Night Tapes

Night Tapes
OriginLondon, England
Genres
Years active2019–present
LabelNettwerk
Members

Night Tapes are a British-Estonian dream pop band based in London, formed by Estonian singer Iiris Vesik and English musicians Max Doohan and Sam Richards.[1] The group began as late-night jam sessions between the three while they were housemates in South London, from which the band took its name.[2][3] After a series of EPs released between 2019 and 2024, they issued their debut studio album, portals//polarities, through Nettwerk on 26 September 2025.[4]

History

Formation and early EPs (2019–2021)

Vesik, a native of Tallinn, had previously pursued a solo career in Estonia, releasing an album on EMI, before moving to London to work as a musician.[5][1] Doohan and Richards, childhood friends from towns near the New Forest, met Vesik in London, where the three shared a house and began recording improvised music in the evenings.[1][6] Doohan previously played drums in the London band Another Sky, while Richards trained as a jazz guitarist.[7][1]

The band released their debut single, "Forever", in August 2019, followed by the three-track EP Dream Forever in Glorious Stereo later that year.[5] The single became an underground hit during the COVID-19 pandemic and later surpassed ten million streams on Spotify.[4] A second EP, Download Spirit, followed.[5]

Nettwerk, Perfect Kindness and assisted memories (2022–2024)

Night Tapes signed to Nettwerk Music Group in 2022 and made their debut at South by Southwest in March 2023.[8] Their third EP, Perfect Kindness (2023), was mixed by Nathan Boddy and mastered by Matt Colton.[9] The 2023 single "drifting" became the band's biggest hit to date.[1] A fourth EP, assisted memories, followed in 2024.[10]

portals//polarities (2025–present)

The band wrote much of their debut album while on tour, recording in hotel rooms, and incorporated field recordings made around the world, including in Estonia, Mexico and Los Angeles.[11][4] portals//polarities was released on 26 September 2025 via Nettwerk and was supported by the singles "babygirl (like no1 else)", "pacifico", "helix", "storm" and "swordsman".[4] The band promoted the album with a 19-date North American headline tour beginning in October 2025, followed by European and UK dates in November, including a headline show at London's Village Underground.[12][13]

The album received positive reviews: DIY called it "as unpredictable as it is beautiful",[14] while God Is in the TV described it as "both absorbingly ambient and catchy at the same time".[7] In September 2025 the band featured on the cover of NME.[1]

Musical style

Night Tapes' music has been described as dream pop blended with electronic, ambient and trip hop elements, characterised by Vesik's layered vocals over minimalist drum loops and synthesisers.[5][6] NME characterised their output as hypnagogic pop with shoegaze textures.[1] The band cite both lived experience and spiritual or metaphysical themes as inspirations, and favour first takes and "multi-fidelity" recording techniques.[3][11]

Members

  • Iiris Vesik – vocals, keyboards
  • Max Doohan – drums, production
  • Sam Richards – guitar, production

Discography

Studio albums

  • portals//polarities (2025)[4]

EPs

  • Dream Forever in Glorious Stereo (2019)[5]
  • Download Spirit (2020)[15]
  • Dream Forever in Glorious Stereo + Download Spirit (double EP, 2023)[15]
  • Perfect Kindness (2023)[9]
  • assisted memories (2024)[10]

Singles

  • "Forever" (2019)[5]
  • "Humans" (2022)[15]
  • "Selene" (2023)[8]
  • "drifting" (2023)[1]
  • "Humans" (Franc Moody remix, 2023)[15]
  • "Projections" (2024)[15]
  • "drifting" (Laurence Guy remix, 2024)[15]
  • "to be free" (2024)[15]
  • "to be free" (Benjamin Damage remix, 2024)[15]
  • "babygirl (like no1 else)" (2025)[4]
  • "pacifico" (2025)[4]
  • "helix" (2025)[15]
  • "storm" (2025)[15]
  • "swordsman" (2025)[15]
  • "drifting" (kryptogram remix, 2026)[15]
  • “swim” (2026)

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Rigotti, Alex (8 September 2025). "Night Tapes are making transportive, truth-seeking dream pop". NME. Retrieved 17 July 2026.
  2. ↑ Turner, Danny (22 February 2024). "A Few Minutes with Night Tapes". Roland Articles. Retrieved 17 July 2026.
  3. 1 2 "New Noise: Night Tapes". Wonderland. 5 July 2023. Retrieved 17 July 2026.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Breihan, Tom (27 May 2025). "Night Tapes Announce Debut Album portals // polarities: Hear "pacifico"". Stereogum. Retrieved 17 July 2026.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Collar, Matt. "Night Tapes Biography". AllMusic. Retrieved 17 July 2026.
  6. 1 2 "An Interview with Electronic Dream-Pop Trio, 'Night Tapes'". Neun Magazine. 18 September 2025. Retrieved 17 July 2026.
  7. 1 2 Hobbs, Matt (30 September 2025). "Night Tapes – portals//polarities (Nettwerk Music Group)". God Is in the TV. Retrieved 17 July 2026.
  8. 1 2 "Night Tapes herald new EP with dreamy single "Selene"". Nettwerk Music Group. 29 March 2023. Retrieved 17 July 2026.
  9. 1 2 "Night Tapes: "Other producers seemed like wizards. Then we found out they just had better plugins"". MusicTech. 23 August 2023. Retrieved 17 July 2026.
  10. 1 2 "Night Tapes". Turn & Work. 29 November 2025. Retrieved 17 July 2026.
  11. 1 2 Kenneally, Cerys (8 August 2025). "Night Tapes: "We're drawn to first takes because there's a sense of adventure in them"". The Line of Best Fit. Retrieved 17 July 2026.
  12. ↑ "Night Tapes announce debut album 'portals // polarities' out September 26th via Nettwerk". Nettwerk Music Group. 27 May 2025. Retrieved 17 July 2026.
  13. ↑ "Night Tapes' Iiris Vesik: Dreams come true, but not how you expect them to". ERR News. 9 December 2025. Retrieved 17 July 2026.
  14. ↑ Cockrell, Gemma (26 September 2025). "Night Tapes – portals//polarities". DIY. Retrieved 17 July 2026.
  15. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 "Night Tapes". Bandcamp. Retrieved 17 July 2026.
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