Gabriels (band)

British /American band

Gabriels

Origin| Los Angeles
Genres|

* Gospel
* doo-wop
* jazz
* R&B
* soul

Years active| 2016 (2016)–present
Labels|

* Atlas Artists
* Elektra
* Parlophone

Members|

* Jacob Lusk
* Ryan Hope
* Ari Balouzian

Website| gabrielsofficial.com

Gabriels are a British-American three-piece band consisting of Jacob Lusk, Ryan Hope and Ari Balouzian. The band formed after meeting in Los Angeles in 2016. They were nominated for BBC Radio 1's Sound of... for 2023.[1]

## Formation

[edit]

Hope and Balouzian were working together on a film in 2016 and were searching for a choir for the soundtrack when they came across the work of Lusk. Lusk had previously appeared on American Idol in 2011 and sang backing for Diana Ross and Gladys Knight but they hadn’t seen this; at the time Lusk was orchestrating an amateur choir. They asked him to come to Hope's music studio in Palm Springs to make more music and when he declined, they instead camped outside Lusk’s church with a remote recording studio.[2]

The band is named after St. Gabriels Avenue, the street in Sunderland, England that Hope grew up on. Together they are said to fuse musical styles such as gospel, doo-wop and jazz.[3]

## Career

[edit]

Gabriels debut EP Love and Hate in a Different Time, released in June 2021, was called "one of the most seminal records I've heard in the past 10 years" by Elton John. Their second EP Blame was released in November 2021.[4] In August 2021 they signed with major labels Elektra in the U.S. and Parlophone in the U.K.[5] In the spring of 2022 the band toured with Celeste.[6] In June 2022 they played at Glastonbury Festival.[7] The first part of their debut album Angels & Queens was released in 2022 and was described in The Independent as 'beguiling' and having "real emotional depth".[8] The Guardian review asked "could this be the album of the year?"[9] The second part followed on July 7, 2023.[10]

At the 2023 Brit Awards the band were nominated in the International group of the year category.[11]

Gabriels performed at the 22nd Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in April 2023.[12]

## Discography

[edit]

### Studio albums

[edit]

List of studio albums, with selected details and chart positions  Title  | Details  | Peak chart positions

|
|

SCO
[13] | UK
[14]
Angels & Queens – Part I |

* Released: September 30, 2022
* Label: Atlas Artists
* Formats: CD, LP, digital

| 8 | 25
Angels & Queens – Part II |

* Released: July 7, 2023
* Label: Atlas Artists
* Formats: CD, LP, digital

| — | 3

## References

[edit]

1. ^ Savage, Mark (December 4, 2022). "Flo, Cat Burns and Gabriels tipped as Sound of 2023". BBC. Retrieved December 4, 2022.
2. ^ "Sound of 2023. Earthquaking soul band Gabriels tipped for success". BBC News. January 2023.
3. ^ Joshi, Tara (19 June 2021). "Ones to watch: Gabriels". The Guardian.
4. ^ "Gabriels: LA trio's classic R&B fusion meets silky, swooning soul". NME.com. 29 September 2021.
5. ^ "Gabriels Blew Away Elton John. Now They Want the Rest of the World". Rolling Stone. 5 August 2021.
6. ^ "100% Gabriels: the soulful trio bringing gospel to the mainstream". The Face. 22 April 2022.
7. ^ "Gabriels: From 'harrowing' American Idol to 2022's most talked-about band". BBC News. October 2022.
8. ^ "Gabriels: 'The stuff that people would say about me on the internet they could never say now'". The Independent. 29 September 2022.
9. ^ Petridis, Alexis (29 September 2022). "Gabriels: Angels and Queens Part One review – could this be the album of the year?". The Guardian.
10. ^ @___gabriels (July 7, 2023). "It's finally here" (Tweet) - via Twitter.
11. ^ Snapes, Laura (12 January 2023). "Brit awards 2023: Wet Leg and Harry Styles lead male-dominated nominations". The Guardian.
12. ^ Gentile, Dan (2023-04-15). "This was the surprise Coachella opener everyone was talking about". SFGATE. Retrieved 2023-04-26.
13. ^ "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100: Week of 07 October 2012 – 13 October 2022". Official Charts Company. Retrieved April 26, 2023.
14. ^ "Gabriels | full Official Chart History". Official Charts Company. Retrieved April 26, 2023.

Authority control databases

International|

* ISNI

Artists|

* MusicBrainz