Glasgow-based duo Suzanne Rodden and Lewis Cook capture the feeling of being up until day-break. Layers of analogue synths delaying into the horizon, distorted drum machines and disco-at-sunset vocals all conspire to create a seductive, retro-futuristic vision. French / Italo disco, acid bass lines and a sense of Scottish optimism abound, playing out the perfect club night in ecstatic fashion. It’s an enchanting, inclusive vision; everyone is invited, the future is bright. Originally from the Scottish borders and life-partners since high school, Rodden and Cook (also of The Cosmic Dead) began Happy Meals in a flurry of experimentation at Glasgow’s creative hub, The Green Door Studio. Initially the result of a free music production course, debut album, Apéro, sees the pair embark on a blissful voyage into a love-fuelled, outward-looking hedonism. Both artists operate machines and sing but it’s the dominating Franco-Scottish lingua-franca of Rodden that imbues their music with a sense of sophisticated fun. Think slow BPM’s and a palette inspired by 100% Silk, laced with the psychedelic tinges of Peaking Lights. In the words of the band themselves, Happy Meals sounds like ‘the warm eyes of the future washed over with THE END’.
