Bionic (King Adora song)

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"Bionic"
King Adora, Bionic single artwork.jpg
CD 2 artwork
Single by King Adora
from the album Vibrate You
B-side "Don't Trust The Ones You Love", "Freak"
Released14 May 2001
FormatCD, 7" vinyl
Recorded Sawmills Studios
Genre Punk rock, hard rock, glam rock
Length2:13
Label Superior Quality Recordings
Songwriter(s) Matt Browne, Martyn Nelson
Producer(s) John Cornfield
King Adora singles chronology
"Suffocate"
(2001)		"Bionic"
(2001)		"Born To Lose/Kamikaze"
(2003)

"Bionic" is the fifth single by British glam rock band King Adora. Originally released as a part of a double a-side in 2000, the re-recorded single was released on 14 May 2001 on Superior Quality Recordings and reached number 30 on the UK Singles Chart, [1] becoming the band's second and final Top 40 single. The song would be included on the band's debut album Vibrate You and was frequently played at their live shows.

Glam rock is a style of rock music that developed in the United Kingdom in the early 1970s performed by musicians who wore outrageous costumes, makeup, and hairstyles, particularly platform shoes and glitter. Glam artists drew on diverse sources across music and throwaway pop culture, ranging from bubblegum pop and 1950s rock and roll to cabaret, science fiction, and complex art rock. The flamboyant clothing and visual styles of performers were often camp or androgynous, and have been described as playing with nontraditional gender roles. "Glitter rock" was another term used to refer to a more extreme version of glam.

King Adora

King Adora was a rock group formed in Birmingham, England in 1998. The band released debut album Vibrate You in May 2001 and follow-up Who Do You Love? in March 2004. The band was notable for their short, riotous live shows and built a small, dedicated fanbase. Lack of label support and changing tastes in the UK guitar music scene led King Adora to split in 2005. In 2010, the band reformed to play shows in Birmingham and London, but has been inactive since.

Bionic/The Law 2000 single by King Adora

"Bionic/The Law" is the debut single by British glam rock band King Adora. The double a-side single was given a limited release on 8 May 2000 on Superior Quality Recordings and reached number 128 on the UK Singles Chart. Both songs would be re-recorded for the band's 2001 debut album, Vibrate You.

Contents

Background

Recording and re-release

"Bionic" was one of the first songs written by King Adora and appeared on their debut single release, "Bionic/The Law". The band were unhappy with the original version of the song, saying "no disrespect to the first producer (Chris Sheldon), we just felt it needed a little bit more balls behind it really and we tried to deliver it a bit better and make it a better record, it was always one of our favourite songs". [2] As drummer Dan Dabrowski stated, the decision to re-release the song was made because "a lot more people deserve to hear it. I mean, we only released it as a first single". [3] The re-recorded version of the song was produced and mixed by John Cornfield at Sawmills Studios in Cornwall.

Chris Sheldon is a record producer, particularly of rock music based in London, England. He has produced or mixed records for the Foo Fighters, Garbage, Feeder, Therapy?, Biffy Clyro, Oceansize and Pixies amongst others. He lives in London, is married and has two daughters.

John Richard Cornfield is a British record producer and sound engineer. He has been working from Sawmills Studios in Cornwall since 1982.

Sawmills Studios

Sawmills Studios, created in 1974 near Golant on the banks of the River Fowey in Cornwall, is a recording studio used most notably by musicians such as The Stone Roses and The Verve, Muse (Showbiz), Oasis, Catatonia, Tim Armitage and Supergrass.

B-sides

The single was accompanied by two b-sides, "Don't Trust The Ones You Love" and "Freak". Both songs were recorded at DEP International Studios in Birmingham and were produced by the band and Dan Sprigg, with engineering from Jamie Travers. Both songs were played live during 2001 and at the band's 2010 reunion gigs.

DEP International

Dep International was a British record label founded in 1980 by members of British group UB40. It specialised in reggae and dub music. The label went into administration in October 2006 and into insolvent liquidation in April 2008. It was based in DEP International Studios in Digbeth, Birmingham.

Birmingham City in the English Midlands, 2nd highest population of UK cities

Birmingham is the second-most populous city in the United Kingdom, after London, and the most populous city in the English Midlands. With an estimated population of 1,137,100 as of 2017, Birmingham is the cultural, social, financial and commercial centre of the Midlands. It is the main centre of the West Midlands conurbation, which is the third most populated urban area in the United Kingdom, with a population in 2011 of 2,440,986. The wider Birmingham metropolitan area is the second largest in the United Kingdom with a population of over 3.7 million. Birmingham is frequently referred to as the United Kingdom's "second city".

Video

The "Bionic" release was accompanied by King Adora's fourth music video, directed by Ben Hume-Paton. [4] The video features the band (all wearing bionic implants) performing the song in a disused factory setting.

A music video is a short film that integrates a song with imagery, and is produced for promotional or artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a marketing device intended to promote the sale of music recordings. There are also cases where songs are used in tie-in marketing campaigns that allow them to become more than just a song. Tie-ins and merchandising can be used for toys or for food or other products. Although the origins of the music video date back to musical short films that first appeared in the 1920s, they again came into prominence in the 1980s when the channel MTV based their format around the medium. Prior to the 1980s, these kinds of videos were described by various terms including "illustrated song", "filmed insert", "promotional (promo) film", "promotional clip", "promotional video", "song video", "song clip" or "film clip".

Bionics application of biological methods and systems found in nature to the study and design of engineering systems and modern technology

Bionics or biologically inspired engineering is the application of biological methods and systems found in nature to the study and design of engineering systems and modern technology.

Reception

NME gave the song a poor review, saying "this particular incarnation of 'heavy indie' for people who would never admit to listening to Rawk! could have been recorded at any time in the last twelve years, encased as it is in that peculiarly timeless and sterile MTV sheen". [5]

<i>NME</i> British weekly music journalism magazine

New Musical Express (NME) is a British music journalism website and former magazine that has been published since 1952. It was the first British paper to include a singles chart, in the edition of 14 November 1952. In the 1970s it became the best-selling British music newspaper. During the period 1972 to 1976, it was particularly associated with gonzo journalism, then became closely associated with punk rock through the writings of Julie Burchill, Paul Morley and Tony Parsons. It started as a music newspaper, and gradually moved toward a magazine format during the 1980s and 1990s, changing from newsprint in 1998.

An independent music scene is a localized independent music-oriented community of bands and their audiences. Local scenes can play a key role in musical history and lead to the development of influential genres; for example, No Wave from New York City, Madchester from Manchester, and Grunge from Seattle.

MTV American pay television channel

MTV is an American pay television channel owned by Viacom Media Networks and headquartered in New York City. The channel was launched on August 1, 1981, and originally aired music videos as guided by television personalities known as "video jockeys" (VJs). At first, MTV's main target demographic was young adults, but today it is primarily teenagers, particularly high school and college students.

Track listing

CD 1

  1. "Bionic"
  2. "Don't Trust The Ones You Love"
  3. "Bionic" (Absolute Zero remix)

Enhanced CD 2

  1. "Suffocate"
  2. "Freak"
  3. "Bionic" (video)

7"

  1. "Bionic"
  2. "Don't Trust The Ones You Love"

Personnel

Production

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References

  1. ↑ "Chart Log UK: Alex K – Kyuss". Zobbel.de. Retrieved 15 June 2014.
  2. ↑ "Interview Two". Angelfire.com. Retrieved 15 June 2014.
  3. ↑ "Interview One". Angelfire.com. 1 May 2001. Retrieved 15 June 2014.
  4. ↑ "King Adora artist videography". mvdbase.com. Retrieved 15 June 2014.
  5. ↑ "NME Track Reviews – King Adora : Bionic". Nme.Com. 1 May 2001. Retrieved 15 June 2014.
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