The impeccable quality of HONESTY’s debut album U R HERE, showcasing a vast collaborative effort and a kaleidoscope of genres, marked the collective as one of the most intriguing new acts in the UK. Formed in 2020 in Leeds, the core members came together with a shared frustration at the creative limits of traditional bands, envisioning HONESTY as a fluid collective with flexible roles.
They obscure their faces in photos, preferring to be portrayed as an anonymous unit, and their tracks often feature guest vocalists and musicians. By embracing a revolving door of contributors, HONESTY have no singular frontperson, and their debut album veers from dusky trip-hop to garage beats and ambient textures, stacked with guest appearances. Drawing comparisons to projects like UNKLE’s Psyence Fiction, the album maintains a remarkable cohesion from start to finish, unified by a distinctly melancholic, serious tone with huge emotional weight.
There’s a clear lineage from Massive Attack’s downtempo trip-hop to Burial’s late-night urban eeriness, and HONESTY pick up that thread with an atmospheric and grainy sound that’s as haunting as it is danceable. With deeply considered songwriting and genre-defying songwriting, their live show amplifies their sound tenfold. The collective plays concealed between two translucent mesh screens with an array of vivid visuals projected both in front of and behind the musicians, with the members appearing only as shadowy silhouettes. More immersive art installation than typical band gig, the fine-tuned projections complement the music with all focus taken off the band members and placed onto the audiovisual mood they create.
HONESTY’s live sets are captivating, like being trapped in a lucid dream in a performance that engages all the senses, with chest-rattling bass, a cascade of surreal images, and ghostly figures performing as shadows, this is a type of club music that you won’t find anywhere else.
We caught up with George from HONESTY to find out more:
If we aren’t calling HONESTY a ‘band’, what should we call you, and what are the benefits of being a ‘non-band’?
We’ve always thought of HONESTY less as a band and more as a collective or a project. I feel that the word “band” comes with a lot of baggage—genre expectations, fixed line-ups, even a sense of hierarchy. Through HONESTY, it became a chance to free ourselves from that. Operating as a ‘project’ means the roles can stay fluid: one day someone might be producing, the next day they might be contributing vocals or visuals. It keeps our process instinctive, collaborative, open-ended and most importantly fun!
How did you originally come together? Was the decision to perform as an anonymous collective born out of previous frustrations or expectations?
HONESTY came together at The Nave studio in Leeds. I had previously worked with Matt Peel in my old band EAGULLS. Meanwhile, Matt and Josh were frustrated with the limitations of their traditional band set-up—they wanted to try something more open. They brought myself in as a writer / vocalist, at first, but I wanted to focus more on creating new sounds and overall ideas. From then on, we pulled in other collaborators, with Imi and myself becoming permanent voices in the project. The anonymity wasn’t about hiding ourselves, but about shifting focus. In previous projects, the spotlight was always on a front person or one single identity. HONESTY deliberately resists that—it’s not about individuals, it’s about what we can create best together.
It’s difficult to define the genre of your music, but it has an extremely clear and cohesive mood. How would you describe the essence of your sound?
We try not to chase genres—we focus on intent. HONESTY is about the emotional atmosphere first. Sometimes that means a heavy bass-driven track, other times it’s closer to shoegaze or ambient textures. Or, all 3 at once! We want the music to feel like it sits between two worlds: the intensity of club culture and the feeling of intimate solitary listening. That balance—euphoric but reflective, physical but inward—is where the essence of HONESTY lives. It’s a strange cocktail of our influences from UK Bass, Shoegaze, Electronic, Post Punk and Ambient.
Your work has drawn comparisons to big-league British electronica legends from Massive Attack to Burial. How do you feel about the history of British club music, and your place within it?
We feel lucky to be part of that lineage in any way shape or form. British club music has always blurred the lines between genres, between high and low culture, between community and solitude. Acts like Massive Attack or Burial didn’t just make “club tracks”—they created atmospheres that held whole worlds inside them. That’s something we aspire to emit through our music too. At the same time, we’re rooted in Leeds, where there’s a strong underground scene that keeps you grounded and reminds you to innovate rather than imitate. It would be nice to feel like we have a place within British Club Music, but i feel like we’re still yet to be invited. Haha.
Can you explain the choice of the title U R HERE?
U R HERE felt like the right title because it captures both presence and disorientation. It’s the phrase you see on a map, but it doesn’t tell you much—just that you’re “here,” wherever that may be.
For me, it reflects the mood of the record: searching for meaning, truth, or connection in a world that feels overwhelming and full of misleading information.
How did the idea for the two mesh screens come about? Was the visual aspect always going to play a major part in the project?
From the beginning, I saw the music and the imagery as two parts of the same language. The visual element of HONESTY was very essential to me. The mesh screens, and the 3D audiovisual show is something I wanted to do in 2016 with my former band, but it never came into fruition. I guess I wanted to blur the boundary between performer and projection—so the audience isn’t just watching us, they’re immersed in a shared environment. You see fragments of us, fragments of visuals, and it all bleeds together. It’s less about putting ourselves on display and more about creating a thoughtful space to experience the music.
What do you hope to make audiences feel at your live shows?
Ideally, a mix of euphoria and reflection. We want people to lose themselves physically in the sound, but also to find moments of introspection. We’re now implementing more dance music into our set so its nice to make the audience feel like they can let themselves go.
Does the live experience feel different on stage as performers playing behind a screen?
Definitely. There’s a strange liberation in not being directly visible. It allows us to focus on the music and the atmosphere rather than being your standard live “performing monkeys.” It becomes less about ego and more about transmitting energy. At the same time, it changes how we connect with our live audience—it’s not eye contact, it’s something more collective, and immersive hopefully!
What’s next for HONESTY?
Our next show’s are not until November. Where we play 2 dates with Protomartyr. Leeds Brudenell 10th, London ICA 13th.
We have new online releases coming soon. Blue Disc, Yellow Disc, and Red Disc.
Beyond that, we’re steady away with new material—keeping things open, fluid, and collaborative. HONESTY has never been about staying in one lane, so whatever comes next will likely feel like some kind of continuation and a departure all at the same time.