Sleaford Mods are an English

post-punk Post-punk (originally called new musick) is a broad genre of music that emerged in late 1977 in the wake of punk rock. Post-punk musicians departed from punk's fundamental elements and raw simplicity, instead adopting a broader, more experiment ...

music duo, formed in 2007 in

Nottingham Nottingham ( , East Midlands English, locally ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in Nottinghamshire, East Midlands, England. It is located south-east of Sheffield and nor ...

. The band features vocalist Jason Williamson and, since 2012, instrumentalist Andrew Fearn. They are known for their abrasive, minimalist musical style and embittered explorations of austerity-era Britain, culture, and

working class The working class is a subset of employees who are compensated with wage or salary-based contracts, whose exact membership varies from definition to definition. Members of the working class rely primarily upon earnings from wage labour. Most c ...

life, delivered in Williamson's

East Midlands The East Midlands is one of nine official regions of England. It comprises the eastern half of the area traditionally known as the Midlands. It consists of Derbyshire, Leicestershire, Lincolnshire (except for North Lincolnshire and North East ...

accent. The duo have released several albums to critical praise.

History

Sleaford Mods 2019 Glastonbury Festival 06 crop

Williamson was born 10 November 1970, and raised in

Grantham Grantham () is a market town and civil parish in the South Kesteven district of Lincolnshire, England, situated on the banks of the River Witham and bounded to the west by the A1 road (Great Britain), A1 road. It lies south of Lincoln, England ...

Lincolnshire Lincolnshire (), abbreviated ''Lincs'', is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East Midlands and Yorkshire and the Humber regions of England. It is bordered by the East Riding of Yorkshire across the Humber estuary to th ...

. Inspired by the

mod subculture Mod, from the word ''modernist'', is a subculture that began in late 1950s London and spread throughout Great Britain, eventually influencing fashions and trends in other countries. It continues today on a smaller scale. Focused on music and f ...

and musical sources like the

Wu-Tang Clan Wu-Tang Clan is an American hip hop collective formed in Staten Island, New York City, in 1992. Its members include RZA, GZA, Method Man, Raekwon, Ghostface Killah, Inspectah Deck, U-God, Masta Killa, and, until his death in 2004, O ...

, he spent several years pursuing music unsuccessfully, both with various groups and as a solo singer-songwriter. He had also worked as a session musician with local artists as well as

Spiritualized Spiritualized (stylised as Spiritualized®) are an English rock band formed in 1990 in Rugby, Warwickshire, by Jason Pierce (often known as J. Spaceman), formerly of Spacemen 3. After several line up-changes, in 1999, the band centred on Pie ...

and Bent. Fearn (born 1971 in

Burton upon Trent Burton upon Trent, also known as Burton-on-Trent or simply Burton, is a market town in the borough of East Staffordshire in the county of Staffordshire, England, close to the border with Derbyshire. At the 2021 United Kingdom census, 2021 censu ...

) grew up on a farm in Saxilby, Lincolnshire. Williamson first met Fearn in 2009 after hearing him DJ at a small Nottingham club called the Chameleon, where he was playing his own rough-edged and minimal grime-inspired tracks. Sleaford Mods began when Simon Parfrement, a friend of Williamson's, suggested he combine his vocals with a music sample from a

Roni Size Ryan Owen Granville Williams (born 29 October 1969), better known by his stage name Roni Size, is an English DJ and record producer. He came to prominence in 1997 as the founder and frontman of Roni Size & Reprazent, a drum and bass collective. ...

album. Originally, the project was called "That's Shit, Try Harder", but was later changed in reference to

Sleaford Sleaford is a market town and Civil parishes in England, civil parish in the North Kesteven district of Lincolnshire, England. On the edge of the The Fens, Fenlands, it is north-east of Grantham, west of Boston, Lincolnshire, Boston, and sou ...

, a town in Lincolnshire, not far from Grantham. Williamson formed the band with Simon Parfrement, with whom he worked alongside a studio engineer at Rubber Biscuit Studio in Nottingham on their first four albums. Parfrement left the music production to Andrew Fearn after the release of the 2012 album ''Wank'', the first album to feature Fearn, but Parfrement continues to play an important role with the band as their photographer and media producer. On 10 December 2014, Williamson published the lyrics collection ''Grammar Wanker: Sleaford Mods 2007-2014'', followed by ''Jason Williamson's House Party: Sleaford Mods 2014-2019'' in 2019. A collaboration between Sleaford Mods and

the Prodigy The Prodigy are an English electronic music band formed in Braintree, Essex, in 1990 by producer, keyboardist, and songwriter Liam Howlett. The original line-up also featured Rapping, MC and vocalist Maxim (musician), Maxim, dancer and occasi ...

was announced at the end of 2014. They recorded a track together, "Ibiza", which appears on the Prodigy album '' The Day Is My Enemy'', released in March 2015. The

Leftfield Leftfield are a British electronic music group formed in London in 1989, a duo of Neil Barnes and Paul Daley (the latter formerly of The Rivals and A Man Called Adam). The duo was influential in the evolution of electronic music in the 1990s ...

album ''

Alternative Light Source ''Alternative Light Source'' is the third album by the English electronic group Leftfield, released on 8 June 2015. It is the first new material following the band's 1999 album '' Rhythm and Stealth''. It is also the first Leftfield album withou ...

'', released on 8 June 2015, also features a collaboration with Sleaford Mods, a track called "Head and Shoulders". The video for "Head and Shoulders" is a stop-motion/animation hybrid that debuted in August 2015. In July 2015, the band released a new album, '' Key Markets''. It was one of the 19 records nominated for the IMPALA Album of the Year Award. The band featured in two documentary films, '' Sleaford Mods: Invisible Britain'', released in 2015 and '' Bunch of Kunst. A Film About Sleaford Mods'', released in 2017. In 2016, an important turning point took place after many years, as Sleaford Mods left Harbinger Sound and signed with

Rough Trade Records Rough Trade Records is an independent record label based in London, England. It was formed in 1976 by Geoff Travis, who had opened a record store off Ladbroke Grove. It is currently run by co-managing directors Travis and Jeannette Lee and ...

. Their first release on the new label was the ''T.C.R.'' EP in 2016. In 2017, following the release of '' English Tapas'', Sleaford Mods embarked on their first North American tour. One year later, Sleaford Mods left Rough Trade, which eventually led to the dismissal of their long-time manager (and owner of Harbinger Records), Steve Underwood. After releasing '' Eton Alive'' on their own label Extreme Eating Records in 2019, the band returned to Rough Trade. This renewed cooperation resulted in the release of the compilation '' All That Glue'' in 2020 and ''

Spare Ribs Spare ribs (also side ribs or spareribs) are a variety of ribs cut from the lower portion of a pig, specifically the belly and breastbone, behind the shoulder, and include 11 to 13 long bones. Meat and fat cover the bones. Spare ribs (pork) ar ...

'' in 2021 (including the single " Mork n Mindy", which was released on 30 October 2020, and reached the top of the UK vinyl singles chart). In 2019, Williamson lent his vocals to the track "Talk Whiff" by Scorn. In 2022, Williamson acted as Lazarus in the series finale of ''Peaky Blinders''. Sleaford Mods appear alongside Orbital on the song "Dirty Rat", released on 20 October 2022. Their twelfth album, '' UK Grim'', was released on 10 March 2023. On 27 May 2023, the band appeared on '' Later... with Jools Holland''. During a concert in Madrid on 3 November 2023, the duo abruptly ended their performance after a

keffiyeh The keffiyeh (), also regionally known as a hattah (), ghutrah (), or shemagh (), is a traditional headdress worn by men from parts of the Middle East. It is fashioned from a square scarf, and is usually made of cotton. The keffiyeh is commonly ...

was thrown on stage. The band later posted on social media saying they believed the cloth throwing was an attempt to make them "pick sides" in the conflict in Palestine. On 22 November 2023 they covered the

Pet Shop Boys Pet Shop Boys are an English synth-pop duo formed in London in 1981. Consisting of vocalist Neil Tennant and keyboardist Chris Lowe, they have sold more than 100 million records worldwide and were listed as the most successful duo in UK music h ...

song "

West End Girls "West End Girls" is a song by English synth-pop duo Pet Shop Boys. Written by Neil Tennant and Chris Lowe, the song was released twice as a single. The song's lyrics are concerned with class and the pressures of inner-city life in London wh ...

" with profits being donated to Shelter.

Musical style

Sleaford Mods have described their work as "electronic munt minimalist punk-hop rants for the

." Williamson is responsible for the words, Fearn for the music. Sleaford Mods songs have been described as embittered rants about such topics as unemployment, modern working life, celebrities and pop culture, capitalism and society in general. The lyrics usually contain

profanity Profanity, also known as swearing, cursing, or cussing, is the usage of notionally word taboo, offensive words for a variety of purposes, including to demonstrate disrespect or negativity, to relieve pain, to express a strong emotion (such a ...

, which is, according to Williamson, the way in which he speaks and "not just fucking swearing". Fearn's music has been described as "purgatorial loop of "pugilistic post-punk-style bass; functional but unprepossessing beats; occasional cheap keyboard riffs and listless wafts of guitar." Williamson's voice on Sleaford Mods songs is ''

sprechgesang (, "spoken singing") and (, "spoken voice"), more commonly known as speak-singing in English, are expressionist musical vocal techniques between singing and speaking. Though sometimes used interchangeably, is directly related to the operatic re ...

'', rapped with his recognisable East Midlands accent. His vocal and lyrical style has variously been compared to

Shaun Ryder Shaun William George Ryder (born 23 August 1962) is an English singer, songwriter and poet. As lead singer of Happy Mondays, he was a leading figure in the Madchester cultural scene during the late 1980s and early 1990s. In 1993, he formed Bl ...

John Cooper Clarke John Cooper Clarke (born 25 January 1949) is an English performance poet and comedian who styled himself as a "punk poet" in the late 1970s. In the 1970s and early 1980s, he released several albums and performed on stage with punk and post-punk ...

Mark E. Smith Mark Edward Smith (5 March 1957 – 24 January 2018) was an English singer-songwriter. He was the lead vocalist, lyricist and only constant member of the post-punk group the Fall. Smith formed the band after attending the June 1976 Sex Pistol ...

Ian Dury Ian Robins Dury (12 May 1942 27 March 2000) was an English singer, songwriter and actor who rose to fame in the late 1970s, during the punk rock, punk and new wave music, new wave era of rock music. He was the lead singer and lyricist of Kilburn ...

, Mike Skinner and Nigel Blackwell as well as various

punk Punk or punks may refer to: Genres, subculture, and related aspects * Punk rock, a music genre originating in the 1970s associated with various subgenres * Punk subculture, a subculture associated with punk rock, or aspects of the subculture s ...

and

oi! Oi! is a subgenre of punk rock that originated in the United Kingdom in the late 1970s. The music and its associated subculture had the goal of bringing together punks, skinheads, and other disaffected working-class youth. The movement wa ...

artists. Williamson has cited influences including the

, the

Stone Roses The Stone Roses were an English rock band formed in Manchester in 1983. They were one of the pioneering groups of the Madchester movement in the late 1980s and early 1990s. The band's classic and most prominent lineup consisted of vocalist Ian ...

Nas Nas (born 1973) is the stage name of American rapper Nasir Jones. Nas, NaS, or NAS may also refer to: Aviation * Nasair, a low-cost airline carrier and subsidiary based in Eritrea * National Air Services, an airline in Saudi Arabia ** Nas Air (S ...

, Red Snapper, Trim, Two Lone Swordsmen,

rave A rave (from the verb: '' to rave'') is a dance party at a warehouse, club, or other public or private venue, typically featuring performances by DJs playing electronic dance music. The style is most associated with the early 1990s dance mus ...

and

black metal Black metal is an extreme metal, extreme subgenre of heavy metal music. Common traits include Tempo#Beats per minute, fast tempos, a Screaming (music)#Black metal, shrieking vocal style, heavily distorted Electric guitar, guitars played with tr ...

Members

Current members

* Jason Williamson - vocals, rap (2007–present) * Andrew Fearn - computer, samples, loops, programming, production (2011–present)

Former members

* Simon Parfrement (aka Simon Claridge) - computer, samples, loops, programming, production (2007–2012)

Discography

Studio albums

Compilation albums

Live albums

Extended plays

Singles

Music videos

References

External links

* * {{Authority control Musical groups from Nottingham English electronic music duos English hip-hop groups British political music groups Rough Trade Records artists Electropunk musical groups Ipecac Recordings artists English rock music duos Hip-hop duos 2007 establishments in England