BIOGRAPHY: 2024
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Empathy Test celebrated their 10th year with the "Ten Year Anniversary Tour", which included dates in Czech Republic, Scandinavia, Germany, and the UK. It also featured a sold-out show in Leipzig, Germany, at the 450 capacity Werk II. The main German leg of the tour in March included two supports; new Pluswelt signing Auger (UK) and the Daniel Myer-produced Czech band Lakeside X, while the UK leg in April, featured Hungarian band Black Nail Cabaret.
Meanwhile, Empathy Test's singer/songwriter Isaac Howlett began a solo career under his own name, collaborating with US producer Walter Kazmier, who he had met at Dark Force Festival in New Jersey in April 2023, on a debut single entitled House of Cards, which he self-released via Distrokid on 28th February. The track, featuring a groove-led bass line and up-tempo beat, drew comparisons to A-ha and The Pet Shop Boys.
House of Cards proved very successful, reaching #2 on the Bandcamp best-selling synth-pop chart and #1 on the Deutsche Alternative Chart (DAC). It chalked up over 20,000 Spotify streams in its first month and The Norwich Radical noted that "fans of [Empathy Test]’s signature synth-pop sound have much to enjoy here", the track marrying "recognisably sensitive lyrics with light, upbeat instrumentals".
To help fund the production and release of House of Cards and further solo material, Isaac set up a Patreon, where he promised fans a deeper insight into his creative process, in return for their financial support. The funds raised allowed him to release a second single, Endless Night, later in the year, and to release the two tracks as a physical single on 7" picture disc and Digipak CD in February 2025.
Empathy Test performed for the first time at DarkMad in Madrid, Spain, on 11th May. On 15th June, the previously postponed show with DE/VISION on Hallig Langeness, an island off the coast of north Germany, finally took place. Then, on 5th July, Empathy Test returned to Eastside Open Air Festival in Germany for a second time, before performing for the first time at Fekete Zaj festival in Hungary, on 15th August.
In September 2024, Empathy Test's producer member Adam Relf released an album, seemingly out of the blue, under the name The September Project. The album, a collaboration with vocalist Polly Douglas entitled Phasing, was actually previously released in January 2021 without fanfare, by West One Music, to be licensed for television and film.
Adam asked Isaac last minute to help him promote a re-release of the album via Empathy Test's social media and mailing list, stating that he didn't want it to disappear without anyone hearing it. However, the promotion having been left so late and without any real internet presence for the project, the re-release had little impact.
Still, Phasing earned itself a wildly positive review from Morbidly Beautiful, who likened Polly Douglas to Alison Moyet, commenting that her "soulful singing meshes perfectly with the dark-electro backdrop", while "Adam brings an almost classical sensibility to his compositions" and is able to "take a seemingly innocuous or dissonant sound or melody and make it insidiously infectious".
On 9th November, Empathy Test performed at Sever Synth Festival in Liberec, Czech Republic, and then on 29th November a headline show in Copenhagen, before appearing on the main stage for the first time, at Plage Noire Festival in Germany, on 30th November.
On the 13th December, Isaac Howlett released a second solo single, Endless Night. It debuted at #2 on the German Alternative Chart (DAC) and #3 on the Klangwald Radio Chart, where it rose to #2 in its second week. Synthpop Fanatic included it in their "10 best synthpop songs of December 2024", praising its "...beautiful vocals and heartfelt lyrics", while Blitzed Magazine described it on Twitter as "an ethereal gem".