ABOUT
Artwork by Luis Ruocco
Nick Doobay and Luis Ruocco first worked together in London in the mid-2000s, collaborating on several tracks and developing a distinctive, experimental style. He moved to Bristol in 2011 and started drumming with Idiot Strength, a band that Pete Webb was playing bass for.
Pete, who had previously been in Statik Sound System and worked for Cup of Tea Records, shared a passion with Nick for a blending of genres and styles that their previous projects had only hinted at.
The two of them decided to focus on a joint project instead, and having established a direction and sound for this, soon invited Luis to become the third member of what is now New Brand. Her exceptional vocal style is the perfect complement to the deeply layered backdrop of New Brand’s sound.
NICK DOOBAY
Nick was one of the founding members of Incognito. As a session drummer he worked with Seal on his first world tour and also toured Europe with Grace Jones. He worked with Cathy Dennis, Danny D and Juliet Roberts both for TV work and live shows.
As a producer he has worked for WEA, Sony and Ministry of sound under the name of 'Power II Move' and remixed artists such as P.P. Arnold, Carl Douglas, Taka Boom (Chaka Khan's sister) and Jeff Lorber.
PETE WEBB
Pete worked within Cup of Tea Records from 1996 – 2002 as an artist and tour manager. His main project Statik Sound System produced three albums, various singles and remixes and featured on many compilation albums. They toured extensively in Europe, the UK and the US. He has worked with Rob Smith, Springheel Jack, Mr Scruff, More Rockers, Peter D, Aim, Hollis Byrne of Marxman, Juryman, Spacer, Dave McDonald of Portishead, Receiver and Scanner. He has worked with the physical theatre companies Blast Theory and Intimate Strangers and the film company Parallax Pictures.
He is also the Owner and Creative Director of the publishing company PC-Press that has published books on Test Dept. (2016) and Killing Joke (2018) and Massive Attack (2019).
LUIS RUOCCO
Luis is an Italian singer/song-writer and artist based in London.
Initially in a band from Napoli called No Code as part of the C33 Collective, she has also performed with bands such as Weapons of Mass Beliefs and others.
Her distinctive soaring voice and impressive range have lent themselves well to quirky, avant-garde projects in the past and continue to add a unique flavour to New Brand’s multi-layered tracks.
Her art work has been exhibited in the UK and Italy, and in 2019 she won a place in the prestigious BP Portrait Award at the National Portrait Gallery.