Scott 4 (band)

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Scott 4
Origin London, England
Genres Indie rock, Country rock
Years active 1996– present
Labels Satellite, V2 Records, Tiny Dog Records
Website http://www.scott4.co.uk/
Members Scott Blixen
John Moody
Ed Tilley

Scott 4 are a three-piece indie rock band from London, described by Allmusic as 'Electronic cowpunks' for their blend of country-blues, hip hop and indie-punk.[ citation needed ]

Indie rock is a genre of rock music that originated in the United Kingdom in the 1970s. Originally used to describe independent record labels, the term became associated with the music they produced and was initially used interchangeably with alternative rock. As grunge and punk revival bands in the US and Britpop bands in the UK broke into the mainstream in the 1990s, it came to be used to identify those acts that retained an outsider and underground perspective. In the 2000s, as a result of changes in the music industry and the growing importance of the Internet, some indie rock acts began to enjoy commercial success, leading to questions about its meaningfulness as a term.

London Capital of the United Kingdom

London is the capital and largest city of both England and the United Kingdom. Standing on the River Thames in the south-east of England, at the head of its 50-mile (80 km) estuary leading to the North Sea, London has been a major settlement for two millennia. Londinium was founded by the Romans. The City of London, London's ancient core − an area of just 1.12 square miles (2.9 km2) and colloquially known as the Square Mile − retains boundaries that follow closely its medieval limits. The City of Westminster is also an Inner London borough holding city status. Greater London is governed by the Mayor of London and the London Assembly.

Contents

Career

The band was formed in mid 1995 in London, by Scott Blixen (vocals, acoustic guitar, synth, harmonica), John Moody (electric and acoustic guitars, bass, piano, organ, synth), and Ed Tilley (drums, programming, synth), the name taken from an album by Scott Walker. [1] Their debut mini-LP, Elektro Akoustic Und Volkmechanic was released in June 1997, followed by the single, "Deutsche LP Record", which was named 'Single of the Week' in the Melody Maker . [2] Their second album, Recorded in State followed in early 1998 to critical acclaim, leading to the band's signing to V2 Records. [1]

Scott Walker (singer) American singer-songwriter, composer and record producer

Scott Walker is an American-born British singer-songwriter, composer and record producer. Walker is noted for his distinctive baritone voice and for the unorthodox career path that has taken him from 1960s pop icon to 21st-century avant-garde musician. Walker's success has largely been in the United Kingdom, where his first three solo albums reached the top ten. He has lived in the UK since 1965 and became a British citizen in 1970.

A mini-LP or mini-album is a short vinyl record album or LP, usually retailing at a lower price than an album that would be considered full-length. It is distinct from an EP due to containing more tracks and a slightly longer running length. A mini-LP is not to be confused with the unique to Japan "mini LP sleeve" or "paper jacket" CD.

<i>Melody Maker</i> historical British weekly pop/rock music newspaper (1926-2000)

Melody Maker was a British weekly music magazine, one of the world's earliest music weeklies, and—according to its publisher IPC Media—the earliest. It was founded in 1926, largely as a magazine for dance band musicians, by Leicester-born composer, publisher Lawrence Wright; the first editor was Edgar Jackson. In 2000 it was merged into "long-standing rival" New Musical Express.

As well as their records being well received, the band quickly acquired a formidable live reputation. Whilst many shows throughout 1995-1999 were played just as the three piece, certain extra musicians became more permanent additions for five piece touring band, those being Mark Rappard (bass) who was replaced in 1997 by John Thompson, and, Graham Thomson (keyboards/acoustic guitar). For one-off shows the number of personnel could vary wildly - Scott 4 supported Stereolab at The Astoria in 1998, with an 11 piece band including Les Hill (pedal steel), Kate Shipway (flute), Tim Kent (banjo) amongst others.

Stereolab English band

Stereolab are an English-French avant-pop band formed in London in 1990. Led by the songwriting team of Tim Gane and Lætitia Sadier, the group's music combined influences from krautrock, lounge and 1960s pop music, often incorporating a repetitive motorik beat with heavy use of vintage electronic keyboards and female vocals sung in English and French. The band also drew from funk, jazz and Brazilian music, and were one of the first artists to be dubbed "post-rock". They are regarded among the most innovative and influential groups of the 1990s.

Scott 4's major label debut album, "Works Project, was released in 1999. The initial mini-album Elektro Akoustic Und Volkmechanik had been made in four days in June 1997 on John Moody's four track recorder in the front room of Scott Blixen's North London flat. Recorded In State had perversely already been made at that point, it had taken two weeks to make with Pete Hoffman as co-producer at Milo Studios in London in January 1997. Works Project, in contrast, was the result of six months work from September 1998 to March 1999 in Scott 4's self built studio in Old Street, London ("Systems Pro") with engineer Bob Mallett.

At the end of 1999, after the tours to promote Works Project in UK and Europe, Moody left the band. He formed a new group, Vinyl Exam, who started playing live shows in London from early 2000. Moody also began collaborating with house producer Olivia de Lanzac under the name Maths. The pair released the single "Crayon User"/"Three Parts Boogie" in the summer of 2000. Scott Blixen and Ed Tilley continued as a duo.

The band’s third album European Punks a collaboration with Magic Car, was released on the Tiny Dog Records label.

Magic Car are a British Americana / Folk Rock band formed in 1994 by the actor Phil Smeeton and Hazel Atkinson (vocalist). They signed to the independent record label Tiny Dog Records in 1999 and have released four albums - Yellow Main Sequence (2001), Family Matters (2005), and European Punks (2002), a joint album with Scott 4. A fourth, Meteorites was released in 2016.

Tiny Dog Records is a UK-based independent record label located in Wells-next-the-Sea, Norfolk.

The band emerged in a new form in 2005 as The Scott 4 Free Rock Orchestra, with a stated line-up of "B-sox, E.T., The Most Emperor Mingus & Billy Ray Sawtooth" when they released the album E-S-P, again on Tiny Dog. [3]

Blixen and Tilley also recorded under the name Man & Woman, releasing a dance single, "Sex on the Minitel" in 2001. [1]

Discography

Singles

Albums

Track listings

Elektro Akoustic Und Volksmechanik track listing:

  1. "East Winter"
  2. "Work"
  3. "Afternoons"
  4. "You Set The Scene"
  5. "Broken Stones"
  6. "I've Been Tamed"
  7. "Lucky Strike"
  8. "On Off"

Recorded in State track listing:

  1. "Start Up"
  2. "Deutsche LP Records"
  3. "East Winter"
  4. "Aspirins"
  5. "Your Kingdom To Dust"
  6. "Plane"
  7. "Cheese Four Tracks"
  8. "Miss Goddess No 2"
  9. "Zilch (Darkage And Laserfest)"
  10. "Choke Bore"
  11. "Philly's Song"

Works Project track listing:

  1. "Catastrophe"
  2. "Troubles"
  3. "Hallo Doctor"
  4. "Lefturno"
  5. "Das Junior"
  6. "We're Not Robots"
  7. "May Last"
  8. "Lilla B-Boy Lullaby"
  9. "Scott 4 Travel On Electric Trains"
  10. "Applied For Release"
  11. "We Scratched Our Names"
  12. "Glass & Steel"
  13. "7 Days/ I'll See Ya"
  14. "Konigskraft"
  15. "Ancient & Modern"

European Punks track listing:

  1. "European Punks"
  2. "Shiny Cattle - Magic Car"
  3. "For Teens In The Meantime"
  4. "For Teens In The Springtime"
  5. "Stillness"
  6. "In The Nursery At Night And Further On"
  7. "In The Time Of Pop And Roll"
  8. "Yellow Main Sequence - Magic Car"
  9. "Valhalla"

E-S-P track listing:

  1. E.S.P.
  2. Welcome The Ants
  3. Burn On
  4. Cosmos In Our Pocket
  5. I Am Mental
  6. Indie Again Or
  7. Indie
  8. Cosmos Jams
  9. I is for Understanding
  10. Life Is Goo
  11. Smile Symphony

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References

  1. 1 2 3 Strong, Martin C. (2003) "The Great Indie Discography", Canongate, ISBN   1-8419-5335-0
  2. ↑ Ankeny, Jason "Scott 4 Biography", allmusic.com, Macrovision Corporation
  3. ↑ Official website 'about' page
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