Whitelands have announced their split, saying that they will hold the memories from the band “dear in our hearts for years to come”.
The London quartet formed back in 2017, starting out as a solo recording project by Etienne Quartey-Papafio (vocals and guitar), before becoming a band and introducing members Michael Adelaja (guitar), Vanessa Govinden (bass), and Jagun Meseorisa (drums).
They dropped their debut album, ‘Night-bound Eyes Are Blind To The Day’ in 2024, which showcased their intricate, shoegaze-inspired sound, and was praised by NME as one that can “catch you off guard”.
Now, the band have announced their split, writing on Instagram that they have “decided to go our separate ways” after “a lot of thought and consideration”.
“It is with a heavy heart that we announce that we are disbanding Whitelands,” they wrote. “We cannot thank all of you enough for loving our music over the years, big thanks to anyone who’s bought a gig ticket, bought our two records or worn a Whitelands T-shirt with pride.”
They went on to recall forming the band as teenagers, and explaining how it has led to the four of them “travelling to places far and wide to play shows and supporting many of our musical heroes including Slowdive”.
“We have seen and done a lot of unforgettable things that we’ll hold dear in our hearts for years to come. Whitelands showed us the world and it was beautiful,” the statement continued, also thanking fans, sponsors, their label and more for helping to “build our team to get our music out there”.
In the comment section, Slowdive – who brought Whitelands on tour with them previously – shared their response at the news, writing: “We are so sad to see this news. We loved touring with you & we wish each of you the very best for future musical adventures”.
Whitelands’ debut album was given four-stars from NME and praised Quartey-Papafio as writing “emotions as though he is adding accents to an already richly-detailed canvas”.
The record was later named as one of the 10 Best Debut Albums of 2024 by NME, with the entry reading: “With an array of unexpected textures, there’s barely a misstep to be found on this romantic, sumptuous record… a dizzying mesh of sound.”
The band dropped the follow-up to that record, ‘Sunlight Echoes’, in January this year and previewed it with the singles ‘Songbird (Forever)’, ‘Glance’ and ‘Heat Of The Summer’.
That album was named as one of NME’s most anticipated releases for 2026, and described as certain to feature “chiming guitar tones that evoke bright rays of sunshine on a frosty winter’s morning”.
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