November 2, 2025 marks 10 years since our self-titled debut album came out. Our new EP 10 Past Midnight, out that day, reflects on a decade of resistance in sound & remaining unsilenced in a time of stifled dissent.
It has now been 10 years since our self-titled debut album came out. If only we could say that things are much better in the world and pat ourselves on the back for our little contribution towards resisting tyranny. Alas, we all know that reality is far more stark. The disparities and horrors of today’s world are more extreme than ever before. Rather than congratulating ourselves on a job well done, it feels like there’s much more work to do. And just as the parameters of the game have changed, so much our own approach.
In 2015 Fold emerged from the shadows into the lower tiers of mainstream culture. Back then there was a distinct appetite for our somewhat edgy, novel sound and sharp critiques of the powers that be. Social media algorithms didn’t suppress dissent to anywhere near as great an extent as they do today. Our influence, reach and media support were growing rapidly.
Around the time our debut album came out, we had so much momentum that we were on the verge of conventional success. Unfortunately we were a bit unlucky. A few key opportunities fell through and the compromised health of two of our core members set us back for a long period. We did reach a similar level again four years later after reinventing ourselves for We’re the Ones yet this had been our best window, the pivotal moment.
Things have been very different since the pandemic. Our reach and influence on social media were throttled down to nearly nothing, one platform at a time. National radio rarely play our tunes anymore. Online press support has become negligible and the streaming titans no longer amplify our music either. Our work is actively suppressed by conventional online channels so much that there’s no longer any point in pursuing them.
This has all taught us a valuable lesson. It forced us to look at how we can make our work have a meaningful impact going forward. We decided to focus on our communities. Last October we started a music production workshop for young people facing barriers with funding from the West Yorkshire Mayor’s Safer Communities Fund. The workshop is now entering its second year and expanding into a second area of Leeds.
We also decided to stop releasing on any of the major streaming platforms, in protest of widespread corporate misdeeds; unethical investments and exploitation—particularly Amazon, Spotify and Apple. We all become complacent through convenience, I too still use Spotify as a listener and I need to work on that. The idea is for us to set an example by moving away from unethical platforms to more ethical ones and promoting them instead. Aside from Bandcamp—our longest standing, largest and most supportive online community—and new kids on the block Ampwall, we’ve also joined Subvert which is launching its beta version in a few days time.
The same goes for social media. For similar reasons we’ve removed ourselves from all Meta platforms completely (Threads, Facebook and Instagram) along with X. We’ve moved over to BlueSky and Substack, remaining on YouTube for the time being. Our focus is now much more on real world interactions; meeting, discussing and connecting in person, both in daily life and at gigs, or at least directly via email and text rather than on social media. It already feels much better.
All of this brings us to today. In celebration of a decade of resistance in sound and in recognition of the work still to be done, we bring you the 10 Past Midnight EP. The record consists of four new tracks and four previously unreleased instrumentals from the original album, three of which are included as bonus tracks. We hope, as ever, that you get a chance to listen and find some solace in it. If you like the music, please show it to somebody else who you think might like it too.
The Making of Fold booklet
Both the new EP and debut album purchases on Bandcamp and Ampwall now include a 17 page digital booklet telling the visual story of the making of the original Fold album. It contains many of the designs, photos, posters and press clippings generated between 2012 and 2015 and culminating in the release of the Fold LP on November 2, 2015. Included are single and album artwork, press releases, studio sessions, press shoots and gig photography along with some of the original logo sketches.
