About Us

iamnotkathryn

Vocals, Guitar, Piano
Kathryn IANL

iamnotdaniel

Vocals, Bass, Cello
Daniel IANL

iamnotbenji

Drums
Ben IANL

PRESS BIO

Anglo-Irish exiles I Am Not Lefthanded formed in London in the mid-2000s, they met while working in some of Camden’s grimiest indie clubs. Despite coming from different musical backgrounds, their venn diagrams overlapped at different points, finding common ground somewhere around Weezer and the Chili Peppers. Not quite fitting in with the prevailing scenes of the time, IANL set out to develop their own brand of cinematic indie, creating soundtracks for films that haven’t been written yet.

Fiercely independent, I Am Not Lefthanded self-released their first EP, Yes Means No: 6 1/6th songs that don’t give a straight answer, filming their own videos, creating their own artwork and making their own merchandise. To promote it, they toured the UK and Ireland, supporting artists like Duke Special and The Rumble Strips.

The follow-up EP Time To Leave saw increased success, with one of their tracks, Boats (Swept Away), being chosen as the soundtrack for the tv launch campaign of the Oppo Find5 across China, Thailand and Indonesia. Their songs also appeared on multiple tv shows, most surprisingly when two of their songs were danced to by Maddie Ziegler on Dance Moms.

This increased profile led them to winning the UK’s SliceThePie fan-funding competition, with the $13,000 prize money going towards the recording of their first full-length album, The Fire & The Sigh. This led to appearances at Toronto’s IndieWeek and NXNE festivals, as well as touring across Ireland, the UK, the Netherlands and the US, sparking an intense, but ultimately one-sided, rivalry with The Flaming Lips.

The positive reception in the US and Canada led them to relocate to the San Francisco Bay Area, the home of many of their musical influences. The past few years have seen them building their own studio in the hills of the Bay Area, with 2023 seeing them emerge, blinking off the sun, set to release a series of singles supported by online and California touring.

For their next adventure, I Am Not Lefthanded are recording new songs and filming new videos – further details available at www.patreon.com/iamnotlefthanded

THINGS PEOPLE HAVE SAID:

“Brimming with infectious and irresistible songs that instantly bury themselves in your head, pushing their melodic roots all the way into your brain and effortlessly flourishing.” (Alternative Ulster Magazine

“Another of those rare things that at only five seconds in you know instantly you’re going to fall headlong in love with, the bitter sweet cruise controlled drive timing ’Persuade Yourself’ smoulders its way into your affections in a way that these days only Kirsten Hersh manages to do.” (losingtoday.com)

“Songs like ‘Long Goodbyes’ bring me back again. The song invites the bleakness in, then pours it out again, filtered in fight and colour.  A song to hold to yourself, to sing to the north-east wind until the dust is out of your eyes.” (fabulist.org)

“Quietly resplendent, self-assured and shimmering sweet pop tunes. An all-too brief evening of sublime music awash with catchy, sparklingly irresistible compositions.” (BBC)

“The Fire & The Sigh pulses with goodness and a relentless bass. You can hear it gently purr like a content cat. More than a warm blanket this album is a Snuggie, a wrap around sonic hug from friends you haven’t seen in a while. I Am Not Lefthanded’s music lingers long after you’ve hit stop and walked away. Just like the best music should.” (New Music Ten)

“They have a great understated, delicate honesty to their approach to a song. Beautifully arranged, leaving each instrument room to breathe. A pitch perfect offering – it makes for simply great post grungy music that I think is very rare nowadays.”(The Mutation)

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