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Speedy Wunderground, the revered London-based indie label headed up by producer Dan Carey alongside Alexis Smith and Pierre Hall, reaches 10 years old in 2023. The fast-moving, ever-evolving creative force that is Speedy has seen numerous professional accolades and personal triumphs over that time, always acting on intuition and their own terms.

Fresh from announcing a series of events and releases in celebration of their anniversary year (including a 10-disc ‘dubs’ box set, huge Village Underground party in September), the release of the critically acclaimed debut-EP from South-London auteur Heartworms and a triumphant first trip to SXSW – the label now pulls focus back to what it originally became famous for – it’s iconic single series.

Next in line to join the prestigious SW alumni are DIY stalwarts Tummyache, the brainchild of prolific producer / singer songwriter Soren Bryce. The project started in 2018 after Bryce decided to switch gears from a solo career to a more band focused project. Their first EP "Humpday" which was released in 2019 was recorded in between Nashville and New York in a DIY fashion, and "SOAK" the debut album that came out in 2022 was produced and engineered by Bryce in her parent's backyard shed with some remote help from friends on bass and drums.

‘We’ve been fans for a while’ says Speedy co-runner Pierre Hall – after being introduced to their music via fellow Speedy signings Honeyglaze. ‘We loved it immediately and aside from her obvious talent Soren’s whole ethos really seemed to fit in with ours.’

The resulting track ‘Circling the Drain’ is a melodic, assured statement of real beauty – channelling early PJ Harvey, The Bends-era Radiohead as well as Kristen Hersh and Big Thief’s Adrianne Lenker. ‘It definitely feels different to anything we’ve put out on the single series previously’ continues Hall, ‘but in a good way – I feel like it occupies the same space of bits we’ve done outside of it – like Honeyglaze – or something from the Tiña album. It’s refreshing.’

As for the song / recording process itself Bryce says – ‘I wrote Circling the Drain as a very tongue-in-cheek response to male music critics reviews of my album and shows, however the end is a more inward reflection on how to accept critique and fight negativity with acceptance and love, and more self-assuredness. I'm incredibly grateful for the chance to have worked with Speedy and help bring this tune to life, which we tracked live and got in the second take. I think what's special about the way Dan works is he doesn't hyper-fixate, and you as a player start to let go of the little details and just put your energy into it. I find it difficult to be on the other side of the mixing desk, but I trust Dan wholeheartedly after this experience, for sure.’