The lack of formality should not be confused with a lack of education. Some very popular British music exists because of this lack of formality. And every now and then, things have to be renewed, that is, a new source of energy has to be found to operationalize the lack of formality for a new generation. Because things go out of fashion, think of The Streets or Sleaford Mods and how they institutionalized their sound, however countercultural they still want to be. For example, Sleaford Mods, even if they didn’t want to, were formalized by a growing audience. Time forces us to find informalities. Take Getdown Services, a band of two friends who met at school and make music between Bristol and Manchester.
After a few singles released in recent years, last year Josh Law and Ben Sadler formalized Crisps, an album that was an unexpected and growing success. So much so that their winter tour in the UK sold out. The duo makes music that doesn’t seem serious, but immediately strikes a chord. It sounds like the continuation of Sexual Harassment and their “If I Gave You A Party,” a mix of electro, apocalyptic disco, and proto-punk. And, like Sleaford Mods, the scarcity of means suggested by the songs’ seams is directly linked to an idea of the current crisis. Existential crisis, financial crisis, labor crisis, crisis of everything, a bit like Sleaford Mods seemed like an answer to everything that happened between 2008 and 2012. Getdown Services seem like the answer for a post-pandemic generation, during wars that screw up the lives of everyone who can be screwed up, the dynamism that is absent from our lives and that comes out in abundance in their songs.
Is this still punk? Can music that should belong on a gym treadmill be the answer to a hole in our lives? In the absence of formality, Getdown Services continue the party that Sexual Harrassment left unfinished, with the urgency of Sleaford Mods and humor straight out of British television. As absurd as they are real, we live in good times for music like Getdown Services. AS.

Simples Mente is an artist and music producer who saw words as a good opportunity to escape daily overthinking. He introduced himself to the world in 2019 with a live performance of the original song “Girassol” and has since explored different sounds around his poetic imagination. In 2021, he teamed up with Leexo to produce a collaborative EP: “Vino Blanco at 4AM”. This “bedroom pop” was played live in venues such as Musicbox and Passos Manuel. In 2023, he released “O Puto”, with Marrquise. Produced by the duo between rehearsal rooms and creative retreats, it was considered one of the EPs of the year by the platform Música sem Capa and featured here. In 2024, he released the single “CASTELOS” and collaborated on different projects such as the book “50 ABRIS: um livro sobre liberdade” (50 ABRIS: a book about freedom) and the album “Love & Courage.” His music is a translation of how he sees the world – “If I don’t write what I think, I forget it” – marked by fresh flows and melodies. In 2025, he released the single ‘ARRENDAR’ and later the single “VENTOSO,” which marked his first connection with the label Biruta Records. This was followed by the single “SEM SABER SENTAR,” the last moment of anticipation before the EP “ATROPELEI-ME,” marked by a mix of conscious hip-hop with lo-fi and pop in a spontaneous and emotional register, without following fixed formulas, reflecting the artist’s creative liberation.