Lane and Lane

Story

We are a songwriting and production duo called Phil and Jane Lane. We both write and arrange whole songs and all parts of them. Jane is an extremely prolific writer of all genres and writes to order. Phil also writes, but is in addition a high calibre creative producer. As a team we have had three significant recent projects. The first was Henry's Machine, a series of standalone tracks featuring singers Kerri-Anne Collins, Jenni Lane and Sam Gomm, supported by Jane and Phil, which completed in 2015 and had a few performances The second was Hookstick, a virtuoso based band with a joyful set of tracks entitled "Refugee" in a genre we came to call pop funk. This again featured Kes, with Jane and Phil, joined by Tom Stedman on guitar, Jonny Welburn on drums and Rachel Townend on bass. Hookstick launched in 2017 and again toured briefly. The last project has been "Fluance", a prog. rock based band featuring Duncan Mackay on keys, Phil on vocals, Jane on piano, Jonny Welburn on drums and Marty Prior joined them on bass for the debut album "Lunacy". We write to order, Jane in particular, and are happy to hear from performers who need fresh bespoke material or would like to take on one of our tracks.

Profile

Instruments

Genres

Influences

Equipment

Languages

What is music to you? What does it give you?

We are a songwriting duo with our own studio. It's a purpose, an explanation and somewhere we are happy, having fun, risk-taking and finding original things daily. Wow. What is there not to like?

What is your music dream?

We jointly are releasing our music worldwide and our dream is to continue doing this, and gigging it in the various countries where we get a following.

If you could change the world - what would you start with?

Everyone would learn music by ear from birth.

Which is the most memorable song from your childhood?

There are two of us.

Who are your favorite musical artists or bands?

Jane loves psychedelia, dance music, no names, I have a head like a sieve anyway.She likes playing and all sorts comes out when sheI plays. She loves well-crafted pop. Phil is keen on Beatles, Pink Floyd, EDM, Phil is a musical encyclopaedia .

What inspires you to make music?

The moment Jane decides to write a song is usually when nothing else has happened for a while. On a walk or driving. There's always something nagging. Phil is inspired by sounds, soundscapes and sadness.

What is the message you want to send with your music?

Please pay us!

How do you feel when you perform in front of an audience?

Wow, great, but totally in the moment.

How do you see the musicians’ reality nowadays? What could be improved?

We'd like to see what we do valued, and more signposting to help artists get recognition foir what they do. More emphasis on te music and less on the visuals.

What do you think of Drooble?

This is the first time we've used it as Lane and Lane. It would have been great to be able to list ourselves as a duo more intuitively. The same must be true for bands.

What frustrates you most as a musician?

The lack of value invested in music in the UK. The fact that people think music is free and they can just take what they like without paying. We think you should struggle for your art, yeah, but then to have to think like a hustler is hard.

Do you support your local scene as a fan? How?

Not currently sure what our local scene is as we move about, although based in the UK. When in Spain we support loads of ventures and are out gigging and listening all the time. We live in a rural area in the UK and also we have to work most hours to keep things moving, so you might see us in a local pub on the tail end of a Friday night. But we do see a lot of the local talent in our studio, which is nice, and we run sessions for newbies to the recording studio.

What qualities should a musician nowadays have in order to get their music heard by a larger audience?

They should be open to contacts with established artists, no matter what genre, and be prepared to gig anywhere and everywhere, perform in big venues to support established acts. And don't be shy or self-obsessed. Unfortunately once you get on stage, you become a product, so if you get a negative reaction from anyone, you have to treat it as marketing and be really analytical in hearing what people are saying. Also remember some people say anything because they like to have an opinion, and so don't take things too seriously.

Share some awesome artists that we’ve never heard of.

Hiromi Uehara - for sheer performance Lollipops - for happiness quality.