Living Body

Living Body is the Leeds-based immigrant-led double-drumming anti-capitalist indie/pop/rock hook machine, whose current live lineup includes include Jeff T. Smith (f.k.a. Juffage), Alice Rowan (Mayshe-Mayshe), Sarah Statham (Crake), Matt Simpson (formerly, Middleman) & Jack Burgess-Hunt. Other contributors include Katie Harkin (Harkin, Sleater-Kinney, Courtney Barnett) & Tom Evans (Vessels).

They have toured extensively throughout the UK, EU and North America including performances at SXSW, Canadian Music Week, Tramlines, Sŵn, Deer Shed, ArcTanGent, Daytrotter and Long Division Festivals. They have received praise from BrooklynVegan, Stereogum, Exclaim!, The Line of Best Fit, Drowned In Sound, the Skinny, For the Rabbits, God Is In The TV and Louder Than War, as well as airplay on BBC 6 Music, Radio 3, Amazing Radio and others.

Following their debut album Body Is Working, they subsequently released the single C.R.E.A.M. as part of Long Division Festival’s 12″ compilation New Addition, Vol. 1 and joined legendary Chicago band Joan of Arc on a handful of UK dates. In 2019 they toured with an expanded live lineup featuring two drummers, performing several new songs. In 2020, they released the single I Do as part of the Kingfisher Bluez Record Store Day 2020 compilation, Short Songs, Vol. 2, and Don’t Kill Yourself (It’s Christmas), a benefit fundraiser for Leeds Survivor Led Crisis Service.

In 2023 they returned with a UK tour as a 5-piece and released the single CONSUMER to critical acclaim, including being picked as Track of the Week on BBC Introducing in West Yorkshire. The group also released a live session video, performing the song at Echelon Coffee Roasters in Leeds.

Expanding on the need for music to bring joy into the lives of others, and Smith’s fascination with the contortion of the pop song into a uniquely imaginative and immediate form, Living Body aims to exist in a world of skin, confusion and information overload in 2023.

“Living Body are THE most exciting thing happening in the UK music scene” – the Skinny
“Delicate and dramatic indie … they can do high-energy rippers too” – Stereogum
“tsunamis of glee” – The Line of Best Fit
“anthemic” – BrooklynVegan
“The epitome of the modern supergroup” – Louder Than War
“Unique, quirky and beguiling music at its very best and most creative” – NARC Magazine
“Body is Working is a fascinating curio of an album, and quite beautiful in its complexities” – God Is In the TV Zine
“An album that flows beautifully, combining seemingly disparate ideas into a singular and cohesive whole” – For the Rabbits