18+ Band Overview
18+ is an American band formed by musicians and visual artists Justin Swinburne and Samia Mirza.
History and Career
Having met at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, Swinburne and Mirza initiated the 18+ project in 2011, adopting anonymous pseudonyms. Their initial works comprised a trilogy of mixtapes titled M1xtape, Mixta2e, and Mixtap3, released online under the aliases ‘Boy’ and ‘Sis’.
The band’s lyrical themes predominantly revolve around sex. Mirza stated, “I don’t ever think the way we represent sex is explicitly sexy; we’re not trying to seduce. We’re playing up to roles we still see in music today.”
In August 2014, 18+ debuted their first single, “Crow/Horn“, on the Houndstooth record label, affiliated with London nightclub Fabric. This was followed by their debut album, Trust, which was released in November 2014. Critic Killian Fox from The Observer described the album as “moving at a stoned pace, oozing sex and a glitchy sense of unease, though it’s never clear whether it’s critiquing its excesses or revelling in them.”
The band released their follow-up single, “Dry“, on Houndstooth on February 23, 2015.
Between January and February 2015, 18+ toured in support of Trust across the US and Europe, performing in cities such as Los Angeles, London, Amsterdam, Berlin, and Paris.
Discography
Studio Albums
- Trust (2014), Houndstooth
- Collect (2016), Houndstooth
Mixtapes
- M1xtape (2011) – download only
- Mixta2e (2012) – download only
- Mixtap3 (2013) – download only
- Fore (2016) – download only
Singles
- “Crow”/“Horn” (2014), Houndstooth
- “Dry” (2015), Houndstooth
References
External Links
- Official website