Sisters and best buds Colette and Hannah Thurlow make brutally beautiful, fiercely feminine music. Lads are lame.
Quietly spoken and masterfully talented, experiencing London duo 2:54 live is a deluxe sensory delight. Both girls are equally blessed with mesmeric stage presence, great faces and an amazing sound. Howling, raw emotion travels from the bottom of their lungs and bass guitar strings into the atmosphere. When they play, a thick fog of girly rock descends. Inspired by the vintage motown, soul and jazz they were raised on, Hannah and Colette’s parents ignited a deep appreciation for music within them. In love with dark romance, the two brunettes write their scores and lyrics independently and learn more about each other with every track they lay down. Creating the debut album in thirteen days and thirteen nights, epic talent Rob Ellis produced the new material and Wild Beasts have since remixed the band’s track ‘You’re early’. The girls also recently recorded a live session for Radio 1 at Maida Vale and their plans for 2012 are big. They’re cooking with gas.
i-D online grabbed a quiet table in a dark pub to find out some lesser-known home truths about 2:54′s lives and lyrics.
1) The first album Colette ever bought was Now 27 and Hannah’s was Master of the Puppets by Metallica.
2) Colette used to work at i-D!
3) Their album artwork cover is a picture of the Doolin Point in Co.Claire, a ragged landscape where the sisters spent a lot of time during their childhood.
4) Hannah and Colette were born in Ireland and now live in Shoreditch.
5) Their Mum is their hero.
6) Windowspeak will support the band on their upcoming international tour.
7) They’re friends with Wild Beasts.
8) And are tight with The XX.
9) Hannah taught Colette to play the guitar when she was fifteen. One of the first songs Colette learnt to strum was a Distillers track.
10) The girls LOVE Swedish fashion brand Acne.
Text: Milly McMahon
Film: Jayga Rayn
Photography: Masha Mel
