Tender

The London duo of James Cullen and Dan Cobb have been developing a slow-tempo electronic pop sound since the mid-2010s, characterized by a melodic vocal, soft synths and minimalist rhythms that draw as much from R&B as from indie pop. Born in a domestic setting and first shared online, Tender is built around introspective songs that address romantic relationships, emotional dependence and everyday fragility, with direct, repetitive songwriting designed for nocturnal atmospheres. After several self-released EPs between 2015 and 2016, the duo signed to Partisan Records and released the album Modern Addiction in 2017, which clearly set the project’s tone between synthetic melancholy and pop structures. In 2019, Tender deepened this aesthetic with Fear of Falling Asleep, where the production gains contrast while remaining centered on gentle electronic textures and spare arrangements. Present on independent stages and in multiple film and TV soundtracks, Tender belongs to a generation of British electronic projects shaped as much by the studio as by the digital circulation of their tracks.