| Los Campesinos! |
(l-r) Ellen, Gareth, Neil and Tom performing.
|
| Background information |
| Origin |
Cardiff, Wales |
| Genres |
Indie pop |
| Years active |
2006–present |
| Labels |
Wichita, Arts & Crafts |
| Website |
http://www.loscampesinos.com |
| Members |
Ellen Campesinos!
Gareth Campesinos!
Harriet Campesinos!
Neil Campesinos!
Ollie Campesinos!
Tom Campesinos!
Kim Campesinos! |
| Former members |
| Aleks Campesinos! |
Los Campesinos! are a seven piece indie pop band from Cardiff, Wales that formed in early 2006 at Cardiff University. Despite the band forming in Wales, none of its members are actually Welsh. They released their debut album, Hold on Now, Youngster..., in February 2008 and followed this up by releasing a record titled We Are Beautiful, We Are Doomed, in October that year. Whilst many consider it to be an album due to its length, the band have always referred to it as a 'record' or EEP (Extened EP)[1] due to contractual and artistic reasons. Their second official album, entitled Romance Is Boring, will be released on February 1, 2010.
History
Formation and signing to Wichita: 2006
The group came together at Cardiff University in 2006, originally consisting of Neil on guitar, Ellen on bass guitar, and Ollie on drums.[2] In March 2006, Tom joined the band, assuming the role of lead guitarist and songwriter, later followed by Gareth on vocals and glockenspiel, Harriet on violin and keyboard, and finally Aleksandra on vocals, keyboards, and melody horn.[3] According to Tom, he met Neil after overhearing him discussing Sufjan Stevens at a club. The band's earliest compositions were long pieces in the style of "post-rock," though no recordings from this era are known to circulate publicly.[2] The word campesino in Spanish translates to "peasant" or "country person."[4]
The band performed their first gig on 8 May 2006 at a student union club night; they went on to play a number of increasingly well-received gigs around Cardiff. An early demo was recorded featuring the songs "Death To Los Campesinos!", "It Started With A Mixx", "Sweet Dreams Sweet Cheeks", and live favourite "You! Me! Dancing!". The songs were posted on the Internet, bolstering the popularity established by their energetic live shows and earning them airplay on Beth & Huw's evening show on BBC Radio 1 Wales. The band's reputation continued to grow, and in August 2006 landed them a slot supporting Canadian supergroup Broken Social Scene.
Debut singles and Sticking Fingers Into Sockets: 2007
In November 2006, the band were signed by Wichita Recordings, who put out their first single on 26 February 2007, a double A-side featuring new songs "We Throw Parties, You Throw Knives" and "Don't Tell Me To Do The Math(s)". In April the band signed to Canadian label Arts & Crafts for Canadian and North American releases. In June 2007 the band released "You! Me! Dancing!" on limited edition 7" coloured vinyl, accompanied by a handful of dates playing Bath, Newport, Cardiff and London. Both singles (produced by Broken Social Scene collaborator Dave Newfeld) were compiled for North American release as Sticking Fingers Into Sockets, which was released on 3 July on Arts & Crafts. The band embarked on their first full UK tour in October, preceded by the "The International Tweexcore Underground" single (released October 15, 2007).
Hold on Now, Youngster... and We Are Beautiful, We Are Doomed: 2008
Their debut album, titled Hold on Now, Youngster... was released in the UK on February 25, 2008 and in the US on April 1, 2008.[5] They also embarked on a European and North American tour in support of the album. The NME rated the album 9/10, praising its musicality but criticising its cohesiveness, but other sources, such as Pitchfork Media and Drowned in Sound, lauded it. They made their TV debut on Tubridy Tonight on February 9, 2008.
On August 1, 2008, the band announced that a record titled We Are Beautiful, We Are Doomed would be released before the end of the year, and the date later confirmed for this was October 13, although that was later pushed back to October 27, 2008. The band explained: "This is no post-album cash in. It's no B-Sides and rarities or 'songs that weren't good enough to be on the album cobbled together with some remixes and field recordings of Cardiff's indie scene'; it's ten all-new tracks that none of you have ever heard before." There are no singles to be released from the record, and its distribution is limited.[6]
The band also announced tour dates of the UK for October 2008 with support from No Age and Times New Viking.
In April 2009, the band played in Argentina, Colombia and Venezuela, in their first South American gig.
Romance Is Boring: 2009-2010
Los Campesinos! recorded second official album Romance Is Boring in Stamford, Connecticut with John Goodmanson. The album was completed in June 2009. It was recorded in multiple sessions, with the second half of their current North America tour in-between.[7]
In May 2009 it was announced on their blog that they had almost finished recording the album and that the album was to be mixed in Wales in June. Two song titles were announced "This Is a Flag. There Is No Wind" and "Straight in at 101"[8]
On June 2, 2009 it was announced via their website that Aleks is to leave the band, and go back to her studies, after a US tour in August.[9] On June 24, They announced on their blog that the album was complete.[10]
On the 9th September 2009 the band released a song called "The Sea Is A Good Place To Think Of The Future" as a free download. A video was also made for the song which was directed by the band's bassist, Ellen Campesinos!.[11].
On September 21, 2009, the band formally announced that Gareth's sister Kim would be replacing Aleks as the band's keyboardist and vocalist.[12].
The band premiered their new single, "There Are Listed Buildings" on their website on September 30, 2009. On October 25, they announced the name, tracklist and release date for Romance Is Boring, which will be released on February 1, 2010.[13].
Discography
Albums
EEPs
EPs
Demos
Singles
References
- ^ http://www.avclub.com/articles/gareth-campesinos-of-los-campesinos,14340/
- ^ a b Goodwin, Jeremy D.:"Los Campesinos! Conquer America", Spacelab, September 2007
- ^ "BBC Wales: Los Campesinos! biography". 2007-06-21. http://www.bbc.co.uk/wales/music/sites/los_campesinos/pages/biography.shtml. Retrieved 2008-10-12.
- ^ http://www.spanishdict.com/translate/campesino
- ^ Pitchfork: Los Campesinos! Reveal Album Tracklist, Release Date
- ^ "Los Campesinos Are Doomed". Strange Glue. 2008-08-01. http://www.strangeglue.com/news/los-campesinos-are-doomed/2437. Retrieved 2008-08-01.
- ^ Studio, 19/03/09, http://loscampesinos.wordpress.com/2009/03/19/studio/, retrieved 2009-03-26
- ^ http://loscampesinos.com/2009/05/12/studio-news/
- ^ "Nota bene". Los Campesinos!. http://loscampesinos.com/2009/06/02/nota-bene/. Retrieved 2009-06-02.
- ^ http://loscampesinos.com/2009/06/24/oh-yeh-and-so/
- ^ http://los-campesinos.co.uk/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=952&start=40#p19809
- ^ Los Campesinos Keep It In the Family, Strange Glue, 2009-09-21, http://www.strangeglue.com/news/los-campesinos-keep-it-in-the-family
- ^ http://loscampesinos.com/2009/10/25/romance-is-boring/
- ^ http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/esearch/chart_display.jsp?cfi=324&cfgn=Albums&cfn=Top+Heatseekers&ci=3093528&cdi=9731637&cid=04%2F19%2F2008
- ^ http://loscampesinos.com/2009/10/25/romance-is-boring/
- ^ http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/esearch/chart_display.jsp?cfi=324&cfgn=Albums&cfn=Top+Heatseekers&ci=3104703&cdi=10089154&cid=12%2F20%2F2008
- ^ http://www.avclub.com/articles/gareth-campesinos-of-los-campesinos,14340/
External links
