Hotel Lux - präsentiert von Rausgegangen

In the organizer's words:

Once contenders for the title of Britain's most confident band - blame yourself.

After relocating from Pompey to London to cater to the public's tastes - Hotel Lux created a bold and bright identity for themselves, which resulted in their debut album 'Hands Across The Creek'. It was enough to shatter their wildest dreams.

"We were always too concerned with how we were perceived," recalls bassist Cam Sims of the early days when Hotel Lux were enmeshed in the folklore of the South London music scene. It seems silly now: The band's early, clattering pub-rock singles received huge acclaim from the start - their astute social commentary and raw passion were perhaps greater than they gave themselves credit for. But a sense of vulnerability persisted throughout, Cam says, especially as the careers of Brixton Windmill contemporaries like Sorry and Shame took off: "There was always that little voice in your head," he says.

Fears aside, Hotel Lux - completed by biting lead singer Lewis Duffin, guitarist Sam Coburn, drummer Craig MacVicar and new members Max Oliver (guitar) and Dillon Home (organ; violin) - were on the road to great success in 2020, around the release of the Barstool Preaching EP. Iggy Pop was praising them on the radio and the band themselves were preparing for their big breakthrough in America at the SXSW Festival. Then the world came crashing down and their debut in the USA was canceled. "We were devastated," Lewis recalls. "Everything up until then was pretty exciting for us." "It was the most fragile thing we'd ever experienced," says Cam. Original guitarist Jake Sewell even left the band to move to Amsterdam. But the remaining members stayed focused and decided to put what little money they had left from their American budget into making their own album. But first they had to write some songs.

"It took a long, long time," Lewis says of the writing process for their debut. It was hardly worth it to make songs about wearing gloves and going to Sainsbury's at 6am. There were "a lot of arguments" as the band struggled to settle on a sound they could call their own. "Craig and Sam were really into ESG," explains Lewis - referring to the 80s New York post-punk band known for their funky rhythms and simple choruses. "I hated that. It tore my head apart." But when new guitarist Max (from South London band LEGSS) brought a "scratchier, heavier, tonier Telecaster sound" in 2020, the roots of Hotel Lux's transformation were soon laid. The band's classic influences - Dr. Feelgood, The Stranglers and Ian Dury - blended with the sounds of artists like Neil Young, Brian Eno and The Waterboys as Hotel Lux spread their wings while staying true to their roots.

What stands out most about their debut album is the ambitious and uninhibited songwriting (and this is coming from a band whose frontman once claimed he "didn't think choruses were cool"). By the time they'd finished recording, Hotel Lux had already received some vindication: They were invited back to SXSW this year, unexpectedly befriended Dua Lipa. And they even performed at Dulwich Hamlet FC, raising funds for those suffering from the Ukraine conflict.

Now, with 'Hands Across The Creek' due for release in early 2023, Hotel Lux look set to become something their early critics might not have predicted: a band full of confidence, with the ability to go beyond their peers and carve out their own corner of the British music carpet.