This article may contain an excessive number of citations .(June 2020) |
Fighting Kites | |
---|---|
Origin | North London, UK |
Genres | Indie rock, Post-Rock, Noise, Ambient, Instrumental |
Years active | 2006–2012 |
Labels | Audio Antihero / Variant Records |
Past members | Neil Debnam Daniel Fordham David Stewart Luke Johnson |
Website | http://www.fightingkites.bandcamp.com |
Fighting Kites were an English instrumental indie rock band from North London, England. [1] They have been praised by Indie press and BBC radio [2] for their unique approach to contemporary instrumental rock music, [3] taking their influences from '60s pop/R&B outfits like The Shadows and Booker T & The MGs as well as Japanese Noise acts. [4] [5] [6] [7] [8]
Fighting Kites began as a duo of Neil Debnam and Daniel Fordham in 2006, [9] they issued one self-titled EP [10] under this line-up before bringing bassist David Stewart into the fold. They showcased this bulkier sound on 2009's self-released "Vlaams Tapes" [11] before bringing in fourth member, Luke Johnson. [12] The band continued to play live on bills in Belgium, Los Angeles and London with the likes of Male Bonding, [13] [14] Ruins, [15] Vampillia, [15] Jack Hayter (ex-Hefner), [16] Shoes and Socks Off, [17] Benjamin Shaw, [18] Paul Hawkins, [19] Ben Parker (Nosferatu D2) [20] [21] and Nisennenmondai. [13] [22] [23] [24] In 2009 they also provided musical accompaniment to a reading by author Stuart Evers who is a fan of the group. [25] [26]
In 2011, Fighting Kites founder Neil Debnam issued his first solo release under the Broken Shoulder name, entitled "BROKEN SHOULDERRR." This record was released by Audio Antihero and was well received by press, [27] [28] [29] [30] [31] leading also to a number of radio sessions for the likes of Resonance FM, [32] [33] WVUMFM, [34] Phoenix FM, [35] [36] Bush Radio [37] and Dandelion Radio. [38] As a result of this of working relationship, Fighting Kites would contribute a recording of "Carlos Mends Shoulder" to Audio Antihero's "Bob Hope would." charity compilation to raise money for Shelterbox, Red Cross and others following the Japan Earthquake and Tsnuami. [39] [40] [41] [42] [43] Due to increasing delays with the release of Fighting Kites' debut album on account of their Gravid Hands label folding, [44] [45] Fighting Kites would record a new set of songs to issue as an EP with the Audio Antihero label, [46] [47] which was released as a split with Broken Shoulder in October 2011 (distributed by PMD). The EP found supporters at The 405, [48] The Music Fix [49] and other alternative music press sites. [50] [51] [52] [53] [54] [55] [56] [57] [58] [59] Their most notable support however came from BBC 6Music DJ Gideon Coe who began playing tracks from the EP on a frequent basis, continuing into 2012 and introducing them to their biggest audience yet. [60] [61] [62] [63] [64] [65] In this time, they would also record a live session for the "Hello GoodBye Show" on London's Resonance FM [66] [67] [68] and these recordings would be released by BarelyOut Recordings soon after. [69] [70] Their final release from this period would come in the shape of a collaborative Christmas single with Benjamin Shaw entitled "This Christmas (I Just Want to be Left Alone)" which was given away with on 23 December as a part of the Fika Recordings/Darren Hayman (The French) Digital Advent Calendar. [71] [72] They appeared alongside such Audio Antihero artists/alumni as Nosferatu D2, Broken Shoulder, Jack Hayter, Paul Hawkins and Ian Button (also of Death In Vegas). [73]
In 2012 with their debut LP finally ready for release on Variant Records, Fighting Kites issued another track, "Northern Territory," via Audio Antihero on the "Some.Alternate.Universe" compilation to raise money for FSID to help prevent Infant Death Syndrome. [74] The compilation was very well received by press, including The 405, Bearded, God Is in the TV, Bearded, The Line of Best Fit and many more and it featured artists like Jeffrey Lewis, Eddie Argos (Art Brut), Jonah Matranga (onelinedrawing/Far/New End Original), Johnny Foreigner, Still Corners, Antony Harding and many more. [75] [76] [77] [78] [79] [80] [81] [82] [83] [84]
Fighting Kites at last released their self-titled debut album on 7 May 2012 [85] via Variant Records, [86] similar to the previous EP, the album had a great response from Indie Press like The 405, [87] God Is In The TV, [88] This Is Fake DIY [89] and numerous others. [90] [91] [92] [93] [94] [95] Again, Gideon Coe showed his support by airing numerous songs from the album as deep into 2012 as December. [96] [97] [98] [99] The album would also receive BBC airplay from Tom Ravenscroft (son of broadcaster John Peel). [100]
In December 2012, Audio Antihero re-issued "This Christmas (I Just Want to be Left Alone" as a Christmas single to raise money for Shelter. The single benefited from critical praise from online press/radio and support from BBC broadcaster and Tom Robinson Band founder Tom Robinson [101] as well as Jon Solomon at WPRB, Steve Wide at RRRFM and a mention on Rolling Stone . [37] [102] [103] [104] [105] [106] [107] [108] [109] [110] [111] [112] [113] [114] [115] [116] This song was also included on an Unwashed Territories compilation to raise money and awareness for Pussy Riot. [117]
In addition to BBC DJs like Coe, Ravenscroft and Robinson, their music has been aired internationally on stations like DIY Radio, Dandelion Radio, Resonance FM, WVUM, WPRB, Big Scary Monsters Radio, Kooba Radio, Bush Radio, Radio Tircoed, Susy Radio 103.FM, WMBR and many others. [118] [119] [120] [121] [122] [123] [124] [125] [126] [127] [128] [129]
Since the band dissolved, Fordham and Stewart went on to form The Drink in late 2012 with Dearbhla Minogue. The group released two albums via Melodic [130] [131] and performed with Fighting Kites label mates Frog (who Debnam also remixed) [132] [133]
Top of the Pops (TOTP) is a British music chart television programme, made by the BBC and broadcast weekly between 1 January 1964 and 30 July 2006. The programme was the world's longest-running weekly music show. For most of its history, it was broadcast on Thursday evenings on BBC One. Each show consisted of performances of some of the week's best-selling popular music records, usually excluding any tracks moving down the chart, including a rundown of that week's singles chart. This was originally the Top 20, though this varied throughout the show's history. The Top 30 was used from 1969, and the Top 40 from 1984.
BBC Radio 6 Music is a British digital radio station owned and operated by the BBC, specialising primarily in alternative music. In 2002 it was the first national music radio station to be launched by the BBC in 32 years. It is available only on digital media: DAB radio, BBC Sounds, digital television, and throughout northern and western Europe through the Astra 2B satellite.
Cerys Elizabeth Matthews is a Welsh singer, songwriter, author, and broadcaster. She was a founding member of Welsh rock band Catatonia and a leading figure in the "Cool Cymru" movement of the late 1990s.
David Collings was an English actor. In an extensive career he appeared in many roles on stage, television, film and radio, as well as various audio books, voiceovers, concert readings and other work. He garnered a following through his numerous appearances in cult sci-fi series such as Doctor Who, Sapphire & Steel and Blake's 7, as well as dubbing the titular character in the series Monkey and Legolas in the classic BBC Radio 4 adaptation of Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings.
Gideon Jon Quantrill Coe is a radio DJ, presenter, sportscaster, voiceover artist and journalist.
Jack Hayter is a British musician. He is best known as a multi instrumentalist with Hefner but is also an acclaimed folk singer-songwriter in his own right. Hayter also played with alt-country band Spongefinger and folktronica band Dollboy. Hayter is also frequently used as a session pedal steel guitar player in the London alternative scene.
Bellowhead is an English contemporary folk band, active from 2004 to 2016, reforming in 2020. The eleven-piece act played traditional dance tunes, folk songs and shanties, with arrangements drawing inspiration from a wide range of musical styles and influences. The band included percussion and a four-piece brass section. Bellowhead's bandmembers played more than 20 instruments among them, whilst all performers provided vocals.
The Hitchers are a band from the Irish city of Limerick. They formed in 1989.
Jenna-Louise Coleman is an English actress. She began her television career by playing Jasmine Thomas in the soap opera Emmerdale from 2005 to 2009, followed by a recurring role in the BBC school-based drama series Waterloo Road (2009). She made her film debut with a small role in the American superhero film Captain America: The First Avenger (2011), and made appearances on diverse British period miniseries, including Titanic (2012), and Death Comes to Pemberley (2013).
The Flowers of Hell are a transatlantic experimental orchestra made up of a revolving line-up of 16 or so independent musicians based in Toronto and London. Their mostly instrumental sound builds bridges between classical music and post-rock, shoegaze, space rock and drone music, often resulting in their being described as an orchestral extension of the work of The Velvet Underground and Spacemen 3. They are led by synesthete composer Greg Jarvis. Much of their repertoire is an exploration of the timbre-to-shape synesthesia that causes Jarvis to involuntarily perceive all sounds as floating abstract visual forms.
Paul Hawkins is a British, London-based author and singer-songwriter, who grew up near Bristol and has been a key figure in London's antifolk scene. He regularly records in collaboration with Death in Vegas and Dot Allison guitarist Ian Button and a six-piece band under the name of Paul Hawkins & The Awkward Silences. Hawkins has also worked with the artist Alex Templeton-Ward, utilising his bass and synth work both live and on record.
Monograph was a London-based indie rock band that began recording music in 1995 and broke up in 2000.
Invisible System is the pseudonym for the UK & Africa producer Dan Harper whose music involves a fusion of Ethiopian, dub, reggae, techno, trance, drum and bass, jungle, acid, psychedelic, folk, post-punk, goth and rock.
Audio Antihero is a British independent record label formed in October 2009 and based in South East London. They have been the centerpiece of several radio BBC, PRI and international radio stories.
Benjamin Shaw is an English-Canadian musician and artist based in Melbourne, Australia. He has recorded for a number of different labels but is a mainstay of Audio Antihero records. He also uses the monickers of Guppy and Megadead.
Crowns are an English folk punk band from Launceston, Cornwall, England, formed in 2010. The band consisted of lead singer and guitarist Bill Jefferson, bass player Jake Butler, mandolinist Jack Speckleton and drummer Rob Ramplin.
Nosferatu D2 were an English indie rock band from Croydon, Surrey, England. They were active from 2005 to 2007 and remained unsigned during that time. The band experienced posthumous acclaim and interest when the debuting Audio Antihero record label issued their unreleased debut album We're Gonna Walk Around This City With Our Headphones On To Block Out The Noise.
Former Utopia is a rock band from London, England. They formed after meeting at a Silver Jews gig in 2006. The band toured the UK with Julie Doiron in 2009 and with smallgang 2011 and Europe with Shonen Knife in 2012. They have also shared stages with Bottomless Pit, Uzeda, COME, Bellini, Thee More Shallows, Chris Brokaw, Geoff Farina, Shannon Wright, David Grubbs and PW Long.
Frog is an American indie rock band. The group was founded by Daniel Bateman and Thomas White in Queens, New York in 2012. In 2019, White left the band and was replaced on drums by Bateman's brother Steve. White has since rejoined the band on bass.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)