Drab Majesty | |
---|---|
Background information | |
Origin | Los Angeles, California, US |
Genres | |
Years active | 2011–present |
Labels | Dais |
Members | Deb Demure Mona D |
Website | drabmajesty.bandcamp.com |
Drab Majesty is an American musical project founded by Andrew Clinco in Los Angeles, California in 2011. [5] Clinco, the drummer for the band Marriages, adopted the androgynous character of Deb Demure for the project. [6] Keyboardist and vocalist Mona D (Alex Nicolaou) joined the band in 2016. [7]
Since signing to Dais Records, Drab Majesty has released three albums: Careless (2015), The Demonstration (2017) and Modern Mirror (2019). [8] [9] [10] [11]
Drab Majesty combine androgynous aesthetics and commanding vocals with futuristic and occult lyrics, a style Demure refers to as, "tragic wave". To create his imposing stage presence, Demure employed costumes, makeup and props to accompany his lush, '80s-influenced soundscapes. [12] [13]
The idea for Drab Majesty came to Andrew Clinco in 2011 while drumming for the Los Angeles-based group Marriages. Interested in creating music where he performed all of the instruments himself, Clinco wrote and recorded several songs alone in his bedroom. Clinco stated that he felt some sense of alarm while playing back the music he had recorded, claiming that it was as if another person had made it. "Listening back I just didn’t feel like I was listening to myself [...] It sounded like someone else". This experience provided the inspiration for Clinco to create his alter ego, Deb Demure. [14]
Clinco was originally a drummer, but Emma Ruth Rundle, his bandmate as the lead vocalist/guitarist in Marriages, inspired him to learn how to play the guitar for Drab Majesty. His biggest influences were Mark Kozelek's Red House Painters and Sun Kil Moon projects, as well as Vini Reilly of The Durutti Column and Maurice Deebank of Felt. [15]
Drab Majesty's debut EP Unarian Dances was self-released in 2012. Initially limited to 100 cassette copies, the EP was later picked up and released by Lollipop Records. [16] The record's title was inspired by the Unarian Academy, a UFO cult whose appearances on public-access television Demure described as being "intoxicating". [14] The EP, which features some contributing guest vocals from Rundle, was described as a "space-age pastiche" and likened to the work of bands such as Slowdive. [6]
Drab Majesty signed with Dais Records in 2015 and shortly thereafter released the single "Unknown to the I", which had been described as a "lo-fi take on the 80s". [17] [18] Careless, Drab Majesty's first full-length album, was released later that year. Recorded at Demure's home studio over the course of 2 years, [17] Careless was inspired by a song a close friend of Demure's had written. [14] The following year, Dais Records re-released the album with extra tracks featuring all studio material released thus far as a compilation titled Completely Careless. It consisted of all tracks from debut album Careless, plus the two B-sides from the "Unknown to the I" single, the five tracks of the Unarian Dances limited edition EP, new tracks "Waiting Game" and "Silhouette", and a remix of "The Foyer".
In 2016, Drab Majesty expanded into a duo with the addition of keyboardist Alex Nicolaou, who performs as the character Mona D. [19] He is the son of horror director Ted Nicolaou and was originally brought on to enhance the group's theatrics while touring North America and Europe in 2016. [9]
Drab Majesty released their second album The Demonstration in January 2017 to favorable reviews. The Demonstration is a concept album that deals with the psychology of mass suicide, referencing in particular the ideology of Marshall Applewhite, the leader of the Heaven's Gate cult. [20] The duo toured North America with Cold Cave, and later toured Europe alongside King Dude, with whom they collaborated on the single "Who Taught You How to Love?" the year before. [21]
In late 2017, the duo released a 7-inch single, titled "Oak Wood", for the 10th anniversary celebration of Dais Records. [22] The song was written in honor of Cash Askew, co-founder of the band Them Are Us Too, who died in the 2016 Oakland warehouse fire. [23] The title "Oak Wood", according to Demure, is a direct translation of Askew's name. [24] The single featured a B-side called "Egress", an instrumental guitar piece. [25] The duo embarked on their North American Fall From the Sky tour in September; [26] the tour included a stop at the 2017 Cold Waves Festival in Chicago. [27] They extended their tour to Europe in Winter of 2018. [28]
Drab Majesty's third album, Modern Mirror, was released in 2019, supported by the singles "Ellipsis", "Oxytocin" and "Out of Sequence". The band was scheduled to play the goth, post-punk and new wave festival Cruel World in 2020, which was postponed until 2022. [29] [30]
Over the COVID-19 pandemic, Demure worked more on his side project VR Sex. In 2022, Drab Majesty opened for AFI on their fall tour. Demure revealed that the band would add a live drummer soon within the next year. [31]
On June 6, 2023, Drab Majesty released "Vanity" featuring Slowdive's Rachel Goswell, the lead single to their EP An Object in Motion. [32]
Shoegaze is a subgenre of indie and alternative rock characterized by its ethereal mixture of obscured vocals, guitar distortion and effects, feedback, and overwhelming volume. It emerged in Ireland and the United Kingdom in the late 1980s among neo-psychedelic groups who usually stood motionless during live performances in a detached, non-confrontational state. The name comes from the heavy use of effects pedals, as the performers were often looking down at their pedals during concerts.
Soft Cell are an English synthpop duo who came to prominence in the early 1980s. The duo consists of vocalist Marc Almond and instrumentalist David Ball. The band are primarily known for their 1981 hit version of "Tainted Love" and their platinum-selling debut album Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret.
Against Me! was an American punk rock band, formed in 1997 in Naples, Florida by singer and guitarist Laura Jane Grace. That same year, Grace moved to Gainesville, Florida, which is considered the band's hometown. Since 2001, the band's lineup has also included guitarist James Bowman. After releasing three studio albums through independent record labels, Against Me! moved to Sire Records for 2007's New Wave, which reached no. 57 on the Billboard 200. In 2011, the band launched the record label Total Treble.
Brian Baker is an American punk rock musician. He is best known as one of the founding members of the hardcore punk band Minor Threat, and as a guitarist in Bad Religion since 1994. In Minor Threat, he originally played bass guitar before switching to guitar in 1982 when Steve Hansgen joined the band, and then moved back to bass after Hansgen's departure. He also founded Dag Nasty in 1985, was part of the original line-up of Samhain, and has had stints in Doggy Style, The Meatmen, Government Issue, and Junkyard.
Slowdive are a British rock band that formed in Reading, Berkshire, in 1989. The band consists of Rachel Goswell on vocals, guitar and keyboard, Neil Halstead on vocals and guitar, Christian Savill on guitar, Nick Chaplin on bass guitar and Simon Scott on drums, all of whom have played on the band's debut studio album Just for a Day (1991). Halstead is the band's primary songwriter.
Their Satanic Majesties Request is the 6th British and 8th American studio album by the English rock band the Rolling Stones, released in December 1967 by Decca Records in the UK and by London Records in the US. It is their first to be released in identical versions in both countries. The album's title is a play on the "Her Britannic Majesty requests and requires" text that appeared inside a British passport.
Rachel Ann Goswell is an English singer-songwriter and musician who rose to prominence as vocalist and guitarist of the shoegaze band Slowdive, which formed in 1989. Goswell, along with Neil Halstead, Ian McCutcheon and former Chapterhouse member Simon Rowe became Mojave 3 when Slowdive transitioned to a more country/folk rock style. She released a solo album in 2004, titled Waves Are Universal on 4AD Records.
Pygmalion is the third studio album by English rock band Slowdive, released on 6 February 1995 by Creation Records. It was the group's final album before their reformation in 2014, and their only album with Ian McCutcheon, who had replaced Simon Scott on drums.
Dead Oceans is an American independent record label formed in 2007 and based in Bloomington, Indiana.
Robert James Marquinez Reid is a Filipino-Australian singer-songwriter, actor, dancer, model, record producer and record label executive. He began his professional acting career in the early 2010s after being named as Big Winner of Pinoy Big Brother: Teen Clash 2010. He came into prominence for his leading role in the film Diary ng Panget (2014). Reid has since starred in Philippines movies, such as Talk Back and You're Dead (2014), Para sa Hopeless Romantic (2015), This Time (2016) and Never Not Love You (2018). He also starred in the Philippine TV series Good Vibes (2011), On the Wings of Love (2015–16), and Till I Met You (2016–17).
Florida Georgia Line was an American country music duo founded in 2010 by vocalists and songwriters Tyler Hubbard of Georgia and Brian Kelley of Florida; however, the band is on an indefinite hiatus from touring and "taking a break" from making music together as the members pursue solo careers. Their 2012 debut single "Cruise" broke two major sales records: it was downloaded over seven million times, making it the first country song ever to receive the Diamond certification, and it became the best-selling digital country song, with 24 weeks at number one, until it was surpassed in July 2017 by Sam Hunt's "Body Like a Back Road". Their music style is described as "bro-country", which incorporates production elements from rock and hip-hop music, and tends to cover subject matter such as partying, drinking, driving trucks and sexual attraction.
English alternative rock band Slowdive have released five studio albums, three compilation albums, five extended plays, five singles and four music videos.
Marriages was an American rock band from Los Angeles, California that formed in 2011. The band's final lineup consisted of vocalist and guitarist Emma Ruth Rundle, bassist Greg Burns and drummer Andrew Clinco.
Pale Waves are an English rock band from Manchester, formed in 2014. It was founded originally as Creek when lead singer and guitarist Heather Baron-Gracie met drummer Ciara Doran while attending university in Manchester. The other members are guitarist Hugo Silvani and bassist Charlie Wood, completing the lineup. Pale Waves's early work is often described as 80s-inspired indie rock or synth-pop; their second and third albums, however, owe more to the pop-punk genre.
Chase Atlantic is an Australian R&B band and production trio from Cairns, Queensland, formed in 2014. The group consists of three members: Christian Anthony, Clinton Cave and Mitchel Cave. Chase Atlantic has released seven EPs and three albums.
Tyler Parkford is an American musician, best known as the keyboardist and vocalist for Los Angeles-based band, Mini Mansions. He is also one half of the lounge pop duo Mister Goodnite, and a touring member of the British indie rock band Arctic Monkeys.
Them Are Us Too was an American dream pop and darkwave band, consisting of Kennedy Ashlyn and Cash Askew. The duo formed in 2012 while both were students at University of California, Santa Cruz. After signing to Dais Records, they released their debut album Remain. Askew died in the Ghost Ship warehouse fire in 2016, after which Ashlyn finished their second album Amends, retired the Them Are Us Too, and began releasing solo music as SRSQ.
Modern Mirror is the third studio album by the American darkwave band Drab Majesty. The album was released on July 12, 2019, by Dais Records.
SRSQ is the solo musical project of Texas-based musician Kennedy Ashlyn, formerly the vocalist and keyboardist for Santa Cruz, California duo Them Are Us Too. After Ashlyn's partner in that duo, Cash Askew, died in the Ghost Ship warehouse fire in 2016, Ashlyn retired their shared name and started making music as SRSQ. Her solo debut album, Unreality, was released on October 26, 2018, and her second album, Ever Crashing, was released on August 19, 2022, both by Dais Records.
Unreality is the debut solo album by Kennedy Ashlyn under the alias SRSQ. The album was released on October 26, 2018, by Dais Records.