History
The band formed in late 2014, [3] and were originally going to call themselves DAS IST, but decided it sounded too industrial, so went with IST IST. [4] They gained popularity in the Manchester music scene from word-of-mouth after gigs at venues such as The Ritz, Gorilla and The Deaf Institute. After a number of singles, the band went on to release two EPs, Spinning Rooms in 2018, and Everything Is Different Now in 2019, before releasing their debut album Architecture in 2020, [5] which reached number three on the UK Independent Albums Chart. [6]
The band recorded their second studio album The Art of Lying during the COVID-19 lockdowns of 2020. [7] Released on 26 November 2021, [8] it became the first charting release for IST IST, entering the UK Albums Chart at number 87 the following week. [9]
The band released their third studio album Protagonists on 31 March 2023, [10] playing The O2 Ritz in Manchester, England as the headline act on the same date. [11] An extended edition digital only LP, Protagonists - Bandcamp Deluxe Edition, [12] was also launched the same week, which included all of the tracks on Protagonists, plus eight bonus tracks from their live set played in Hebden Bridge, in December 2022. [12]
On Good Friday, 7 April 2023, the band announced their highest chart rating for any of their albums to date, reaching number 2 in the Independent Chart, number 6 in the Vinyl Chart, number 10 in the Physical Album sales chart, and number 41 overall in the Album Sales chart for the UK, significant milestones for the band. [13]
The release of Protagonists was followed up by two more dates after the O2 Ritz, at Oporto in Leeds [11] and at The Fighting Cocks in Kingston, near London, [11] the latter of which was notable for the band's first ever live Q&A session with the audience before the gig. After a short Easter break, the band plan to tour the UK from 13 April, including dates at Glasgow, Newcastle, Nottingham, Birmingham, The Thekla [14] in Bristol and London's Omeara. The UK leg of the tour finished in Whitby at the Tomorrow's Ghosts Festival, before they headed for Europe for dates in Antwerp, Cologne, Paris, Rees, Nijmegen, Bielefeld, Rotterdam, Hulst, The Melkweg in Amsterdam and Berlin. [11]
On 4th December 2024, the band announced that they will be playing a series of venues in Europe in April 2025, starting on 2nd April 2025 in Stockholm, followed by gigs in Oslo, Esbjerg, Tilburg, Bologna, Milan, Stuttgart, Leipzig and Berlin, and finishing the tour on the 16th April 2025 in Hannover. [15]
IST IST played two sold out 10th anniversary shows in January 2025. [16] The first was at Manchester's Night & Day Cafe on Thursday 16th January 2025 - the location of their first gig in 2014, exactly ten years to the day. This was followed by a second night, at the Gorilla venue, also in Manchester, on Friday 17th January 2025.
