Boy Azooga

Last updated

Boy Azooga
Boy azooga glastonbury festival 2019 001.jpg
Davey Newington performing with Boy Azooga at Glastonbury Festival 2019
Background information
Origin Cardiff, Wales
Genres Indie rock, Dream pop
Years active2017 (2017)–present
LabelsPIAS / Heavenly Recordings
MembersDavey Newington (vocals, guitar)
Live:
Dafydd Davies (drums)
Sam Barnes (bass)
Dylan Morgan (keyboard)
Website boyazooga.co.uk

Boy Azooga are a Welsh indie rock group from Cardiff, Wales. Formed in 2017, the group is led by front man Davey Newington (vocals, guitar), who is joined live by band members Dafydd Davies (drums), Sam Barnes (bass), and Dylan Morgan (keyboard).

Contents

History

The group have been described as influenced by an eclectic spate of sources, from Run-DMC, to William Onyeabor, to the Beach Boys. [1] The early releases were a result of work between lead singer Davey Newington and hip hop producer Ed Al-Shakarchi (Dr Ed Boogie). [2] [3]

The band name originates from the 1994 comedy film The Little Rascals , which Newington would watch as a child when visiting his grandmother in Scotland. [2]

In 2017 the band made their first festival appearance at Green Man Festival in the Brecon Beacons. [2]

The band toured their debut album in several British towns and cities in June 2018. [4] [5] Later that year they performed at Paradiso in Amsterdam [2] and at the Live at Leeds festival.

Boy Azooga made their television debut in May 2018 on Later... with Jools Holland , [6] alongside fellow Welsh artists Gwenno and Manic Street Preachers. [5] Newington has also appeared on a show hosted by Mike D of the Beastie Boys as well as having their music featured on BBC Radio 1 and BBC Radio 6 Music. [5]

In 2018, the band appeared at The Last Music Bar in Brighton for the 2018 Great Escape Festival, as part of the Horizons Gorwelion project. [7]

In May 2019, the band performed as a warm up act at Cardiff Castle for Noel Gallagher and his act High Flying Birds. [8] His brother Liam has also previously claimed that the band are his "favourite up and coming artist". [9]

Band members

Davey Newington

A native of Cardiff, Newington was introduced to music at an early age by his parents, classically trained musicians [1] who met in the BBC National Orchestra of Wales. [4] Newington took up drums at age six, [10] and began songwriting at fourteen. [5] He also played the timpani, xylophone and sleigh bells in youth orchestras. [10] Although proficient on several instruments, in the early part of his career he mainly played drums. [1]

Before Boy Azooga, Newington was active as a solo artist known as Bongo Fury, and was involved with Charlotte Church's Late Night Pop Dungeon. He decided to sign with label Heavenly Recordings after following the career of King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard. [3] Label owner Jeff Barrett listened to the track "On the Train to Brighton" while he was travelling to a King Gizzard performance in Brighton, and called Newington immediately to ask him to sign for the label. [3]

Newington began writing his discography at age 19, beginning with Hangover Square from what became their debut album 1 2 Kung Fu! [11] He recorded largely all of 1 2 Kung Fu, except for some string performances by his father on "Jerry", "Hangover Square" and "Breakfast Epiphany II". [2] [1] His father Richard Newington is a violinist with the BBC National Orchestra of Wales [12] and has a wide range of other credits, including appearances on Gruff Rhys' 2018 album, Babelsberg . [5]

Discography

Singles

YearTitleLabelAlbum
2017"Face Behind Her Cigarette" Heavenly Recordings 1 2 Kung Fu!
2017"Face Behind Her Cigarette" (Mikey Young Remix)Heavenly Recordings
2018"Loner Boogie"Heavenly Recordings1 2 Kung Fu!
2018"Jerry"Heavenly Recordings1 2 Kung Fu!
2018"Waitin'" (Edit)Heavenly Recordings1 2 Kung Fu!
2018"Do the Standing Still"Heavenly Recordings
2019"O Silly Me"Heavenly Recordings
2020"U.F.O"Heavenly Recordings

Albums

YearTitleLabel
20181 2 Kung Fu!Heavenly Recordings

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Vandals</span> American punk rock band

The Vandals are an American punk rock band, established in 1980 in Orange County, California. They have released ten full-length studio albums, two live albums, and have toured the world extensively, including performances on the Vans Warped Tour. They are well known for their use of humor, preferring to use their music as a vehicle for comedy and sarcasm rather than as a platform for more serious issues. Kung Fu Records, founded in 1996 by Escalante and Fitzgerald has signed and launched many punk rock bands.

Dafydd Ieuan is a Welsh musician and producer, best known as the drummer with the band Super Furry Animals, The Peth and The Earth (band).

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

Temples are an English rock band, formed in Kettering, England in 2012 by singer and guitarist James Bagshaw and bassist Tom Walmsley. The band's lineup was later completed with the addition of keyboardist and rhythm guitarist Adam Smith and drummer Rens Ottink.

Kung Fu Records is an American independent record label founded in 1996 by Joe Escalante and Warren Fitzgerald of the punk rock band The Vandals. Founded in order to release a record by the Riverside, California band Assorted Jelly Beans, the label soon grew to include a roster of notable artists such as The Ataris, Ozma, Tsunami Bomb, and The Vandals themselves. In 2000 Escalante started Kung Fu Films as a subsidiary of the music label in order to release DVDs of live concerts, music videos, band documentaries, and independent films. In 2005 Kung Fu also spawned the spinoff label Broken Sounds Records, focusing on hardcore releases.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jools Holland</span> English musician and television personality (born 1958)

Julian Miles Holland is an English pianist, bandleader, singer, composer and television presenter. He was an original member of the band Squeeze and has worked with many artists including Marc Almond, Joss Stone, Jayne County, Sting, Eric Clapton, Mark Knopfler, George Harrison, David Gilmour, Magazine, The The, Ringo Starr and Bono.

<i>Later... with Jools Holland</i> British contemporary music television programme

Later... with Jools Holland is a contemporary British music television show hosted by Jools Holland. A spin-off of The Late Show, it has been running in short series since 8 October 1992 and is now part of BBC Two's Saturday Night Music block, usually broadcast at around 10pm. The day of transmission has varied over the years, but it is usually recorded on a Tuesday for Saturday broadcast and features a mixture of both established and new musical artists, from solo performers to bands and larger ensembles.

Heavenly Recordings is a London-based independent record label founded by Jeff Barrett in 1990. Heavenly released the first albums from Saint Etienne, Beth Orton and Doves, and early singles by Manic Street Preachers. Current Heavenly artists include Stealing Sheep, Mattiel, The Orielles, Confidence Man, audiobooks, Pip Blom, H. Hawkline, King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard, Gwenno Saunders, Amber Arcades, Working Men's Club, Katy J Pearson and CHAI.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Asian Kung-Fu Generation</span> Japanese alternative rock band

Asian Kung-Fu Generation is a Japanese alternative rock band formed in Yokohama in 1996. For its entire career, the band has consisted of vocalist Masafumi Gotoh, guitarist Kensuke Kita, bassist Takahiro Yamada, and drummer Kiyoshi Ijichi. Starting out as a college band, Asian Kung-Fu Generation released a series of independent EPs featuring lyrics mostly sung in English. In 2002, they released their major-label EP debut Hōkai Amplifier, from that point singing their lyrics in Japanese. The band's musical style is influenced by seminal Western alternative rock acts as well as their own local Japanese indie-rock and punk scene. Their songs incorporate various aspects of the genres, most typically expressing fast tempos and prominent power chord guitar riffs in addition to rhythmic groove and emotional lyrics. Despite the indie nature of their music, the band has enjoyed worldwide commercial success in addition to critical acclaim. Asian Kung-Fu Generation has been cited as one of the best, most balanced modern rock bands to emerge from Japan in the 2000s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gwenno Saunders</span> Welsh singer

Gwenno Mererid Saunders is a Welsh musician, known mononymously as Gwenno. She has released three critically acclaimed albums as a solo artist: Welsh Music Prize winner Y Dydd Olaf (2014); Le Kov (2018), her first album in Cornish; and Tresor (2022), which was shortlisted for the Mercury Prize.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cherry Ghost</span> English music group

Cherry Ghost were an English music group which began in 2006, first as an alias for singer-songwriter Simon Aldred as a solo artist, before morphing into a full band. Their debut album, Thirst for Romance, was released in July 2007 and entered the UK Album Charts at No. 7. It was nominated for an Ivor Novello award as well as winning Aldred an Ivor Novello for best song "People Help the People". A second album, titled Beneath This Burning Shoreline, was released in July 2010 to positive critical acclaim. Aldred, under the moniker Out Cold, released a solo album titled Invasion of Love in September 2013, featuring a markedly synthpop sound. Cherry Ghost released their third and final album Herd Runners in May 2014; Aldred last performed with Cherry Ghost in 2016 on the Marc Riley Show on BBC Radio 6 Music.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mr Hudson and the Library</span>

Mr Hudson and the Library were a British music group active from 2006 to 2007 and composed of Mr Hudson, Joy Joseph, Torville Jones (piano), Robin French (bass) and Wilkie Wilkinson (drums). The members hailed from Birmingham and London.

The Lee Thompson Ska Orchestra are a British band formed in 2011 by Madness saxophonist Lee Thompson. The band consists of an ever-shifting line-up of ska and reggae-orientated musicians playing classic ska covers. Their debut album was released in 2013.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">H. Hawkline</span> Welsh musician

Huw Evans, also known as H. Hawkline, is a Welsh singer-songwriter and radio and television presenter based in Cardiff. He also lived and worked in Los Angeles for several years. He performs in both English and Welsh. His stage name is taken from Richard Brautigan's book The Hawkline Monster: A Gothic Western.

<i>Im in Your Mind Fuzz</i> 2014 studio album by King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard

I'm in Your Mind Fuzz is the fifth studio album by Australian psychedelic rock band King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard. It was released on 31 October 2014 on Flightless Records in Australia, just over a week later on 11 November in the United States on Castle Face Records, and on 1 December that same year on Heavenly Records worldwide. At the J Awards of 2014, the album was nominated for Australian Album of the Year. I'm in Your Mind Fuzz was the band's first album to chart on the ARIA charts, peaking at number 85.

Sketches of Brunswick East is the eleventh studio album by Australian psychedelic rock band King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard, and the third by Mild High Club. The title is a reference to the Melbourne suburb of Brunswick East and Miles Davis' 1960 LP Sketches of Spain, which inspired the album's jazz-oriented sound. It was released on 18 August 2017, by Flightless in Australia, ATO Records in the United States, and Heavenly Recordings in the United Kingdom. It is the third of five albums released by the band in 2017.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Estrons</span> Welsh alternative rock band

Estrons were a Welsh alternative rock band from Cardiff, Wales. The band's final lineup featured Tali Källström (vocals), Rhodri Daniel (guitar), Steffan Pringle (bass), and Adam Thomas (drums).

Alffa (transl. Alpha) are a Welsh language blues rock duo from Llanrug in North Wales, formed in 2015. The group currently consists of Dion Wyn Jones and Sion Eifion Land (drums).

Gwilym (transl. William) are a Welsh-language pop rock group from Ynys Môn and Caernarfon. The band consists of members Ifan Pritchard, Llyr Jones, Llew Glyn, Rhys Grail, and Carwyn Williams. The group was founded in 2017.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Horizons Gorwelion</span> Welsh music scheme

Horizons is an arts scheme and music festival launched jointly in 2014 by BBC Cymru Wales and the Arts Council of Wales to develop new independent contemporary music artists. It is curated by BBC presenter Bethan Elfyn.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Adwaith</span> Welsh-language indie rock group

Adwaith (transl. Reaction) are a Welsh language indie rock group from Carmarthen in West Wales, formed in 2015. The group consists of Hollie Singer, Gwenllian Anthony and Heledd Owen (drums). Signed to Libertino Records, they released their first album Melyn in 2018. Both Melyn and its follow-up Bato Mato (2022) won Welsh Music Prize awarded for the best album from Wales, making Adwaith the first act to receive the award twice.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Monger, Timothy. "Artist Biography (Boy Azooga)". AllMusic . Retrieved 29 August 2019.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 Bartleet, Larry (13 February 2018). "Boy Azooga on the 'really heavy riffs' of debut album '1,2 Kung Fu!". NME . Retrieved 29 August 2019.
  3. 1 2 3 "Boy Azooga interview by Kevin McGrath". Newsoundwales.com. Retrieved 29 August 2019.
  4. 1 2 "Featured artist: Boy Azooga". M (magazine). PRS for Music. 11 June 2018. Archived from the original on 29 August 2019. Retrieved 29 August 2019.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 "Boy Azooga's Davey Newington talks broad musical palettes, Bowie, karaoke and refusing to play it cool". Getintothis.co.uk. 23 May 2018. Retrieved 29 August 2019.
  6. ↑ "(TV debut) Boy Azooga - Loner Boogie on Later… with Jools Holland", YouTube , BBC, 15 May 2018, retrieved 29 August 2019
  7. ↑ "Gorwelion / Horizons at The Last Music Bar". BBC. May 2018. Retrieved 29 August 2019.
  8. ↑ Owens, David (4 December 2018). "Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds are playing at Cardiff Castle". Walesonline.co.uk. Retrieved 9 September 2019.
  9. ↑ Gallagher, Liam (9 September 2019). "Boy Azooga". Twitter.com. Archived from the original on 25 September 2019. Retrieved 9 September 2019.
  10. 1 2 "Boy Azooga". Heavenly Recordings. Retrieved 29 August 2019.
  11. ↑ Gourlay, Dom (26 September 2018). ""Music should never be defined by one thing": DiS Meets Boy Azooga". Drowned in Sound . Archived from the original on 29 August 2019. Retrieved 29 August 2019.
  12. ↑ "A Heavenly Start for Cardiff Band" . Western Mail . Cardiff. 15 June 2018. Retrieved 30 August 2019.
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.