Perfect Binding EP out today!

Hopefully by now you’ll have heard Tincture, the debut single from Perfect Binding. It’s been getting about, with support from the radio and early streaming numbers that aren’t to be sniffed at. And now I’m starting to think like a label head, whoops!

But this is Perfect Binding - a beautiful capsule of an EP that effortlessly drifts between moods and timbres across it’s tender 15 minutes. I’ve long admired Sam as a songwriter; we lived together for a year in a rat-infested house in Falmouth in 2015, during which time he taught himself to play the cello and introduced me to the music of Robbie Basho. He’s released music under many different guises (all great), but this record feels like a fresh start, and he’s hit the ground running. There’s a very special live band to boot and their debut performance at the Joy of Life showcase in August blew us all away.

The EP is streaming everywhere now, or you can support the artist by downloading it from Bandcamp or the Joy of Life website. We hope to announce a limited run physical release - make some noise if this interests you, because our capacity to take financial risks is somewhat limited!

Press release below for those who like to read.

LISTEN HERE

Thank you for listening

j o l i

Perfect Binding is the recording project of London-based songwriter and composer Sam Bedford. Based around nylon-string guitar, voice, cello and fragments of tape music, Bedford creates songs that feel gently detached and intimate and yet still rich in atmosphere.

His debut EP presents a collection of slow-burning, subtly arranged recordings (Counterparts, Damning, Interlude, Virginia Creeper) interspersed with between-the-eyes alt-rock pop songs (Tincture, Still Boils Fast)that make for a an arresting listening experience. The collection draws as much from experimental traditions as they do from folk songwriting. Worthy of comparisons to the likes of Robert Wyatt, Colleen, Vashti Bunyan or early Beirut, Bedford’s work lives in the in-between, neither lo-fi nor polished, neither throw-back nor contemporary.

Recorded with Benjamin Woods at the Joy of Life Studio in South East London, Perfect Binding offers a compelling introduction to a songwriter focused on tone, tension, and emotional undercurrent.

Tincture, the first single taken from this collection, was featured on BBC 6 Music’s New Music Fix with Deb Grant praising the track for its use of tape production and strings. It was also supported by Apple Music and Spotify’s Alternative Music Editorials.

The new EP Perfect Binding is out digitally on September 19th 2025 on Joy of Life International.