Life as a two-piece punk band comes with its pros and cons, but it’s also the only one that Isaac Holman and Laurie Vincent have chosen.
The English duo embraced the benefits of having fewer mouths to feed while sharing their additional multi-instrumental responsibilities when they got together in 2012. Then they spent a decade touring the world and releasing three albums as Slaves — often shown as Slaves (UK) in the States — before changing their name to Soft Play and releasing 2024’s Heavy Jelly to new levels of popularity and critical acclaim.
But regardless of what the band has called itself, Holman and Vincent have been embraced not only by the punk scene, but also everyone from rappers to metalheads. And as Soft Play has risen to larger stages not just in the UK but around the world, so has their genre-crossing sound and fan base.
Hit Parader caught up with the electrifying duo backstage to chat about their increased international popularity, getting beaten up in music videos, and desire to remain a duo.
Hit Parader: Soft Play has played and worked with so many different genres of artists. What do you think gives you that cross-genre appeal?
Isaac Holman: Last year, we played with Robbie Williams, Kneecap, IDLES, and Slipknot, so we can go from pop to metal to rap. There’s this continual dialogue where we say, “You need to watch us live,” and that’s been a battle for us because we’ve only just started making records that translate straight off the bat and that people get. People are often like, “Oh, I didn’t even realize you were a two-piece!” So it’s a challenge, but you know, that’s what life is.
HP: What went into the decision to keep Soft Play as a duo instead of adding more members?
Laurie Vincent: We wanted more members. This was all a mistake. We were looking for more members.
Holman: We wanted a drummer, but we couldn’t find anyone that wanted to drum for us, so Laurie brought these drums to my house and was like “Bang on these until we find a drummer.” I’d never drummed before, so it was just like a happy accident.
Vincent: We had no friends, basically.
Holman: Now it’s gone too far [to add a member]. But if someone from Blue Man Group wants to join, that’s it. They’re in, but they have to stay blue.
Vincent: Would you go blue with them?
Holman: Fuck it, yeah. I want to know the secret to how they get so blue. Is it hard to wash off? In my drawer at home, I’ve got a swimming cap and blue paint, because I was going to go blue for a party once. I don’t think it was even that long ago — maybe like a year or so. I’ve got that ready to go. I’m ready to go blue. Maybe the next big gig, I’ll go blue. But I’ll have to make it clear that I’m not a Smurf.
Vincent: People will be like “Who the fuck are you and why are you playing with a Smurf?”
Holman: “Why is he wearing his swimming cap and got some of that shit blue paint on it?”
Vincent: “Because he’s a legend.”
HP: How has it felt over the last few years with the name change and the international growth the band has seen?
Vincent: Well, I think we’re disproportionately big in the UK, and that’s always been a frustration for us. We could play to 1,000 or 2,000 people a night in the UK and Russia, but nothing near that anywhere else.
Holman: We would come off the stage at these big festival slots, or headline shows selling out Brixton Academy — which is 5,000 people — and then play to 80 people in Boston, so it was quite a weird thing. Now it’s slowly catching up, and I think the new name, the new record, and the work we put in is paying dividends. It’s great, but it’s exhausting.
HP: Aside from the new record and the energy of the live shows, it feels like your wild music videos can draw people in.
Vincent: If we had more money, they’d be even more wild. Our vision gets tapered drastically.
Holman: We just come up with these crazy ideas, and people try to facilitate them. I realized the other day that on a subconscious level, it’s heavily influenced by The Slim Shady and Marshall Mathers [LPs and their music videos]. We grew up in the 2000s watching “My Name Is” and seeing Eminem in his Superman suit with his bum showing and putting it on people’s faces, so that’s the era of music videos that we hold highly.
Vincent: That’s the alter ego of our band — deadly serious, but also ridiculous.
Holman: The music videos have to be the way we get our message across, because the music itself can be pretty heavy at times. We want to have fun, and I guess our idea of fun is getting beaten up.
Vincent: I get beaten up in nearly every video.
Holman: I was quite pissed off in the “Act Violently” video. I didn’t like wearing that tracksuit.
HP: What else would you like to see the band do going forward?
Holman: I’d like an equilibrium worldwide, where we can just be at the level we are at in the UK everywhere. I think that’s when everything will make sense, and touring will become a bit easier and more manageable.
Vincent: I just want to keep writing records we’re really proud of and be even heavier. We’re going to basically be a metal band when we come back.
HP: Is there anything you’d want to tell people who are unfamiliar with Soft Play?
Holman: “Everything and Nothing” is our best crafted song, but you need to come see us live to understand it.
Vincent: I’d start with Heavy Jelly and work your way backwards, probably. And yeah, definitely come to a gig. Also, I don’t get Labubus.
Holman: That’s important. Laurie doesn’t get Labubus and I say “Free Palestine.”
