Sekiden

Last updated

Sekiden
Origin Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
Genres
  • Pop
  • jazz
  • blues
Years active1998 (1998)–2007 (2007)
Labels
Past members

Sekiden were an Australian three-piece pop band formed in Brisbane, Queensland in 1998 by Simon Graydon on lead guitar and vocals, Mirko Vogel on drums and his sister Seja on keyboards and lead vocals. They released two studio albums, Junior Fiction (2003) and Sound Instincts (2006), before disbanding in the following year. Seja Vogel was a touring member of Regurgitator from 2007 to 2009 and then worked as a solo artist to issue two albums, We Have Secrets But Nobody Cares (2010) and All Our Wires (2013).

Contents

History

Sekiden were formed in Brisbane in 1998 by Simon Graydon on guitar and vocals, Mirko Vogel on drums and his sister, Seja Vogel on keyboards and vocals. [1] [2] [3] Mirko recalled starting to drum as a ten-year-old and forming his first band, Vapour, while in primary school, "At first there were about 14 people in this band, like there were about 10 guitarists and stuff and I was the only one left so I was like, well I guess I'll play drums." [4] Sekiden recorded a demo disc at Super Radiotron, which enabled them to sign with Modular Recordings. [5]

In 2000 they released a five-track debut extended play, Better Music Through Mathematics, via Modular. [6] [7] [8] Matt Attlee of Aus Music Scrapbook opined, "[it] has got me hooked, even if it seems that the 5 pop gems are over before they begin – but such is the sign of a great release that leaves you yearning for more. The stand out track would be 'Anywhere', blasting its way out of your speakers ... and making full use of the alternating boy/girls vocals." [9] BrisPop.com's Andrew Tuttle felt, "[it] consists mainly of tracks from their Super Radiotron demo, but the sound on this EP is far more professional... 'Anywhere', my personal favourite, was in my opinion one of the highlight tracks of 2000. This track mixes punky fuzzed-up guitars with cutesy love song lyrics and fat synths. The keyboard explosion sounds in the bridge are a delight to hear, especially with headphones on." [5]

Sekiden's second EP, Love Songs for Robots (June 2001) with six tracks, was launched at The Healer, where Joanne Bell of BrisPop.com observed, "their sound was chock-full of implausibly crunchy guitar, fuzzy synth, odd machine noises, and elaborate but inobtrusive drumwork. So much push that there's no aural trigger to wonder about the absence of a bassplayer... Highlights for my money were Mirko's highly amusing drum solos, Simon's Leapingest Guitarist action, Seja&Mirko's keyboard duet." [10] The EP peaked at No. 25 on the ARIA Alternative Singles Chart. [11] MediaSearch's Carmine Pascuzzi felt, "[its] a very intoxicating sound from an eclectic group from Brisbane who thrive on bringing something new from past synths exponents. This is their second release and it contains fuzzy pop gems... There's plenty to look forward to from this act." [12]

In May 2003 Sekiden signed with Perth-based label, Redline Records. [13] The group's debut album, Junior Fiction, appeared on 25 August 2003 via Redline. [14] It was recorded in October 2002 at Blackbox Studio, Brisbane, with Magoo producing (Regurgitator, Skunkhour, Shihad) [4] [15] and Matt Maddock as audio engineer. [14] Jasper Lee of Oz Music Project noticed, "The face of Australian geek electro-pop, Sekiden bring their sound back to their indie rock roots in their long awaited debut album... [their] sound now orientated to a US college rock with electro trimming, Team Sekiden are able to broaden their scope in tracks through the eleven songs of the album. The electro influences still permeate through the woodwork albeit with less scope. The effect is mixed as there are some songs seem a bit exposed in places." [16] Sekiden toured Australia, Japan, the United States and Canada. [13] [17] [18]

Mirko described his song writing, "Sad music is really easy to make, cos it's easy to be depressed. Writing happy songs that don't sound like you're taking the piss can be pretty hard. Basically that's our aim, to make songs that are happy and that make people feel good about themselves when they come to see us." [4] The group's second studio album, Sound Instincts (3 April 2006), had Mess+Noise's Adrian Trajstman declare, "[they] can't put a foot wrong. Picture pitch-perfect showdowns between modulated sawtooth melodies and charmingly tidy guitar chug, making for dense, forthright fuzz-pop. Expertly executed!" [19] Sekiden disbanded in 2007 with Seja Vogel joining Regurgitator as an auxiliary musician on keyboards. [20] She was a backing musician for other artists, Dave McCormack, Heinz Reigler, the Mess Hall and Spod, before starting her solo career. [20] She has issued two albums, We Have Secrets But Nobody Cares (2010) and All Our Wires (2013). [21] [22]

Members

Discography

Albums

Extended plays

Singles

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Men Without Hats</span> Canadian synthpop and new wave band

Men Without Hats are a Canadian new wave and synth-pop band, originally from Montreal, Quebec. Their music is characterized by the baritone voice of their lead singer Ivan Doroschuk, as well as their elaborate use of synthesizers and electronic processing. They achieved their greatest popularity in the 1980s with "The Safety Dance", a worldwide top ten hit, and "Pop Goes the World". After a hiatus for most of the 1990s and 2000s, Doroschuk reformed the band in 2010, and released Love in the Age of War (2012). The group, based in Vancouver, has continued to perform, including tour dates announced in support of the release of two studio albums, Men Without Hats Again , in 2021 and 2022 respectively.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Regurgitator</span> Australian rock band

Regurgitator are an Australian alternative rock band from Brisbane, Queensland, formed in late 1993 by Quan Yeomans on lead vocals, guitar and keyboards; Ben Ely on bass guitar, keyboards and vocals; and Martin Lee on drums. Their debut studio album, Tu-Plang was released in May 1996; it was followed by Unit in November 1997 which was certified triple platinum. Unit won five categories at the ARIA Music Awards of 1998: Album of the Year, Best Alternative Album, Producer of the Year, Engineer of the Year (Magoo) and Best Cover Art. Their third album, ...Art was released in August 1999.

Full Fathom Five, also referred to as FF5, were an Australian rock and electronica band formed in Brisbane, Queensland. They were described as "Chemical Brothers on valium." They released a four-track extended play, Friend of Faux, on 1 May 2000. It was followed in December by their single, "Who's Your Daddy", which was placed on high rotation by national youth radio, Triple J.

<i>Hot Space</i> 1982 studio album by Queen

Hot Space is the tenth studio album by the British rock band Queen. It was released on 4 May 1982 by EMI Records in the United Kingdom and by Elektra Records in the United States. Marking a notable shift in direction from their earlier work, they employed many elements of disco, funk, R&B, dance, pop and new wave music on the album. This made the album less popular with fans who preferred the traditional rock style they had come to associate with the band. Queen's decision to record a dance-oriented album germinated with the massive success of their 1980 hit "Another One Bites the Dust" in the US.

Boxcar were an Australian electronic dance pop group formed in Brisbane in 1986. Their founding mainstay was David Smith on vocals, guitar and keyboards. Three of their singles appeared on the Billboard dance chart top 20, "Freemason ", "Insect" and "Gas Stop ". They released two albums on Volition Records/Sony Music Australia, Vertigo (1990) and Algorhythm (1994), before disbanding in 1997. They briefly reformed in 2010 and in 2014.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brad (band)</span> American rock band

Brad was an American rock band that formed in Seattle, Washington in 1992. Their sound was influenced by the wide variety of influences brought by its members, including Stone Gossard of Pearl Jam, Regan Hagar, Shawn Smith, and Jeremy Toback.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Quan Yeomans</span> Australian musician

Quan Yeomans is an Australian musician best known as the frontman of the band Regurgitator.

<i>Beams</i> (The Presets album) 2005 studio album by The Presets

Beams is the debut studio album by Australian electronic dance music duo The Presets, released on 12 September 2005 by record label Modular. The album reached No. 55 on the Australian Charts, and was certified gold in Australia.

<i>Simple Man</i> (Klaus Nomi album) 1982 studio album by Klaus Nomi

Simple Man is the second album by German countertenor Klaus Nomi, released on 23 November 1982 by RCA. It was also the last album of original material to be released during Nomi's lifetime.

Rockbot is an American music group from Richmond, Virginia, with a sound self-defined as "Atari rock", combining synth pop, video game sound effects, and heavy metal music. As bassist Jonathan Sullivan, formerly with the group Jack's Mannequin, and guitarist Clark Fraley joined together to form the band, they wished to feature a female singer, and were introduced to New York-based Apollo Smile. Reinforced by Bryan Stiglich on drums, Adam Thomas on Moog synthesizer, and guitarist Steve Burner, Rockbot went on to record debut extended play Joystick in 2002. In 2003, Smile departed the band and was replaced with Kelli Hoosack. That year, they released their first full-length, Atari Rock. In January 2004, Laura Thomas took the vocal role and also added keyboards.

<i>Love and Paranoia</i> 2007 studio album by Regurgitator

Love and Paranoia is the sixth studio album by Australian rock band Regurgitator. It was released in Australia on 15 September 2007 and was inspired by 1980s rock. The first single was Blood & Spunk which received high rotation on Triple J. The animated video for this track was produced by Quan Yeomans in Hong Kong. As the album's title track suggests, several songs are unguardedly romantic, while others touch on the paranoia, fear and resulting insularity in these politically conservative days. The majority of the album was recorded mid-2007 in Brazil. The album is also the first to feature new member Seja Vogel who provides keyboards and vocals. The band toured the album extensively throughout Australia and it was also featured on the 2008 Big Day Out tour. In October 2008, the band headed to the UK, where it had not played for five years, in support of the release before heading to Asia, including their first tour of China, to finish the Love and Paranoia tour.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Seja Vogel</span> German-born Australian musician

Seja Vogel is a German-Australian musician who was a member of Brisbane bands Sekiden and Regurgitator.

<i>They Dont Make Them Like They Used To</i> 1986 studio album by Kenny Rogers

They Don't Make Them Like They Used To is the nineteenth studio album by American country music artist Kenny Rogers, released in 1986 through RCA Records. The album hit the top 20 on the country charts with the single "Twenty Years Ago" peaked at number two.

<i>Ladyhawke</i> (album) 2008 studio album by Ladyhawke

Ladyhawke is the debut studio album by New Zealand singer and songwriter Ladyhawke. It was released on 19 September 2008 by Modular Recordings. Featuring production by Pascal Gabriel, Greg Kurstin, Kid Gloves, Kish Mauve's Jim Eliot, Paul Harris and Van She's Michael Di Francesco, the album incorporates 1980s-influenced new wave and synth-pop, as well as indie rock. It was promoted by five singles: "Back of the Van", "Paris Is Burning", "Dusk Till Dawn", "My Delirium" and "Magic".

<i>Millennium</i> (Earth, Wind & Fire album) 1993 studio album by Earth, Wind & Fire

Millennium is the sixteenth studio album by American band Earth, Wind & Fire released in September 1993 on Warner Bros. Records. The album reached No. 8 on the US Billboard Top R&B Albums chart, No. 39 on the US Billboard 200, No. 18 on the Japanese Pop Albums chart and No. 29 on the Dutch Album Top 100. Millennium has also been certified Gold in Japan by the RIAJ.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Behind the Mask (song)</span> 1980 single by Yellow Magic Orchestra

"Behind the Mask" is a 1979 song by the Japanese synth-pop group Yellow Magic Orchestra. The composer, Ryuichi Sakamoto, wrote the first version for a television commercial. A new version with lyrics by Chris Mosdell was released on the 1979 Yellow Magic Orchestra album Solid State Survivor. In the US and the UK, "Behind the Mask" was released as a single from the 1980 album X∞Multiplies.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Destroyer (band)</span> Canadian indie rock band

Destroyer is a Canadian indie rock band from Vancouver, formed in 1995. The band is fronted by founding member Dan Bejar, with a collective of regular band members and collaborators joining him in the studio and during live performances. Alongside Bejar, Destroyer currently includes longtime producers John Collins (bass) and David Carswell (guitar), Nicolas Bragg, Ted Bois (keyboards), JP Carter (trumpet) and Joshua Wells (drums).

<i>Wire</i> (Wire album) 2015 studio album by Wire

Wire is the self-titled fourteenth studio album by British post-punk band Wire. It was released on 13 April 2015 through the band's Pinkflag label.

<i>A Walk with Love & Death</i> 2017 studio album by Melvins

A Walk with Love & Death is a double album and the 22nd album by American rock band Melvins, released on July 7, 2017, through Ipecac Recordings. It includes two distinct albums: Love, a fourteen-song soundtrack to a short film by Jesse Nieminen, also known as A Walk with Love & Death, and Death, made up of nine standard songs. This is the first full-length Melvins album to feature bassist Steven McDonald, who only appeared on four of the songs on their previous album, Basses Loaded. Guest musicians include Joey Santiago (Pixies), Anna Waronker and Teri Gender Bender.

<i>Microshift</i> 2018 studio album by Hookworms

Microshift is the third studio album, fourth long play record and final album by British rock band Hookworms. It was released on 2 February 2018 by Domino Recording Company. The album's namesake is an audio plug-in. The record is dedicated to "Archie", the band's former live sound engineer.

References

  1. ↑ Lion, Patrick (16 March 2006). "Dumbest things can be quite catchy for Sekiden". The Courier Mail .
  2. ↑ Gregg, Natalie (16 June 2005). "Trio find a niche where pop is top". The Courier Mail.
  3. ↑ Mengel, Noel (8 September 2000). "Everybody's happy nowadays". The Courier Mail.
  4. 1 2 3 McNeill, Rebecca M (April 2004). "Interview: Sekiden One of Brisbane, Australia's most established and loveable bands". In Music We Trust (65). Retrieved 7 January 2018.
  5. 1 2 Tuttle, Andrew (3 May 2001). "Brisbane Bands, Brisbane Music, Brisbane Gigs – Sekiden – Better Music Through Mathematics". BrisPop.com. Archived from the original on 20 July 2004. Retrieved 7 January 2018.
  6. 1 2 Sekiden (2001), Better Music Through Mathematics: [album], Modular Recordings/destra Media (Distributor), retrieved 7 January 2018
  7. ↑ "Sekiden back in town". City News. Brisbane. 6 September 2001.
  8. ↑ Fraser, Mark (October 2001). "Sekiden's Sweetly Serrated Synth Sounds". redbackrock.com. Archived from the original on 17 May 2013. Retrieved 7 January 2018.
  9. ↑ Attlee, Matt. "CD Review: Better Music Through Mathematics Sekiden". Aus Music Scrapbook. Archived from the original on 5 March 2002. Retrieved 7 January 2018.
  10. ↑ Bell, Joanne (17 June 2001). "Brisbane Bands, Brisbane Music, Brisbane Gigs – Sekiden CD Launch - 16 June 2001 (with Peabody and Klinger)". BrisPop.com. Archived from the original on 20 July 2004. Retrieved 7 January 2018.
  11. 1 2 "Week Commencing ~ 11th June 2001 ~ Issue #589" (PDF). The ARIA Report (589). Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA): 12. 11 June 2001. Archived from the original (PDF) on 20 February 2002. Retrieved 7 January 2018.
  12. ↑ Pascuzzi, Carmine (2009). "Love Songs for Robots". MediaSearch. Archived from the original on 7 October 2012. Retrieved 7 January 2018.
  13. 1 2 Eliezer, Christie (20 May 2003). "Business News: Redline Signs Sekiden". themusic.com.au. Archived from the original on 18 February 2004. Retrieved 7 January 2018.
  14. 1 2 Serra, David. "Junior Fiction – Sekiden Songs, Reviews, Credits". AllMusic . Retrieved 7 January 2018.
  15. ↑ Holmgren, Magnus. "Lachlan 'Magoo' Gould". hem2.passagen.se. Australian Rock Database (Magnus Holmgren). Archived from the original on 12 November 2004. Retrieved 7 January 2018.
  16. ↑ Lee, Jasper "Jaz". "Sekiden – Junior Fiction – Redline". Oz Music Project. Archived from the original on 6 August 2006. Retrieved 7 January 2018.
  17. ↑ Santer, Vanessa (19 May 2006). "Seja raises her voice". Sydney MX.
  18. ↑ Spann, Craig (11 July 2003). "Let's get fuzzy". The Courier Mail.
  19. ↑ Trajstman, a.k.a. JustLikeHoney, Adrian (1 March 2006). "Sounds Instincts". Mess+Noise. Junkee Media . Retrieved 7 January 2018.
  20. 1 2 Levin, Darren (6 April 2010). "Seja: The Synth Whisperer". Mess+Noise. Junkee Media. Retrieved 7 January 2018.
  21. ↑ Carew, Anthony (19 March 2010). "New career synthesised in stitches". The Age . Retrieved 7 January 2018.
  22. ↑ "Q&A with Seja Vogel". Artisan. 16 September 2013. Retrieved 7 January 2018.
  23. ↑ Sekiden (2006), Sound Instincts, Brisbane, Qld: Valve Records , retrieved 7 January 2018
  24. ↑ Zuel, Bernard (10 November 2000). "Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg review". The Sydney Morning Herald .
  25. ↑ Hart, Jon (7 June 2001). "Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg review". Adelaide Advertiser .
  26. ↑ Sekiden (2001), Love Songs For Robots, Modular Recordings, retrieved 7 January 2018
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.