2024 with Rarely Unable’s Lauren Barley

There are many people behind the scenes who help shape the narrative of this website, and perhaps there is no greater influence than Lauren Barley.

Founder of Rarely Unable, the London-based PR specialist represents some of the most vital independent artists and labels of these times, handling releases from the likes of Constellation Records, Southern Lord Recordings, Ipecac Recordings, Thrill Jockey, kranky and many more.

With many of the interviews throughout these pages facilitated by Lauren and the team at Rarely Unable, without their help, Sun 13 simply wouldn’t exist the way it does.

As Rarely Unable approaches its fifteenth birthday in 2025, we thought we’d flips things around, putting Lauren in spotlight instead of the many great artists she represents. Ultimately, our end of year features were designed for this very reason, and I can’t think of a better person to participate in our final one of 2024.

This interview has been in the works over the last couple of years. Finally, though, Lauren has managed to carve out some time from her busy day-to-day schedule to answer some of our questions about Rarely Unable as well as selecting her favourite records of the year.

Sun 13’s Top 50 Albums of 2024

Sun 13: Firstly, how would you describe your 2024?

Lauren Barley: “I would describe this year as incredibly fulfilling. There were some big moments, including the triumphant return of one of my favourites, the Jesus Lizard, two surprise releases (Beak> and Godspeed You! Black Emperor) and many more great albums that Rarely Unable had the pleasure of working on. It was a banner year for our friends at Supersonic and probably my favourite edition yet, everything fell into place so well, and we were surrounded by lovely friends old and new that form the Supersonic community that I look forward to seeing each year. I experienced some incredible live music on my first ever visit to Rewire in Den Haag, and I finally made it to Berghain in Berlin to see Khanate, which was monumental. Next year marks 15 years since I started Rarely Unable, and I’m anticipating more great things!”

S13: Can you tell us the history of Rarely Unable?

LB: “Rarely Unable began in 2010 following encouragement from friends and former colleagues to step out into the PR world on my own terms. Prior to that, I had been working at Southern Records and this is where I first began working with so many of the beloved labels that we still represent today (Kranky, Constellation, Southern Lord, Ipecac, Neurot, Exile On Mainstream…). At the time, Southern was also home to my favourite record label, Dischord, and I still love it when I occasionally get the chance to work with them, too.

“My very first project as Rarely Unable was with Crass, and I have vivid memories of setting up interviews and photos at the infamous Dial House, such a wonderful place and an unforgettable experience. Over the near fifteen years, the Rarely Unable family has expanded to include the incredible labels Thrill Jockey and Sacred Bones, and brilliant bands like Divide and Dissolve, Godflesh, Earth, Buñuel, Blood Incantation, and many more. The name Rarely Unable is an anagram of my own, and very much represents my work ethic, and I still get a massive kick when people realise.”

S13: With such a large roster of artists and the constant cycle of PR, is it hard to switch off and actually enjoy music without having to worry about the work you do?

LB: “Absolutely yes, I am so immersed and care so deeply in the music and live performance that we are representing, that I have to try really hard to make space for other things and that is a big challenge. But on the other hand, I feel incredibly privileged to work with all the bands, artists, labels, agents and other people behind the scenes and to call that ‘work’. I am constantly reminded by others that we are working with some of the best in the business, and I absolutely do not take that for granted, and also want to make them proud. Ultimately, I really enjoy what I am doing, and I love that pang of excitement when I discover something different/new so I try to cherish that feeling.”

S13: Do you have any hobbies outside of music?

LB: “I do indeed, I’m often flitting from one to the other, I enjoy cold water swimming, hiking and rambling, any kind of adventuring that involves nature, bodies of water, crags, rocks and moss, roller skating, visiting cemeteries and historical sites including stone circles/standing stones etc., film photography, foraging, weaving on my hand loom, language learning, growing my own vegetables, reading about witches, making costumes out of cardboard, and lately I’ve been curious to go deeper into tarot practice. I wish I was better at keeping on top of independent movies as I do love the experience of watching films at the cinema too – I’ll make that a new goal of mine!”

S13: What are you most looking forward to in 2025?

LB: “Many things, I’m planning some work-related trips to cities that I’ve never been before, and we’ve already got a full roster of new releases for the first half of the year that I’m very excited to share with like-minded souls, including some really exciting releases on Ideologic Organ. Also seeing Wardruna at the Royal Albert Hall in London, watching The Bug vs BIG|BRAVE soundclash, and anticipating live shows from Thou and the Jesus Lizard. Throughout the working year there can sometimes be unexpected opportunities which we’re ready to embrace. And I’m going to take a moment to process the 15-year anniversary when it comes around as there’s a lot of learning and experience to reflect on and I don’t often make time for that but feel like it’s important.”

S13: What are your favourite albums of 2024?

LB: “Here are some of the year’s music that left a deep impression on me, in no particular order…”

Craven Faults: Bounds
The Leaf Label

Gareth E. Rees’ excellent book Unofficial Britain: Journeys Through Unexpected Places explores marginal spaces across the UK and the impact of urban landmarks like carparks, pylons and activities underneath bridges of major road networks – seldom documented in historical/guidebooks but very much a part of this Isle. To me, the music of Craven Faults is the soundtrack to the kind of Britain presented by Rees in this book. It is the sonic accompaniment to the mysteries of our rural and urban space and the detached voice of the outliers of society. It creates the soundtrack to a modern kind of folklore, one that is not romanticised but rather grizzly, dark and left to ruin and disrepair. I especially love to listen to this album (and previous records by Craven Faults) whilst in transit.

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Uniform: American Standard
Sacred Bones

I was trying to avoid including any albums that we worked on in this list, but I cannot deny the impression that Uniform’s American Standard has had on me since my first listen. I also think that it’s a career defining album for the band who I’ve followed for many years now. It is bold, brave, honest, ugly and also beautiful at times, with some of the most brilliant musical arrangements they’ve ever produced. Their live performance in London was one of the most memorable shows I witnessed in 2024, there was a beautiful moment when a few members of the crowd spontaneously joined in with Berdan’s striking vocal performance on the album’s epic opening title track. Jawdropping.

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Jlin: Akoma
Planet Mu

I first encountered the music on this album at the world premiere at Rewire in April in an A/V performance alongside Florence To. I arrived part way through their set, and by the time it finished I was left wanting more so I sought this album out when I returned and felt that pang of excitement all over again. These compositions are rich, detailed, and incredibly creative, and I’m a sucker for those footwork rhythms. I love music that exists outside of genre and this fusion of classical and electronic music feels like something genuinely exciting to me. There’s a couple of tracks that I still find jarring, but on the whole, this is a brilliant album and one that I have returned to time and time again.

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Daisy Rickman: Howl
Self-released + Weird Walk special edition

I make no secrets about my appreciation of Weird Walk – heck I might as well have a direct debit to them for pretty much everything they release – so when I was recommended Daisy Rickman by James (Rustic Sorcery) I made sure I gave this my full attention. Originally released on the Spring Equinox, a powerful and meaningful time of year, this is a beautiful homage to those natural forces that make the world go around, and to the cycles of the wheel of the year – my favourite song is Signpost To the Stars which gives me goosebumps every time. Most impressive to me is that Daisy wrote, recorded, produced the album herself, as well as doing the artwork and design (which evokes one of my favourite ‘untitled’ pieces by Hilma Af Klint). Across the album, as well as her expressive singing, she plays acoustic guitar, 12 string, double bass, drums, percussion, sitar, cello, bouzouki, banjo, accordion, clarinet, fiddle, and synthesizer – incredible. A really moving album and one I hope to own on vinyl one day – as I was not quick enough to get my hands on an LP before they sold out.

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Nala Sinephro: Endlessness
Warp Records

Space 1.8 was an absolutely stunning discovery for me at the time, bolstered by an incredible live performance at a one day NTS festival back in 2023. This new album Endlessness is near perfection, totally exceeding already high expectations. Endlessness works on many levels for me, on the one hand, this is a sublime album to melt away to, pure meditative bliss, and seamless sound that I can lose myself in. And on the other hand, the album is full of wonderful details that become more apparent on every listen – so I make sure to listen closely.

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Snakeskin: They Kept Our Photographs
Ruptured Records / Mais Um

I make a point throughout the year of checking out new music on Ruptured Records – a  gem of a label run by my friend and colleague, Ziad Nawfal – which showcases brilliant music from artists from Lebanon and the MENA region. Fadi Tabbal was a name that was already a little familiar to me but I hadn’t come across his duo Snakeskin before, and after reading a review of their new album by Oli Warwick, I felt compelled to check it out. Turns out to be one of the most powerful albums I encountered this year, combining beautiful dream-pop, haunting storytelling and with some very unsettling experimental sounds that to me conveys immense emotional depth. I hope that it reaches more ears.

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Milkweed: Folklore 1979
Broadside Hacks

I cannot recall where I first came across Milkweed, but I am so glad I did as this duo and album are a revelation to me. This (very) short record has a hauntological vibe to it which I love. The lyrics are taken from The Folklore Society’s academic journal, although listening to it for the first time without that context felt like unearthing a time capsule transmission with no known origin, in the way it crackles and jerks with wonderful drama. It’s really captivating and I don’t think I’ve heard anything quite like it in a long time.

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Various Artists: Future Sounds of Kraut Vol.2
Compost Records

Compiled by the late Rainer Buchmüller aka Fred und Luna, this is a glorious compilation of modern krautrock-esque electronic tracks which has since led me to branch off and check out some of the artists that appear on it on the strength of one track alone (e.g. Thomas Fehlmann). This particular edition has been on repeat since I first heard it and has soundtracked many different moments of the year. Also especially great whilst travelling. I’ve had an initial listen to Vol 3 which just came out this December, but I still find that Vol 2 hits the hardest.

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Dame Area: Toda la verdad sobre Dame Area
Mannequin Records / Humo Records

Dame Area was a new discovery to me thanks to Supersonic Festival where they played this year. I love repetitious and rhythmic music and their combination of polyrhythms and synth basslines with an industrial/club-style heaviness and galvanizing vocals is a brilliantly addictive combination. Listening to this album takes me back to the packed-out dark venue in Digbeth Birmingham in the early hours of the morning, where I felt compelled to move by their sound, locked into a trace from start to finish and with a smile on my face the entire time. The music holds up on record too, but it has a different kind of power. I often listen whilst making my way around the busy streets of London, it simultaneously empowers and energises me.

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Uboa: Impossible Light
The Flenser

The Flenser have had a banner year of new releases, including Chat Pile, Midwife and Agriculture – all of which are great albums that have soundtracked different moments in time for me this year. But the album that intrigued me the most from the label was Impossible Light, mainly because the artist Uboa was new to me. This (fifth) album is a mutation of a lot of different sounds I appreciate from harsh noise, heavy industrial, and darkly beautiful ambient electronics, which caught my attention on paper. I find it totally compelling. Impossible Light is a record full of fury and with glimmers of hope – and it feels both necessary and important. Shout out to our friend Lawrence English who mastered the album.

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For more information about Rarely Unable, visit their website.