PREP

In 2015, the four members of PREP came together to cut deep grooves that mine contemporary R&B and electronica while hearkening back to the soft, sheer sound of the late ’70s and early ‘80s—what some listeners have retroactively dubbed yacht rock. The love for that style united vocalist-lyricist Tom Havelock, keyboardist Llywelyn Ap Myrddin, drummer Guillaume Jambel, and producer Dan Radclyffe. PREP is pop music that feels tip-of-the-tongue familiar even though you’ve never heard it before.

The London-based four-piece PREP share a delightful rendition of Harry Styles' hit single "As It Was". Taking a vastly different direction from the original upbeat track, the band's loungey version of "As It Was" pulls listeners into the PREP universe, which wouldn't be complete without a saxophone solo.

"It’s hard to find songs of other people’s where you can sing them and feel like they’re your own. And this one’s an unlikely contender," Tom Havelock explains, "there are so many really personal details in the lyrics - but something about the situation we were in (back on the road for the first time since the pandemic, having an incredible trip across the US but also missing home and family, trying to work out where those 2 years had gone) meant it really chimed with how we were feeling."

PREP is no stranger to Southeast Asia. The band has played multiple shows in the region, notably their 2018 Asia Tour that included stops in cities like Jakarta, Singapore, Bali, Bangkok, and Manila. Most recently, the band played a set at Java Jazz Festival 2020 in Jakarta right before the pandemic hit.

The band hallmarks their time building their fanbase in Asia as an important pivot where PREP’s sense of sonic possibility expanded. Indonesia remains the band's top city based on streams worldwide, followed closely by the Philippines, Thailand and Singapore.

With such a strong vision for the sound and aesthetic, PREP is as much a concept as a band, meaning collaboration is welcome. Sought-after talent like rising electro-pop star Anna of the North, South Korean R&B crooner DEAN, and Paul Jackson Jr, who played guitar on Michael Jackson’s “Beat It”, have all stepped into the world of PREP.