The Invisible

Matthew Herbert's Ones to Watch

London three-piece The Invisible have a darkness and melodrama to their music, but the soaring melodies pull it back from the edge of dourness. Not a man prone to hyperbole, Matthew is unequivocal in his praise of the band.

“In my humble opinion, and it is just an opinion, I think they are, or they have the potential to be, the next important British band,” he reckons. “When you think about it, there hasn’t really been a proper British music-led band since Radiohead or Blur – those were the last ones. A lot of the bands don’t seem to be driven by the experimental and acoustic possibilities of being in a band.

So for me, The Invisible is a combination of the band plus electronic – that thoughtful combination of adding electronics thoughtfully… So I think they’re the next proper British band – it’s just brilliant pop music.” As is so often the case, finding them was a happy accident. “I found them because I worked with Dave Okumu, who’s the frontman and guitarist. He’s just the best guitarist I’ve ever seen play or perform.”

Dave himself says of the band: “The Invisible (Dave, along with Leo Taylor and Tom Herbert) came into existence about two years ago. Over the years we’ve been involved in several different projects together, as well as doing things independently of each other. We sometimes find ourselves on other people’s records (Roisin Murphy, Ladyhawke,

Riton), and Leo is currently on loan to Hot Chip as they tour the US. It feels very natural to us to be involved in projects we love, but we feel a strong desire to establish ourselves in our own right and that’s what this band is about.” “All the music that really inspires me always feels profoundly personal and honest,” Dave continues. “This has taught me that my goal should always be to be myself musically. In so doing, I can express anything significant to me. If you adopt this approach, influences are bound to come through, as they should, but not in a derivative or contrived way. I love that line in the film Adaptation: ‘

“You are what you love”. I love all the good shit: Radiohead, Shuggie Otis, early Prince, The Beatles, Sonic Youth, Silver Apples, Chaka Khan… So I guess it’s all in there somewhere, but the goal is always to sound like myself.

The goal is simply to create a platform for our music so we can reach the people who want to hear it. Hopefully that process will continue for many years and will afford us the opportunity to keep developing.”

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