band released a further single titled "Glance" and announced that their next album Sunlight Echoes would be released on 30 January 2026. A music video was made for the song featuring David Jonsson and Honor Swinton Byrne.[10] On 20 November, they released a third single from the album, "Songbird (Forever)", also accompanied by a music video.[11]
Discography
- Old News (2018), self-released
- Whitelands (2018), self-released digitally and on cassette on For the Sake of Tapes
- compilation (2019), Hidden Bay Records
- Night-Bound Eyes Are Blind to the Day (2024), Sonic Cathedral
- Sunlight Echoes (2026), Sonic Cathedral