Six years ago, Dane Lloyd and Taylor Jones met at a rugby club charity event which lead to a musical collaboration.  The idea struck to go busking in Australia for the summer and eventually the duo secured work performing at tourist resorts.  The duo credit this boot camp experience — performing for hours, seven days a week for six months, occasionally to ‘challenging’ audiences, as preparing them to become working musicians. Upon returning to Wales the pair used the money they’d earned to self-release an EP which eventually led to them appearing on the The Voice UK.

Although Into The Ark didn’t win the grand prize, within weeks of The Voice ending, the band sold out a UK Tour and were offered several great support slots. The duo spent the summer of ’17 performing at festivals and headlining Velvet Coalmine in their hometown of Blackwood. Into The Ark also spent time on the road with their Voice mentor Tom Jones, not only as a support act, but joining the Welsh superstar during his set to duet on two songs each night.

This summer, Into The Ark are back performing at festivals while also starting work on their debut album. First however, they will be touring North America supporting their mentor-turned-cheerleader Tom Jones beginning May 1st in New York and ending in at the Queen Elizabeth Theatre in Vancouver on June 2nd.

Ahead of their debut album, the band have announced the release of the Valencia EP which will be available on June 22^nd through Blackwood Records.

Recorded earlier this year in Valencia with Dani Castelar (Paolo Nutini/Emeli Sande), Into the Ark released first track ‘No Place Like Home’ from the EP on April 6 – a live favourite – which pays homage to their home of Blackwood in The Valleys of South Wales.

Recording the EP at a residential studio in the hills and orange groves above Valencia, was like a dream come true for the duo.

“We’d never spent proper time in a studio before, working with one producer,” says Dane. “The aim was to keep our sound as raw as possible, and that’s what Dani did. A lot of the songs were recorded live, old school, sometimes in one take. We had guests come in to jam, including some Spanish drummers. It was an incredible experience!”

Mastered by Pete Maher (U2/The Killers/Noel Gallagher/Lana Del Rey) and written by Dane and Taylor, the ‘Valencia EP’ is the perfect start to 2018 before they head back into the studio to finish of their debut album –due for release later this year.

The second track ‘Caroline’ which was released on April  27 is a rich soulful track that sours with Taylor’s heartfelt vocals and Dane’s swooning harmonies. This is followed by a track they wrote together whilst busking in their teens ‘Better Than Never At All’ on June 15.

Tour Dates supporting Sir Tom Jones

MAY

1                                      Bardavon Opera House – Poughkeepsie, NEW YORK

2                                      Sands Centre, Bethlehem, PENNSYLVANIA

4                                      Bergen Arts Centre, Englewood, NEW JERSEY

5                                      Foxwoods Casino, Mashantucket, CONNECTICUT

6                                      MGM National Harbor, Oxon, MARYLAND

9                                      Hippodrome, Baltimore, MARYLAND

11                                    Opera House, Detroit, MICHIGAN

12                                    House Of Blues, Chicago, ILLINOIS

13                                    House Of Blues, Chicago, ILLINOIS

16                                    Smart Financial Centre, Sugar Land, TEXAS

17                                    Majestic Theatre, San Antonio, TEXAS

19                                    Paradise Cove, Tulsa, OKLAHOMA

21                                    The Pavilion, Irving, TEXAS

24                                    Greek Theatre, Los Angeles, CALIFORNIA

25                                    Fantasy Springs, Indio, INDIO

26                                    The Bowl, Santa Barbara, CALIFORNIA

29                                    The Masonic, San Francisco, CALIFORNIA

30                                    The Mountain Winery, Saratoga, CALIFORNIA 

JUNE

1                                      Paramount Theatre, Seattle, WASHINGTON, 
2                                      Queen Elizabeth Theatre, BRITISH COLUMBIA, CANADA