The Ropes | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Background information | |
| Origin | New York City, New York, U.S. |
| Genres | Dream pop Indie rock Shoegaze Noise pop |
| Labels | SINLO Production Dessinee Cordless Recordings Rykodisc Discos de Kirlian |
| Members | Sharon Shy Toppy |
| Website | theropesmusic.com |
The Ropes are an indie rock duo from New York City, composed of vocalist and bassist Sharon Shy and multi-instrumentalist Toppy.
Shy and Toppy founded The Ropes after meeting as interns at a record label. According to Shy, "While most people seem to bond over things they both like, I think it was a very long shared list of dislikes that kept our initial conversations going." [1]
The Ropes released their first full-length album entitled What They Do For Fun on the Kobe, Japan-based boutique record label Production Dessinée. [2] Music critic Allan Raible chose What They Do For Fun as No. 15 on the ABC News 50 Best Albums of 2008. [3]
The Ropes released the Be My Gun EP, [4] [5] followed by another EP that August, Clubs in Europe Forever. [6] They released the Love is a Chain Store and I Miss You Being Gone EPs in early 2010. [7] The song "I Miss You Being Gone” was playlisted by Irish radio station Phantom 105.2, [8] and "Love is a Chain Store" was playlisted by NME Radio in March 2010. [9] [10]
In 2011, the band released the Lack of Technology Made Me a Killer EP along with a video that was premiered at the 2012 SXSW music and film festival. [11] The single "Lack of Technology Made Me a Killer" was chosen as Song of the Day by KEXP (90.3 FM) of Seattle. [12] In October 2013, they released an EP titled The Man Who Refused to Be Born. [13] Two more EPs were released in 2014: I Want It All, So I Can Have Nothing [14] and Sadness Is the Rich Man's Drug. [15]
The Ropes toured throughout the US and UK, opening for acts such as Crocodiles, [16] Innerpartysystem, [17] The Bravery, [18] Chapel Club [19] and Sunday Girl. [19]
The band's second and final LP as the Ropes was Post-Entertainment, released in February 2013. In an IndieRay interview, the duo explained the title: "Post-entertainment is an examination of artist vs. entertainer. They are not one and the same. They are mutually exclusive. In a broader sense, it is an examination of the 'function' that music and art play in life. If art were to win the battle vs. entertainment – you would have Post-entertainment. Currently, one side is decidedly outnumbered." [20]
The Ropes started a new project with a more electronic sound called R. Missing and released an album in March 2017 on the Talitres Records label titled Unsummering. Music magazine The Big Takeover wrote: "Unsummering manages to be even more isolated lyrically than The Ropes’ famously nihilistic previous work, fully embracing complete detachment. Musically, fraught guitar and synth textures paint an image of an unstable world, held together only by tightly quantized electronic drum beats and Shy’s coolly dispassionate vocal." [21]
The Ropes have been compared to The Cure, Interpol, [7] Garbage, [22] Poe, [3] The Knife [23] and the Velvet Underground, and they cite 1950s French New Wave as an influence. [17] French magazine Les Inrockuptibles named the Ropes as one of its five bands to watch. [24]
Tricky sampled The Ropes' song "Love is a Chain Store" on the lead single "Does It" from his 2013 album "False Idols". [25]
Mint Royale is the alias of electronic music producer Neil Claxton and, until 2004, a duo consisting of himself and Chris Baker, originating from Manchester, England. It was founded by Claxton and Baker in 1997. Baker left the band in 2004, but Claxton continued to produce music under the pseudonym "Mint Royale" until 2016. In 2020, Claxton returned to releasing music under the Mint Royale name.
The Panda Band are an indie pop band originating from Perth, Western Australia. They have a reputation for combining numerous musical genres. They have toured nationally as support acts for bands such as The Sleepy Jackson, Little Birdy, The Grates and Evermore.
The Shys were a five piece indie rock band from Southern California. Their line-up consisted of Kyle Krone, Chris Wulff, Riley Stephenson, and Ryan Hansen. Their debut CD, Astoria, was released on Sire Records on July 11, 2006. Their most popular song is "Call in the Calvary".
The Little Ones was an indie pop band based in Los Angeles, California. The music of the band, which features tambourines and handclaps, has garnered comparisons to 1960s pop bands such as The Beach Boys, The Zombies, The Kinks, modern-day pop group The Shins, and the Elephant Six collective.
The Virgins were an American indie rock band formed in 2006 in New York City. The band split up in November 2013.
Fun was an American indie pop band based in New York City. The band consists of Jack Antonoff, Andrew Dost, and Nate Ruess.
Matthew Mayfield is an American singer and songwriter from Birmingham, Alabama. Originally the lead singer in the group Moses Mayfield, which disbanded in 2008, Mayfield has moved on to a solo career. He announced the release of his debut EP, titled The Fire EP on August 25, 2008.
General Fiasco are an indie rock group from Bellaghy, Northern Ireland. Since their formation in 2006, they have toured with Little Comets, Fighting With Wire, The Wombats, One Night Only, The Pigeon Detectives, The Enemy, Jet and Kids in Glass Houses. They released their debut album Buildings on 22 March 2010 on Infectious Records and released their second album Unfaithfully Yours on 30 July 2012 on Dirty Hit.
Kamtin Mohager is an American singer, songwriter, musician, record producer, and graphic designer born in San Jose, California. Raised in Hawaii, and later Colorado, Mohager began pursuing punk rock music in his teenage years. Later inspired by shoegaze and alternative rock bands from the 1990s, he formed the indie electronic project The Chain Gang of 1974. He has released five studio albums, White Guts (2010), Wayward Fire (2011), Daydream Forever (2014), Felt (2017), and Honey Moon Drips (2020). His 2014 single "Sleepwalking" gained popularity for featuring on the video game Grand Theft Auto V (2013) and its accompanying soundtrack.
Ivan & Alyosha is an American indie rock band from Seattle, formed in 2007 by Tim Wilson and Ryan Carbary. They were later joined by Pete Wilson and Tim Kim and added Cole Mauro to complete the group. In 2009 the band was recognized nationally by NPR during coverage of SXSW. Ivan & Alyosha's songs are represented by Downtown Music Publishing.
Small Black is an American indie band from Brooklyn, New York. They are currently signed to the 100% Electronica record label. The band consists of Josh Kolenik, Ryan Heyner (guitar/keyboards), Juan Pieczanski (bass/guitar), and Jeff Curtin (drums).
We Barbarians were an American three-piece indie rock band based in Brooklyn, originally from Long Beach, California. The band consisted of David Quon, Derek VanHeule, and Nathan Warkentin. Their debut studio album, There's This There's That, was released on December 15, 2009. The band's latest EP, Headspace, was released August 30, 2011.
Kim Taylor is an American independent singer-songwriter who plays primarily folk and folk-rock music.
Ryan Pardey is a musician, singer, songwriter, promoter, tour manager, actor, left-handed guitar player, and DJ from Las Vegas. He is best known as the singer and songwriter for Halloween Town, which has featured members of The Killers, Louis XIV, and The Shys. Pardey is also well known for portraying Santa Claus on A Great Big Sled (2006) and Don't Shoot Me Santa (2007), two Christmas music videos released by The Killers. Pardey appeared as Santa again for The Killers in the two sequel Christmas singles, I Feel It in My Bones (2012) and Dirt Sledding (2015). He also appears in the videos and as illustrations in the artwork for both singles.
The Strypes were a four-piece rock band from Cavan, Ireland, formed in 2010 consisting of Ross Farrelly, Josh McClorey, Peter O'Hanlon and Evan Walsh (drums). The band played the local scene with various members switching parts as they searched for their sound. They drew inspiration from 1960s blues boom and 1970s pub rock bands such as Dr. Feelgood, Eddie and the Hot Rods, The Rolling Stones, The Yardbirds, Lew Lewis and Rockpile as well as the original bluesmen and rock 'n' roll artists such as Chuck Berry, Bo Diddley, Howlin' Wolf and Little Walter, among others.
The Love Club EP is the debut extended play (EP) by New Zealand singer-songwriter Lorde. At the age of 12, she was discovered by Universal Music Group scout Scott MacLachlan, and began writing songs. In December 2011, MacLachlan paired Lorde with producer Joel Little, and within three weeks, the pair had co-written and produced all five songs on the EP. In November 2012, Lorde self-released the EP for free download via SoundCloud. On 8 March 2013 the record was commercially released by Universal Music Group and Virgin Records.
The Lighthouse and the Whaler is an American band from Cleveland, Ohio. Originally a folk rock trio, they eventually became a rock quartet. The group's second album, This is an Adventure, was produced by Ryan Hadlock and independently released in 2012 and received critical praise for its genre-bending melodic folk.
PINS are an English rock band, formed in Manchester in 2011. The group consists of singer/guitarist Faith Vern, guitarist Lois MacDonald and bassist Kyoko Swan. Singer Faith Vern cites bands such as My Bloody Valentine, Jesus and Mary Chain, and Hole as influences.
Motopony is a Seattle-based alt-psych band led by singer Daniel Blue. With the success of their previous full-length albums and a recording journey to the iconic Abbey Road Studios, Motopony has toured around the world playing festivals including SXSW, India's NH-7 Weekender and Bumbershoot, with U.S. tours and dates all across the UK.
Say Sue Me (Korean: 세이수미) is an indie rock band from Busan, South Korea, currently consisting of members Sumi Choi, Byungkyu Kim, Sungwan Lim, and Jaeyoung Kim.
| Authority control databases: Artists |
|---|
