Liverpool-born rising stars east exchange have released their long-awaited debut EP, torn between ties., marking a major milestone for the four-piece as they continue their rapid rise through the UK alternative scene. Released via AWAL, the six-track EP explores emotional struggle, self-reflection and the complexities of human connection, bringing together the band’s distinctive blend of 90s grunge and melodic alternative rock.
East Exchange
The record features previously released tracks ghost., unspoken., lily. and fall. alongside two new songs, completing a collection that documents a young band still developing and defining its musical identity.
The EP’s origins can be traced back to an unlikely change of surroundings. After being forced to leave their rehearsal room while they were still working out their sound, the band moved into a freezing, run-down warehouse on the edge of Liverpool. Far from ideal as a rehearsal space, the environment nevertheless proved creatively significant, with ghost. among the songs to emerge from those sessions.
“We were still figuring out our sound and identity when we got kicked out of our rehearsal room, and ended up moving into this freezing, run-down warehouse space on the edge of town,” the band explain. “It was dingy and depressing but, looking back, it suited the music east exchange were trying to make far better than the room we’d left behind.”
That DIY environment became part of the EP’s creative DNA, with the band developing the material collectively before bringing in GRAMMY® Award-winning producer and mixer Adrian Bushby, whose previous credits include work with Foo Fighters, Muse and Feeder.
East Exchange
The relationship came about through an increasingly important part of east exchange’s rise: TikTok. The band have amassed more than 110,000 followers and 3.8 million likes on the platform, where their music and performances brought them to Bushby’s attention.
“ghost. came together in that space, alongside many of the songs that would eventually make up the torn between ties.,” the band continue. “We can’t wait for everyone to experience the EP the way we envisaged it, because we worked really hard together on it, and we’re extremely proud of how it’s turned out. Working with Adrian Bushby really helped bring our vision to life.”
For a band whose members have been friends since childhood, the EP represents the culmination of a relationship that stretches back long before east exchange began attracting attention online. Their shared history has helped shape a sound that combines the rawness and weight of ’90s grunge with the more expansive melodies of contemporary alternative rock.
That sound has already taken them well beyond their Liverpool roots. Their first festival season has seen them perform at 2000 Trees, Outbreak, The Great Escape, Liverpool SoundCity and Dot To Dot, while support slots with Enter Shikari, letlive. and Return To Dust have placed them in front of increasingly larger and more diverse audiences.
East Exchange
The momentum continues next week when east exchange head to London to support The Joy Hotel at The Elephant’s Head in Camden on 8th September. The show offers another opportunity to catch the band in an intimate setting as they begin the next phase of their development.
With torn between ties. now available, east exchange are establishing themselves as one of the emerging names to watch within the UK’s alternative rock landscape. Their combination of formative friendship, DIY beginnings, grunge-influenced guitars and a rapidly expanding online audience suggests a band whose story is only just beginning.
Upcoming UK Live Date:
SEPTEMBER
8th – London, The Elephant’s Head, Camden – supporting The Joy Hotel
Violet Grohl Brings Raw Intimacy To Camden’s Barfly For Second London Night
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