Date signed: April 2026
Label: Bella Union
Type of Music: Singer-songwriter
Management: Northern Lights Management
Booking: Free Trade Agency
Publicity: Charm School Media
A&R: Simon Raymonde
Web: familystereo.net
The end of July will see Family Stereo, AKA singer-songwriter Blake Watt, release his debut album The Thread, a fact that was announced recently by the label which is his new home, Bella Union. “An album of folk-tinged and brush-stroked reflections on distance and connection, The Thread is both dynamic and subtly cinematic, its artfully crafted precision the work of a fast-maturing talent,” a statement by the label reads.
There is, therefore, a lot to celebrate for Family Stereo in 2026. But this is no overnight success story. Watt has worked hard to get to this point."
“I’ve been writing and releasing music as Family Stereo since I was about 17 years old,” he says. “I went off to university and studied drama, and then when I got back decided that I wanted to pursue music properly. I wouldn’t say it got ‘serious’ until we signed with Bella and started working on the first LP.”
The Family Stereo sound was initially centered around fast-paced indie pop. “I grew up listening to Joy Division and The Smiths, so I was just trying to replicate the energy of Joy Division, and the poetic writing and singing style of Morrissey,” Watt says. “I basically learnt to sing by listening to him. But then I got much more into American indie-folk singer-songwriters at university, people like Elliott Smith and Adrianne Lenker, and they turned my head completely, and I haven’t really looked back since.”
Watt’s deal with Bella Union came when Simon Raymonde (label founder and member of the Cocteau Twins) heard the Family Stereo song “Matter” from the first EP.
“We started emailing back and forth,” he says. “He liked the track but was a bit tied up at the time with other stuff. I kept pestering him though, and after about a year we met up and he offered me a deal for the first LP.”
According to a statement, “The Thread arrives in the aftermath of a string of singles from the 25-year-old Blake, son of Everything But The Girl’s Tracey Thorn and Ben Watt.”
“I recorded it with my bandmate and producer Sam Hodder-Williams at his studio in North London,” Watt adds. “We started recording in September 2024 and finished in July 2025.”
As Family Stereo gets prepared for the release of The Thread, Watt is also steadying himself for a busy 2026.
“We’re working on the follow up currently, and I’m just trying to keep writing as much as I can,” he says. “I’ve written about five songs I really like. I’m also going off on tour with someone for a few dates next week, so it’ll be nice to play some of the songs off the upcoming record. We’re going back into the studio over summer so that’ll be a good incentive to write some more stuff.”
