June 7th marks the highly awaited release of ‘001,’ the debut EP from London-based indietronica duo High Jump. Comprising Harry Martin and Rick Holland, High Jump has been making waves with their atmospheric and musically rich soundscapes, drawing attention from top-tier press outlets such as Earmilk, Atwood Magazine, Louder Than War, Notion, God Is In The TV, Fame Magazine, and Ones To Watch. Their music has also received international radio play on KEXP, Amazing Radio, and BBC Introducing, alongside support from Spotify and Apple Music editorial playlists.
The EP, mixed by acclaimed engineer Max Cooke (known for his work with GoodBooks and Ellie Goulding), showcases High Jump’s distinctive blend of lo-fi electronics, modulation-soaked guitar lines, and melodic vocal melodies. This fusion results in a sound that lies somewhere between electronic dream-pop and indietronica.
Talking about the EP, the duo explained: “Over the last couple of years, I (Harry) was writing and sending unsolicited demos to Rick, drummer in the band Tungz. Rick managed to cherry-pick the most promising of these through a series of long voice notes and ad hoc studio sessions, and we soon had a collection of songs that felt significant enough to share. Starting with ‘M2K’ at the end of 2023, we decided to start putting some ideas together and broadcast these tunes further than our friendship group.
The sound of the collection is really an anecdotal summation of our influences and the music we’ve enjoyed recently. We didn’t set out to achieve or replicate any specific sound and there’s a blend of influences in there, from The War on Drugs and Cocteau Twins to Jai Paul and Toro Y Moi. We love the counterbalancing senses of scale we’ve managed to capture in these six tracks. All of them started in bedrooms and huddled corners of our day-to-day, and there are plenty of moments where you can feel that intimacy, but working at Snap! Studios with Max Cooke to finish the recordings really enhanced the more ambitious sections with extra layers of grandeur and finesse.
Lyrically, the EP trails and explores different layers and perspectives of over-nostalgia, digging into how this can affect our appreciation of the present. This collection of songs was written at a time when big life decisions and junctures were arriving at an uncomfortable pace, which probably explains how this feeling of lament and resistance to change percolated across the EP on various levels.
These themes also bleed into the high jump ethos. It’s a kinetic blend of inspiration and expression, and we wanted to relay this snapshot of our identity on that exact premise. Taking inspiration from fashion cycles and seasonal variations, we set out to epitomize ourselves in a specific moment. That’s what makes this stage of the high jump evolution so exciting, and we can’t wait for 001 to be an introduction to the many releases and performances we have planned for the coming months.”
With a series of releases throughout 2023, High Jump has rapidly established themselves as one to watch. Their debut EP ‘001’ represents a significant milestone, reflecting their growth and hinting at even greater things to come.
Listen below: