Frontman and multi-instrumentalist Murray Matravers have spoken to BANG Showbiz regarding the group’s upcoming new album, whilst providing an insight into the group’s creative process. “We’re already working on the second record, we started working on that six months ago after we submitted the first one. We’re pretty close, actually, with that one. We’re always writing in the background.”

He went on to describe the bittersweet benefits in which lockdown provided as well as the downsides in which the group encountered in their creative process. “It was the first time that we’ve been given an extended period of time to actually make music. Usually, we’re be writing music, touring and also not taking it very seriously at all. We’d always be doing music on the side, but this is the first time where we could sit down for a year and make music. It was a bit strange. I think the luxury of having so much time was a positive but also a negative because I was in danger of overthinking every single step of the process. Whereas usually I’d be doing the writing on the side and no one really cares… I wrote a lot of bad music.”

The new album will follow up their debut album ‘Life’s a Beach’ which was released on 28th May 2021. The first studio album was released through Island Records and landed at number two within the UK Albums charts. The fivesome’s debut sired five singles, the album’s lead single ‘Daydreams’ was released on 21st October 2020. Followed by ‘A Message to Myself’, ‘Skeletons’, ‘Have a Great Day’ and finally ‘Ocean View’, released on 24th May 2021. The album’s most successful single was ‘Skeletons’ and was performed on the American chat show ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live’ on 13th April 2021.

Before the group’s first studio album, their first mixtape entitled ‘Creature Habits’ was released in April 2018. The mixtape sired their first single ‘Pockets’, due to this release the group signed with Island Records leaving their previous label Chess Club Records. After which, the group started to gain traction within the industry, in September 2018 Easy Life performed on the prestigious music show, ‘Later… With Jools Holland’. The group began their festival appearances in 2019, they played the US festival South by Southwest as well as other UK tours. Easy Life have also earned their stripes at the legendary event Glastonbury Festival in 2019, where they headlined the BBC Introducing stage.

The group took the stage again this year within an unusual setting, the performance was held inside the popular video game Fortnite. The band played the virtual concert held on 24th June 2021 and their venue was an electronically recreated O2 Arena in London. The concert was held in partnership with O2, Epic Games, Globe and Island Records UK and can be viewed via the new digital space created by the developers, entitled Fortnite Creative.

The group made history with their set as they are the first UK band to perform via the new platform. Matravers has provided the following statement concerning the group’s latest revolutionary gig and also described how such technological advances have created more opportunities creatively. “In the game, you can just do anything. We’re performing underwater, inside a fish, we get flushed down to the toilet. The possibilities were literally never-ending, we could do anything.”

Easy Life UK Tour Dates

11/07/2021 – Rough Trade Bristol – Bristol
14/07 – Rough Trade East – London
19/07 – The Y Theatre – Leicester
21/07 – Metronome – Nottingham
22/07 – Rough Trade Nottingham – Nottingham
24/07 – Arts Club – Liverpool
03/09 – Victoria Park – Warrington
04/09 – Neighbourhood Weekender – Warrington
04/09 – Victoria Park – Warrington
25/09 – Northamptonshire The County Ground – Northampton
01/11 – O2 Academy – Bristol
02/11 – O2 Institute – Birmingham
05/11 – Morningside Arena – Leicester
06/11 – Albert Hall – Manchester
07/11 – O2 Academy – Leeds
09/11 – Barrowland Ballroom – Glasgow
11/11 – O2 Academy – Newcastle
12/11 – The Foundry – Sheffield
14/11 – The Wedgewood Rooms – Portsmouth
15/11 – Dome – Brighton
15/11 – Brighton Dome and Festival LTD – Brighton
16/11 – O2 Academy Brixton – London
17/11 – O2 Academy Brixton – London
21/11 – Limelight – Belfast
22/11 – Olympia Theatre – Dublin

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The Leicester band’s new album will feature the singles ‘A Message To Myself’ and the latest one ‘Skeletons’, that only came out last month. Those two tracks give a glimpse of what’s coming in their album. Frontman Murray Matravers previously described the upcoming album as “a record that wishes it was anywhere else but here. Yet at the same time fixates on a dreary middle England existence”. 

The single ‘Skeletons’ that premiered on 13th April, has been described by Matravers as: “the idea of a slightly mysterious and potentially terrifying past. Everyone has baggage and everyone has skeletons”. You can check out the video below. Easy Life’s debut album ‘Life’s a beach’ via Island Records is available to pre-order here. See full track list below:

1. A message to myself
2. Have a great day
3. Ocean view
4. Skeletons
5. Daydreams
6. Life’s a beach (interlude)
7. Living strange 8. Compliments
9. Lifeboat
10. Nightmares
11. Homesickness
12. Music to walk home to

Easy Life are out on the road in UK and Europe from November this year. See full tour dates below. Tickets are available here.

01/11/2021 – O2 Academy (sold out) – Bristol
02/11 – O2 Institute – Birmingham
05/11 – Morningside Arena – Leicester
06/11 – Albert Hall (sold out) – Manchester
07/11 – O2 Academy – Leeds
09/11 – Barrowland Ballroom – Glasgow
11/11 – O2 Academy – Newcastle
12/11 – The Foundry (sold out) – Sheffield
14/11 – The Wedgewood Rooms (Matinee) – Portsmouth
14/11 – The Wedgewood Rooms (sold out) – Portsmouth
15/11 – Dome – Brighton
16/11 – O2 Brixton Academy (sold out) – London
17/11 – O2 Brixton Academy (new date) – London
21/11 – Limelight – Belfast
22/11 – Olympia Theatre – Dublin

16/03/2022 – Den Atelier – Luxembourg
18/03 – La Trabendo – Paris
19/03 – Kantine – Cologne
21/03 – Dynamo – Zurich
22/03 – Grelle Forelle – Vienna
24/03 – Meetfactory – Prague
25/03 – Praga Centrum – Warsaw
26/03 – Columbia Theater – Berlin
28/03 – Lille Vega – Copenhagen
29/03 – Obaren – Stockholm
30/03 – Krosset – Oslo
01/04/2022 – Gruenspan – Hamburg
02/04 – Melkweg MAX – Amsterdam
03/04 – Trix – Antwerb

half the tour sold out and remaining dates almost gone pic.twitter.com/XZoVFdsKHs

— easy life (@easylife) April 27, 2021