This Is the Kit | |
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 Stables performing in 2022 | |
| Background information | |
| Origin | Winchester, England |
| Genres | |
| Years active | 2003–present |
| Labels | |
| Members |
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| Website | www |
This Is the Kit is the alias of British musician Kate Stables, as well as the band she fronts. [1]
This Is The Kit were a long-time favourite among various BBC Radio 6 Music DJs, which is where the musician and presenter Guy Garvey discovered them, playing their music frequently. Fellow 6 Music DJs Lauren Laverne, Radcliffe & Maconie, Cerys Matthews, and Mary Anne Hobbs have also been major supporters; DJ Marc Riley hosted the band for several live sessions. [2] BBC Radio 1 has offered the band spot plays via DJs Huw Stephens, Jen & Ally, and Phil Taggart.[ citation needed ]
As the band prepared to release their third album Bashed Out in late 2014 and early 2015, they began to receive more attention from online and print critics. Uncut, Drowned in Sound, The Line of Best Fit and The 405 awarded the album 8/10 ratings. The Mancunion rated a live show a 9/10. [3] Finally, the American blog Stereogum wrote that "Kate Stables has been recording music as This Is The Kit for years now, but this is probably one of the first times you’re reading about her. "Bashed Out" will be her third full-length album, and…it will also likely be her breakout." [4]
The band received a boost in attention in August 2015 when BBC iPlayer debuted an episode of the documentary series Music Box devoted to This Is The Kit's music and influences. [5] The show was hosted by Garvey, who argued that their second album, Wriggle Out the Restless, deserved a Mercury Prize nomination. [6]
The band also appeared in the BBC One television series Wanderlust , playing in a night club that Toni Colette's character Joy attended. [7]
In 2006, record label Sunday Best Recordings included the band's song "Two Wooden Spoons" in its Folk Off compilation album alongside artists including Animal Collective, Tunng and Vashti Bunyan. Their song was noted as a standout with Drowned in Sound stating: "its personal touch is largely what makes This Is The Kit the British highlight, not to mention that of the compilation as a whole". [8] Following that, Sunday Best went on to release "Two Wooden Spoons" as a 7" single with the B side "Come a Cropper" in 2006. [9]
This Is The Kit's first album, Krülle Bol (2008), [10] was produced in Bristol by John Parish, a musician best known as PJ Harvey's longtime producer. It was originally released on the French label Microbe but has since been reissued on the band's own imprint. [11]
The band's second album, Wriggle Out the Restless, was originally released by Dreamboat Records in 2010 and later reissued by the band's own Disco-ordination Records. In 2013 distribution began migrating to Brassland Records. [12] The recording sessions drew on the talents of the Stables' extended musical community including Rozi Plain, Jim Barr, Francois & the Atlas Mountains and The Liftmen. The album was produced by longtime collaborator and partner Jesse D. Vernon. [13]
In 2014, the band began work on their third studio LP Bashed Out with Aaron Dessner of The National. [14] The band's usual members contributed to the recording as did studio musicians recruited by Aaron Dessner, including his brother Bryce Dessner, Benjamin Lanz, Thomas Bartlett, and Matt Barrick, amongst others. Brassland released the album in April 2015. It received attention as the band's "breakthrough" recording, and as one of the best British recordings of 2015. [15] [16]
July 2017 brought the release of the band's fourth LP Moonshine Freeze. The record was well received and chosen as the Rough Trade Album of the Month for July. [17]
In October 2020, the band released their fifth LP Off Off On [18] , again with Rough Trade.
This Is the Kit perform regularly in various configurations from duo to quintet with the core band consisting of Kate Stables (vocals / guitar / banjo), Rozi Plain (bass / vocals), Neil Smith (guitar), and Jamie Whitby-Coles (drums). [19]
Since 2010, the band has recorded a Blogothèque Take-Away Show [20] video session and been played regularly on BBC Radio 6 Music. [21] The band has toured regularly in support of acts including The National, [22] Sharon Van Etten, [23] Iron & Wine [24] and Herman Dune. [25]
Elbow are an English rock band formed in Bury, Greater Manchester, in 1990. The band consists of Guy Garvey, Craig Potter, Mark Potter and Pete Turner. They have played together since 1990, adopting the name Elbow in 1997. Drummer Alex Reeves replaced Richard Jupp in 2016 as a touring and session musician at first, before becoming a full member in 2024.
Richard Reed Parry is a Canadian multi-instrumentalist, composer, producer, best known as a core member of the Grammy Award-winning indie rock band Arcade Fire, where he plays a wide variety of instruments, often switching between guitar, double bass, drums, celesta, keyboards, and accordion.
The National is an American rock band from Cincinnati, Ohio, formed in Brooklyn, New York City, in 1999. The band consists of Matt Berninger (vocals), twin brothers Aaron Dessner and Bryce Dessner, as well as brothers Scott Devendorf (bass) and Bryan Devendorf (drums). During live performances, the band is joined by longtime touring members, Ben Lanz and Kyle Resnick. Carin Besser, the wife of Berninger, is not a band member but has written lyrics for the band alongside her husband since its 2007 album Boxer.
Sad Songs for Dirty Lovers is the second studio album by indie rock band the National. It was released in 2003 on Brassland Records. This is the first album on which the band worked with Peter Katis, who would produce the band's next albums Alligator and Boxer.
The National is the debut studio album by American indie rock band the National, released on October 30, 2001, on Brassland Records. Recorded prior to guitarist Bryce Dessner's full arrival into the band, The National was produced by both Nick Lloyd and the band itself. Now-bass guitarist Scott Devendorf performs both guitar and backing vocals on this album, with guitarist and multi-instrumentalist Aaron Dessner on bass guitar and guitar duties.
Clogs are a mostly instrumental project led by Bryce Dessner and Padma Newsome. Clogs have released five albums on Brassland Records—Thom's Night Out (2001), Lullaby for Sue (2003), Stick Music (2004), Lantern (2006) and The Creatures in the Garden of Lady Walton (2010).
Brassland is an independent record label founded in 2001 by Alec Hanley Bemis, Aaron Dessner, and Bryce Dessner.
Guy Edward John Patrick Garvey is an English musician, singer, songwriter and radio presenter. He is the lead singer and lyricist of the rock band Elbow. He has a weekly show on BBC Radio 6 Music titled Guy Garvey's Finest Hour. Guy is known to have 1 living family member, Dom Garvey, a trucker from Cheshire, UK
Thomas Bartlett, also known as Doveman, is an American pianist, producer, and singer. He has released four solo albums as Doveman, four albums as a member of The Gloaming, duo albums with the composer Nico Muhly and the hardanger d’amore player Caoimhín Ó Raghallaigh, and "Shelter," an album of solo piano compositions.
Bryce David Dessner is an American composer and guitarist based in Paris, and a member of the rock band the National. Dessner's twin brother, Aaron is also a member of the group. Together, they write the music in collaboration with lead singer and lyricist Matt Berninger.
Aaron Brooking Dessner is an American musician. He is best known as a founding member of the rock band The National, with whom he has recorded nine studio albums; a co-founder of the indie rock duo Big Red Machine, teaming with Bon Iver's Justin Vernon; and a collaborator on Taylor Swift's critically acclaimed studio albums Folklore and Evermore, both of which contended for the Grammy Award for Album of the Year in 2021 and 2022, respectively, with the former winning the accolade; as well as The Tortured Poets Department (2024).
Alec Hanley Bemis is a writer and manager of cultural projects who lives in Brooklyn, New York.
Buke and Gase is a New York based musical duo named after the musical instruments invented and built by founders Arone Dyer and Aron Sanchez; the buke is a six-string former-baritone ukulele and the gase is a hybrid guitar-bass.
Trouble Will Find Me is the sixth studio album by American indie rock band the National, released on May 17, 2013, on 4AD.
Wilder Mind is the third studio album by British folk rock band Mumford & Sons. It was released on 4 May 2015 through Gentlemen of the Road, Island, Glassnote and Universal Music Group. It was an international success in its first week on sale, charting at number one in seven countries, topping both the UK Albums Chart and the US Billboard 200, and reaching the top 5 in nine other countries. Five singles have been released from the album, "Believe", "The Wolf", "Ditmas", "Tompkins Square Park" and "Just Smoke".
Moonshine Freeze is the fourth studio album by British band This Is the Kit. It was released on 7 July 2017 through Rough Trade Records, marking the band's debut on the label. Recording sessions took place at Invada Studios is Bristol. Production was handled by John Parish.
The Gloaming is the debut studio album by the contemporary Irish/American music group The Gloaming. It was released on January 20, 2014 on Real World Records, and on Brassland Records in America, Justin Time Records in Canada, and Planet Records in Australia.
Off Off On is the fifth studio album by British band This Is the Kit. It was released on 23 October 2020 through Rough Trade Records, making it the band's second album for the label. Recording sessions took place at Real World Studios in Wiltshire. Production was handled by Josh Kaufman. The album debuted at number 21 on the UK Albums Chart.
Bashed Out is the third studio album by British folk rock band This Is the Kit. It was released on 6 April 2015 through Brassland Records. Production was handled by Aaron Dessner.
Say Goodbye to Pretty Boy is a 2020 EP by Bartees Strange, covering songs by The National. It was reissued as a deluxe edition 2024. The digital version was seven tracks rather than five tracks long and included an extended version of "Looking for Astronauts." The new vinyl edition included a bonus track: "Lemonworld".
Media related to This Is the Kit at Wikimedia Commons| International | |
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