Muscles (musician)

Last updated

Muscles
Musclesmusician-waterfall2010.jpg
Muscles in 2010
Background information
Birth nameChris Copulos
Born1986/1987
Origin Melbourne, Australia
Genres Electronica
OccupationsSongwriter, musician, producer, DJ
Labels Modular

Chris Copulos (born 1986 or 1987 [1] ), better known by his stage name Muscles, is an Australian electronica musician. Muscles' debut album Guns Babes Lemonade was released in Australia on 29 September 2007. The album entered the Australian ARIA Album Chart at No. 14 on 8 October 2007, reaching No. 3 on the Australian Artist Chart and No. 1 on the Dance Album Chart in its first week.

Contents

History

Beginnings

Muscles self-released Four Months in early 2006, a compilation of 20 lo-fi experimental/dance/ambient songs burned on 80 handmade CD-Rs, whilst playing various open mic nights in Melbourne. Muscles's first single "One Inch Badge Pin" gained small radio play on Australian national youth radio Triple J in July 2006. Playing various indie nights and club shows between Melbourne, Muscles supported Girl Talk in Melbourne and Sydney and performed New Year's Eve at Honkytonks 'The Last Dance' closing down party.

2007 began with a concert at Sydney Festival alongside Midnight Juggernauts, Ajax and Gus Da Hoodrat. A week later Muscles was chosen as the support for Hot Chip's Melbourne Big Day Out sideshow. A special one-off performance was organised in February at Click Click (in Brown Alley), arranging 10 musicians from local indie bands in Melbourne to come together and play four songs in a 10 piece superstar improv-band to a mixed response. February included gigs at St. Kilda Festival, main support for Jenny Wilson's Australian tour, parties in Sydney at Bandits and Bad Kids Recreation Club. Late February Modular threw a launch party for their new compilation 'Leave Them All Behind 2' at Bondi Beach, the night included DJ sets from Van She Tech and Bang Gang DJs and Muscles was asked to play live.

In March he opened the first ever Golden Plains Festival (sister to the popular Meredith Music Festival, Australia's biggest non-commercial festival). Three weeks later was Australia's first ever V Festival, Muscles was not on the line-up but was added last minute a night before due to a band cancelling, already booked to play the official afterparty there were three shows that day including a DJ set at Club 77. Muscles met Soulwax/2manydjs at the V festival afterparty where he was asked to support them on an 11 date North American tour in April for their US release of Nite Versions .

Muscles returned to Australia in May, supporting Architecture in Helsinki on their east coast tour including an all ages show at The Metro in Sydney.

Muscles spent a month in London between May and June playing club nights and parties. The debut album Guns Babes Lemonade (completed in February) was mastered at The Exchange during this time. Highlights of the tour include supporting Robyn in Camden, supporting Soulwax in an underground railway, playing the O2 Wireless Festival afterparty in London and the O2 Wireless Festival in Leeds. Amongst gigs in London, Leeds, Bristol, Brighton and Nottingham, the tour also included a gig in Rome with The Presets (that Motörhead attended after their concert with Iron Maiden that night) and a Modular Party in Paris at Maxim's restaurant.

In August, Muscles played at the Splendour in the Grass festival, a few days later travelling to Japan with Cut Copy, The Presets and The Bang Gang DJs, to play two shows at Womb and Summersonic Festival Modular Midnight Stage.

Mid-August saw the release of "Ice Cream" and "Sweaty", a double A-side Australian CD single on Modular. "Ice Cream" had been a radio-only single since March, due to Triple J and community radio stations around the country picking it up 6 months before Muscles had a record deal.

Guns Babes Lemonade

He performed on the Parklife national festival tour in September alongside Justice, M.I.A., Digitalism and MSTRKRFT. The debut album Guns Babes Lemonade was released in Australia during this tour. Muscles did a two-week North American club tour in October to promote the US release of the album. In November and December, he played his first headline tour of Australia including 3 Melbourne shows at the Corner Hotel, Adelaide's Rocket Bar, Family in Brisbane, and an all-ages show at The Forum in Sydney. The tour also included festivals in Newcastle, New South Wales and Canberra, a Myspace Secret Show in Coffs Harbour and the biggest Australian-only music festival Homebake. December 2007 saw Muscles on the support bill for the inaugural Nevereverland festival, headlined by Daft Punk. He was again booked for the festival's 2008 edition, but was taken off the bill mid-tour due to rifts with label Modular, taking to MySpace to vent his frustrations. He missed the Meredith Music Festival due to illness. As of 13 December 2007, his album had reached No. 3 on the CMJ RPM (Electronic) charts in the US. New Year's Eve highlights included playing an abandoned cinema complex in Melbourne with Felix Da Housecat, Spank Rock and Chromeo. Muscles also supported Felix Da Housecat in Sydney on New Year's Day after playing BBQ Breaks in Brisbane that afternoon.

In 2008, Muscles was one of the headline acts at the Southbound Festival in Busselton, Western Australia along with Groove Armada, Kings of Leon and others. In February, he was asked to play the Good Vibrations Festival in Sydney and also gained the main live support for the Chemical Brothers' Australian tour. In February announced he would embark on a 17-date Australian tour to promote the single "The Lake", which was released in release late April 2008. An encore show in Melbourne was added due to popularity in his hometown, and a third Perth show also after Perth and Fremantle shows sold out. With 14 shows selling out it proved to be a record breaking tour for an emerging Australian artist. [ citation needed ] Muscles unorthodox performance at the 2008 Meredith Music Festival included him disappearing behind stage with his wireless microphone and repeatedly yelling "You can't see me!" to a confused audience.

Muscles' singles "Ice Cream" and "Sweaty" appeared in the Triple J Hottest 100, 2007 at Nos. 14 and 76 respectively.

Acoustic

Muscles' acoustic piano rendition of "Ice Cream" reached No. 45 on the Triple J Hottest 100, 2008, on 26 January 2009, Australia Day.

Younger & Immature EP

A press release on 7 September 2010 from Modular/Universal Australia announced a five-track EP entitled Younger & Immature and lead single "Girl Crazy Go", released in late October 2010.

"Koala"/"I'll Follow You"

The double A-side single "Koala" and "I'll Follow You" was released by Modular 1 July 2011. It was released to promote Muscles' second album.

Discography

Albums

List of albums, with selected details and chart positions
TitleDetailsPeak chart positions
AUS
[2]
Guns Babes Lemonade
  • Released: 29 September 2007
  • Label: Modular
  • Format: CD, digital download
14
Manhood
  • Released: June 2012
  • Label: Modular
  • Format: CD, digital download
Gods
  • Released: March 2017
  • Label: Muscles Music
  • Format: Digital download, streaming
Love Synthesizers
  • Released: April 2017
  • Label: Muscles Music
  • Format: Digital download, streaming
Hydrovox
  • Released: January 2021
  • Label: Muscles Music
  • Format: Digital download, streaming

EPs

Singles

List of singles, with selected chart positions
TitleYearPeak chart positionsAlbum
AUS
[3]
"One Inch Badge Pin"2007Guns Babes Lemonade
"Ice Cream" / "Sweaty"59
"Sweaty" (international)2008
"Ice Cream" (UK)
"The Lake" (US)
"Girl Crazy Go"2010Manhood
"Princess Beatrice Royal Hat"2011Non-album single
"Koala" / "I'll Follow You"Manhood
"Unicorns"2015Gods
"Be Your Man"2016

Remixes

Songs that Muscles has remixed include:

Unreleased remixes:

Music videos

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Cat Empire</span> Australian band

The Cat Empire are an Australian jazz/funk band, formed in Melbourne, Victoria, in 1999. For most of the band's duration, the core members were Felix Riebl, Harry James Angus, Will Hull-Brown (drums), Jamshid "Jumps" Khadiwhala, Ollie McGill and Ryan Monro. Monro retired from the band in March 2021, while Angus, Hull-Brown and Khadiwhala all left in April 2022. They are often supplemented by The Empire Horns, a brass duo composed of Ross Irwin (trumpet) and Kieran Conrau (trombone), among others. Their sound is a fusion of jazz, funk, ska, and rock with heavy Latin influences.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Living End</span> Australian band

The Living End is an Australian punk rockabilly band from Melbourne, formed in 1994. Since 2002, the line-up consists of Chris Cheney, Scott Owen, and Andy Strachan (drums). The band rose to fame in 1997 after the release of their EP Second Solution / Prisoner of Society, which peaked at No. 4 on the Australian ARIA Singles Chart. They have released eight studio albums, two of which reached the No. 1 spot on the ARIA Albums Chart: The Living End and State of Emergency. They have also achieved chart success in the U.S. and the United Kingdom.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cog (band)</span> Australian progressive rock band

Cog are an Australian progressive rock band that formed in 1998. Their debut album, The New Normal, was nominated for Triple J's 2005 J Award. The band's music is influenced by Tool, Isis, Nina Simone, Bob Marley, Leftfield, Deftones and Helmet.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Youth Group</span>

Youth Group is an Australian rock band based in Newtown, New South Wales. Built around the vocals of singer Toby Martin and production of Wayne Connolly, the sound of Youth Group is reminiscent of indie rock artists such as Teenage Fanclub, Pavement and Death Cab for Cutie.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cut Copy</span> Australian synth-pop band

Cut Copy are an Australian synth-pop band formed in 2001 by Dan Whitford. Originally a home-recording project, the band now includes Tim Hoey (guitars), Ben Browning, and Mitchell Scott (drums).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Architecture in Helsinki</span> Australian indie pop band

Architecture in Helsinki was an Australian indie pop band which consisted of Cameron Bird, Gus Franklin, Jamie Mildren, Sam Perry, and Kellie Sutherland. Before its hiatus, the band released five studio albums: Fingers Crossed (2003), In Case We Die (2005), Places Like This (2007), Moment Bends (2011), and Now + 4eva (2014). The band has been inactive since 2018.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Presets</span> Australian electronic music duo

The Presets are an Australian electronic music duo of Julian Hamilton and Kim Moyes. Formed in 2003 and signed to Modular Records, The Presets released two EPs in advance of their debut album, Beams, released in 2005 to positive critical response. After two years of touring, including as the Australian support for Daft Punk, the band's 2008 release, Apocalypso, debuted at number one on the ARIA Albums Chart, and went on to win six awards at ARIA Awards 2008, including Album of the Year.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bliss n Eso</span> Australian hip hop trio

Bliss n Eso are an Australian hip hop trio based in Sydney. They are currently signed to Melbourne record label Illusive Sounds, and are managed and booked by label co-founders Adam Jankie and Matt Gudinski. Bliss n Eso have released seven studio albums which include three number 1 debuts on the ARIA Charts. They have also won two ARIA Awards for Best Urban Release for their 2008 album Flying Colours and for Best Music Video for their 2017 single "Moments". Eso, under his alias Esoterik, released an album entitled "My Astral Plane" in May 2018.

Stephen Pavlovic is an Australian music entrepreneur. Pavlovic began promoting music tours, events and concerts in 1990. Since then he has toured influential artist including Nirvana, Beastie Boys, Sonic Youth, Beck, Foo Fighters, Daft Punk, The Cure, Grace Jones, LCD Soundsystem, and more. In 1998 he founded and ran the successful international record label Modular Recordings home to The Avalanches, Tame Impala, Cut Copy, Presets, Wolfmother, Ladyhawke and others. Pavlovic is widely regarded as a tastemaker with reputation for consistently picking trends; spotting and developing talent; his strong marketing instincts and understanding of international markets.

Resin Dogs is an Australian hip hop group, formed in Brisbane, Queensland in 1996. Resin Dogs are a loose collective, a cut and paste sample band who use live drums, live bass, and elements of hip hop via turntables and samplers to create all forms of ritual dance sounds. The Resin Dogs consist of Dave Atkins, DJ Katch, Dennis Kudelka, Jonothan Bolt and Tony McCall, with regular guest appearances in Australia by Hau Latukefu (Koolism), N'Fa Forster-Jones and on their overseas touring they appear with Abstract Rude (ATU) (US), Mystro (UK), and BluRum13 (Canada).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Urthboy</span> Musical artist

Tim Levinson, better known by the stage name Urthboy, is an Australian hip hop MC and producer from New South Wales. He is widely known for his solo music under the moniker Urthboy, as a founding member of the hip-hop group The Herd, and for co-founding and managing the Elefant Traks record label. Levinson has released five solo albums: Distant Sense of Random Menace (2004), The Signal (2007), Spitshine (2009), Smokey's Haunt (2012) and The Past Beats Inside Me Like a Second Heartbeat (2016); as well as five studio albums with The Herd.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Red Riders</span>

Red Riders were an indie rock band from Sydney, Australia. After releasing two EPs and a single, the band released their debut album, Replica Replica in October 2006. The band announced that they would be splitting up via their Facebook page on 5 April 2011.

True Live was an Australian band that was formed in Melbourne, Australia. The group had mild chart success with "TV" reaching #76 on the ARIA Single Chart and The Shape of It reaching #85 on the ARIA Albums Chart. The band received regular play on radio and television and were chosen to perform at the 2006 Commonwealth Games. The group's early recordings contained strong ties to hip hop but since 2011 have made a significant turn toward rock and classical leanings.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">British India (band)</span> Australian indie rock band

British India are an Australian rock band from Melbourne. The band is made up of lead vocalist and guitarist Declan Melia, guitarist Nic Wilson, bassist Will Drummond and drummer Matt O'Gorman. In 2019, Jack Tosi replaced Nic Wilson as a touring member of the band. They have released six studio albums.

<i>Guns Babes Lemonade</i> 2007 studio album by Muscles

Guns Babes Lemonade is the debut album by Australian electronica musician Muscles. It was released in Australia on 29 September 2007, 23 October 2007 in the US, and 28 April 2008 in the UK and Europe.

Mammal are an Australian band that formed in March 2006. Mammal rose up the ranks of the Australian music scene very quickly. Their first self-titled EP was recorded soon after the band came together. Their debut live album "Vol:1 The Aural Underground" was recorded just 4 months after the band started touring at a sold-out show at The Evelyn Hotel on 2 February 2007. Mammal also released a single titled "Slaves/Nagasaki in Flames" AA side, featuring 3 songs. Mammal entered the studio on 21 April 2008 to begin recording their debut studio album, The Majority which was released in August 2008. It peaked at No. 51 on the ARIA Albums Chart in early September. Some of the band's songs, including Hell Yeah!, New Breed Judas and Slaves, received regular airplay on Australian radio station Triple J.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Closure in Moscow</span> Australian rock band

Closure in Moscow is an Australian progressive rock band that formed in Melbourne, Victoria in 2006. The group is composed of guitarist-singer Mansur Zennelli, guitarist Michael Barrett, drummer Salvatore Aidone, bassist Duncan Millar and lead singer Christopher de Cinque. To date they have released one extended-play and two full-length studio albums: The Penance and the Patience (2008), First Temple (2009) and Pink Lemonade (2014) respectively. The band has reached notable success throughout the international rock circuit for their live performances and avant garde sound.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chance Waters</span> Musical artist

Chance Dylan Waters, is a retired independent Australian hip hop artist and record producer. Under the moniker Phatchance, Waters was a founder of the group Natural Causes, in 2003 which issued an album, The Incidental Noise Demo, and toured nationally. The group disbanded later that year.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Calling All Cars (band)</span> Australian rock band

Calling All Cars is an Australian Alternative rock band from Melbourne, Victoria and consists of brothers Haydn and James Ing, along with Adam Montgomery. The band have been heavily touring for the past 10 years, released 3 acclaimed albums and have received considerable rotation on Australian radio, including 'album of the week' on Triple J.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pollyanna (band)</span>

Pollyanna was an indie rock band that formed in Sydney, Australia in early 1992.

References

  1. [ dead link ]
  2. "Discography Muscles". australian-charts.com. Retrieved 4 September 2022.
  3. Ryan, Gavin (2011). Australia's Music Charts 1988–2010 (PDF ed.). Mt Martha, Victoria, Australia: Moonlight Publishing. p. 196.