Handle With Care - Frankie Stew & Harvey Gunn

Brighton rap and production duo Frankie Stew and Harvey Gunn today drop their new 8-track project, Handle With Care. Reflective and downbeat, but with a light of hope buried amid the melancholy, Handle With Care was written over the last couple of lockdowns and delves into Frankie’s feelings during this strangest of years; feelings many of us will be familiar with.

New single ‘Numbers On The Brain’, featuring fellow Brighton native Ocean Wisdom, is also out now. Built on Harvey’s swinging, high-stepping beat, it sees Frankie discuss how the financial pressures of lockdown and the lack of live shows has affected his mental health.

Recorded between their Brighton studio and a converted barn on a farm in Hazlemere, Handle With Care follows Frankie and Harvey’s 2020 studio album Breathing Exercises, which dropped just before the pandemic struck; its bare-boned honesty and prescient themes of anxiety, stress, panic and isolation striking home with fans far and wide. Fast forward a year and the pair’s radical honesty is more pronounced and relatable than ever, with Frankie focusing on subjects including freedom, loss and the importance of relationships throughout songs such as ‘Tears On My Window’ and ‘Emotions Dancing’.

“It’s a snapshot project and one that’s very reflective of these times. A lot of people will relate to these universal feelings,” says Frankie. “I want to be a voice for everyone who feels the same way I do. There’s no playing to the gallery, it’s just me airing my feelings.”

Only in their early 20’s, best mates Frankie Stew and Harvey Gunn have been self-releasing their uniquely British blend of hip hop, garage and dance music for the best part of a decade, amassing over 60 million streams in the process. Built on an independent, grassroots foundation, their hugely dedicated cult following is growing at an increasingly rapid pace, as seen by their upcoming headline booking at London’s 2,300 capacity O2 Forum Kentish Town. Their latest album, 2020’s Breathing Exercises, saw them add Loyle Carner to a diverse list of collaborators that includes the likes of Murkage Dave and Ady Suleiman, with widespread tastemaker support coming from Annie Mac, DJ Target, Huw Stephens and 6Music, as well as co-signs from The Streets’ Mike Skinner and Jorja Smith. Having been recently chosen as The Independent’s Spotlight Artist, 2021 is set to see them take their unique sound to even wider audiences with more new music and their biggest UK headline tour to date.

‘Handle With Care’ Tracklist: