Music
Photo by Matthew Arthur Williams
LAPS (Ladies As Pimps)
Glaswegian duo Alicia Matthews & Cass Ezeji are best friends & artists who together make up the mutant dub pop duo LAPS. Previous releases include their self-titled EP, (2014) an underground cult favorite & 'Who Me?' (2017) released on MIC Records and rereleased on DFA. Their music has been championed by the likes of The Vinyl Factory, Low Company & RA as well as being featured in Rihanna's debut Savage X Fenty NYFW show.
Laps have played internationally, including such prestigious gigs as Glasgow Barrowlands, CBR launch with Dr. Martens, Tate Britain, selected by artist France-Lise McGurn as the live act for her Sleepless exhibition, Plisskën Festival, NTS stage, Athens, Leith Theatre, Edinburgh, supporting Young Fathers and The Scottish Showcase, SXSW, Austin, Texas.
Their sound is inspired by a decade of friendship formed at Green Door Studio, Madame X, Pulsallama, and Junior Murvin. Recent work includes commissions for Papiripar Festival in Hamburg & Radiophrenia.
Golden Teacher
Cass is the frontwoman of Glasgow’s favorite six-piece, Golden Teacher. Singing alongside Charlie Lavenac, the band is comprised of Ollie and Laurie Pitt, Richard McMaster &Sam Bellacosa. Mixing raw-edged house, leftfield disco, syncopated percussion, and odd-ball experimentalism with a serious party attitude, Golden Teacher has made its mark as one of the most exciting groups to emerge from the Scottish underground. The sprawling sextet has released acclaimed records on Optimo Music, Sounds Of The Universe, and Rough Trade.
The band toured frequently internationally including coveted gigs at La Jazz Villette, Paris, NXNW, Toronto, Williamsburg Musichall, New York, and as support for the legendary ESG on their UK tour.
In 2018 their album ‘No Luscious Life’ was shortlisted for Scottish Album of the Year. Golden Teacher has since disbanded but they continue to make music individually, often collaborating with each other on different projects. They share many happy memories of being on the road together.
‘There is no denying that the band are one of the UK's most exciting prospects’
-Drowned in Sound
Press
Jacob Yates & The Pearly Gate Lock Pickers
Jacob Yates & The Pearly Gate Lock Pickers is fronted by the mesmerising Jake Lovatt ( former frontman of Uncle John & The Whitelock), Michael Bleazard on drums, Jamie Bolland on keyboards and guitar (Uncle John & The Whitelock, Tut VuVu), Christopher Haddow (Paper Planes), and Josh (The Downs/Kaspar Hauser/ex-Rose McDowall's band).
Cass joined the band in 2016 as a backing vocalist, singing alongside Lovatt. She features on ‘GOTHS!!!’ (Vava Records 2016) & ‘The Hare, The Moon, The Drone’ ( Optimo Music 2018). Her voice compliments Lovatt’s and his harrowing lyrics. The single ‘The Gospel according to the selfish gene features a bonus track The Tigris, written by Lovatt and performed by Cass.
A film by Henry Coombes
Writing and storytelling apart Lovatt’s dynamic vocal range is suitably matched by the incredible crooning of Cassie Ezeji.
-Rave Child
Atomic Bomb! Band
In 2014 Cass formed part of The Atomic Bomb! Band on their European Tour (an ever-changing tribute to Nigerian funk pioneer William Onyeabor).
Cass & Audrey Gbaguidi ( vocalist for Tony Allen & Africa Express) provided backing vocals for Marie Daulne (Zap Mama). The band included Alexis Taylor (Hot Chip), Sinkane, Money Mark (Beastie Boys), Pat Mahoney-Jason Trammell (LCD Soundsystem), Law & Young Fathers.
‘Two succulent singers... No less than a highlight.’
- Gonzo Circus
Youth Stand Up!
Cass’s vocals feature on Youth Stand Up! (a collaborative recording project with musicians from Green Door Studio, Ghana and Belize) released on Autonomous Africa (2015) a label founded by DJ Twitch (Optimo) and Midland (Auntie Flo) to benefit African charities. It was listed as number 30 on The Vinyl Factory’s Top 50 LP’s of 2015, playlisted by BBC Radio 6, and featured by renowned British DJ Andrew Weatherall.
Proceeds from the project went directly back to the youth groups in Ghana and Belize, helping the musicians from Ghana’s Tafi Cultural Institute build a recording studio and performance space in their village. They have since released ‘Youth Stand Up United‘ & ‘Outside Rythm’.
‘ Above all it's endlessly fun and relentlessly funky. An absolute winner.’
- Monorail Music