- LP
Red Snapper
Barb & Feather
Lo Recordings
- Cat No: Lo249
- updated:2025-05-07
Fresh off the back of Warp Records repressing their legendary debut album 'Reeled and Skinned', the iconic UK band Red Snapper returns with eight brand-new tracks for their upcoming album, Barb and Feather, marking 30 years since their groundbreaking arrival on the scene.
Following the overwhelming success of their 2023 live LP, Live at the Moth Club, Red Snapper felt an undeniable creative momentum. This new album is a testament to their ongoing evolution, channeling the electrifying energy of their live performances into fresh, dynamic compositions.
Red Snapper’s unique blend of jazz, funk, electronic grooves continues to inspire fans old and new, cementing their legacy as pioneers of UK music.
Barb and Feather starts with a raucous yet refined 4 tracks from the Red Snapper live band—Rich Thair, Ali Friend, Tom Challenger, and Tara Cunningham—featuring their much-lauded live version of David Bowie’s 'Sound and Vision'.
The second half of the album features 4-tracks from a collaboration between Red Snapper and David Harrow. Born from a shared love of unorthodox production and a mutual respect for each other’s work.
Barb and Feather coincides with a full UK tour in March 2025:
Tour dates: MARCH 2025
Thu 6th – Swansea, Bunkhouse
Fri 7th – Bristol, Jam Jar
Sat 8th – Cambridge, Storey’s Field Centre
Sun 9th – Nottingham, Bodega
Thu 13th – Leeds, Brudenell
Fri 14th – Todmorden, Golden Lion
Sat 15th – Preston, The Ferret
Wed 19th – Ramsgate, RG Music Hall
Thu 20th – London, The Rich Mix
Fri 21th – Staffs, Foxlowe Arts Centre
Sat 22nd – Manchester, Yes (Pink Room)
Fri 28th – Dundee, The Small Town Club
Sat 29th – Glasgow, Hug & Pint
Notorious for casting convention aside, and remaining one of the UK’s most forward thinking and rule breaking live bands, Red Snapper embrace a unique blend of live, euphoric Afro-Jazz, Future Funk, Dub, Dark Hip-Hop and fragile soundscapes.
Formed in 1994, the original line up of Rich Thair (drums), Ali Friend (double bass) and David Ayers (guitar) released three EPs on Rich Thair and Dean Thatcher’s label Flaw Recordings. The first EP ‘Snapper’ featured Beth Orton on vocals.
Over the initial years the band released the sonically pioneering albums; ‘Reeled and Skinned’, ‘Prince Blimey’, ‘Making Bones’ and ‘Our Aim Is To Satisfy Red Snapper’ (Warp records), touring globally and supporting the likes of Massive Attack, Bjork, The Prodigy, De La Soul and The Fugees. They also acquired a reputation for innovative and expansive remixing – reworking tunes by Trouble Funk, David Holmes, Sabres of Paradise, Garbage, Lamb, S-Express and Edwyn Collins, amongst others.
Then came the eponymous ‘Red Snapper’ and ‘A Pale Blue Dot’ on Lo Recordings followed by ‘Key’ on V2 Records, featuring the track ‘Spikey’ which was on the soundtrack for El Camino, the Netflix Breaking Bad film directed by Vince Gilligan, in 2019.
In 2013 Red Snapper composed a new soundtrack to the 1970’s Senegalese, psychedelic road movie Touki Bouki which had been restored by Martin Scorsese. The band toured Europe performing the soundtrack live to the film, culminating in the celebrated sell-out show at The Queen Elizabeth Hall on London’s Southbank. In 2014 the album ‘Hyena’ was released on Lo Recordings featuring all the music from their original film score.
8 years on in 2022, the critically acclaimed ‘Everybody is Somebody’ was released, an album which was self-recorded and produced during lockdown and then mixed by award winning engineer Shuta Shinoda (Ghost Poet, Hot Chip, Anna Meredith). With Snapper’s ever-evolving sound and innovative mix of dub, jazz and electronic beats still very much to the fore, there was a real freshness, vigour and a distinct move towards uncharted musical ground for this collection of tunes.
The Subsequent LP ‘Live at The Moth Club’ (2023) featured nine tracks from a vast and impressive back catalogue on Warp Records and Lo Recordings and captured perfectly the energy of their celebrated sold out London show from May 2022 in Hackney. The collection includes a version of ‘Suckerpunch’ which originally appeared on their 1998 album ‘Making Bones’.
Following the overwhelming success of their 2023 live LP, Live at the Moth Club, Red Snapper felt an undeniable creative momentum. This new album is a testament to their ongoing evolution, channeling the electrifying energy of their live performances into fresh, dynamic compositions.
Red Snapper’s unique blend of jazz, funk, electronic grooves continues to inspire fans old and new, cementing their legacy as pioneers of UK music.
Barb and Feather starts with a raucous yet refined 4 tracks from the Red Snapper live band—Rich Thair, Ali Friend, Tom Challenger, and Tara Cunningham—featuring their much-lauded live version of David Bowie’s 'Sound and Vision'.
The second half of the album features 4-tracks from a collaboration between Red Snapper and David Harrow. Born from a shared love of unorthodox production and a mutual respect for each other’s work.
Barb and Feather coincides with a full UK tour in March 2025:
Tour dates: MARCH 2025
Thu 6th – Swansea, Bunkhouse
Fri 7th – Bristol, Jam Jar
Sat 8th – Cambridge, Storey’s Field Centre
Sun 9th – Nottingham, Bodega
Thu 13th – Leeds, Brudenell
Fri 14th – Todmorden, Golden Lion
Sat 15th – Preston, The Ferret
Wed 19th – Ramsgate, RG Music Hall
Thu 20th – London, The Rich Mix
Fri 21th – Staffs, Foxlowe Arts Centre
Sat 22nd – Manchester, Yes (Pink Room)
Fri 28th – Dundee, The Small Town Club
Sat 29th – Glasgow, Hug & Pint
Notorious for casting convention aside, and remaining one of the UK’s most forward thinking and rule breaking live bands, Red Snapper embrace a unique blend of live, euphoric Afro-Jazz, Future Funk, Dub, Dark Hip-Hop and fragile soundscapes.
Formed in 1994, the original line up of Rich Thair (drums), Ali Friend (double bass) and David Ayers (guitar) released three EPs on Rich Thair and Dean Thatcher’s label Flaw Recordings. The first EP ‘Snapper’ featured Beth Orton on vocals.
Over the initial years the band released the sonically pioneering albums; ‘Reeled and Skinned’, ‘Prince Blimey’, ‘Making Bones’ and ‘Our Aim Is To Satisfy Red Snapper’ (Warp records), touring globally and supporting the likes of Massive Attack, Bjork, The Prodigy, De La Soul and The Fugees. They also acquired a reputation for innovative and expansive remixing – reworking tunes by Trouble Funk, David Holmes, Sabres of Paradise, Garbage, Lamb, S-Express and Edwyn Collins, amongst others.
Then came the eponymous ‘Red Snapper’ and ‘A Pale Blue Dot’ on Lo Recordings followed by ‘Key’ on V2 Records, featuring the track ‘Spikey’ which was on the soundtrack for El Camino, the Netflix Breaking Bad film directed by Vince Gilligan, in 2019.
In 2013 Red Snapper composed a new soundtrack to the 1970’s Senegalese, psychedelic road movie Touki Bouki which had been restored by Martin Scorsese. The band toured Europe performing the soundtrack live to the film, culminating in the celebrated sell-out show at The Queen Elizabeth Hall on London’s Southbank. In 2014 the album ‘Hyena’ was released on Lo Recordings featuring all the music from their original film score.
8 years on in 2022, the critically acclaimed ‘Everybody is Somebody’ was released, an album which was self-recorded and produced during lockdown and then mixed by award winning engineer Shuta Shinoda (Ghost Poet, Hot Chip, Anna Meredith). With Snapper’s ever-evolving sound and innovative mix of dub, jazz and electronic beats still very much to the fore, there was a real freshness, vigour and a distinct move towards uncharted musical ground for this collection of tunes.
The Subsequent LP ‘Live at The Moth Club’ (2023) featured nine tracks from a vast and impressive back catalogue on Warp Records and Lo Recordings and captured perfectly the energy of their celebrated sold out London show from May 2022 in Hackney. The collection includes a version of ‘Suckerpunch’ which originally appeared on their 1998 album ‘Making Bones’.
