Maxïmo Park
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Maxïmo Park
- Genres: Rock
Biography
Newcastle's angular pop quintet Maxïmo Park consists of singer Paul Smith, guitarist Duncan Lloyd, bassist Archie Tiku, keyboardist Lukas Wooller, and drummer Tom English. Like their friends and neighbors the Futureheads, and Field Music, Maxïmo Park craft smart, sharply catchy songs inspired by post-punk and new wave legends like the Jam, XTC, Wire, and the Smiths. Lloyd, Tiku, Wooller, and English formed the band as an avant-rock, largely instrumental group, taking their name from a meeting place in Cuba for Communists. Smith had previously played with the band Me and the Twins and was recommended as the band's new singer by English's girlfriend, who heard him singing Stevie Wonder's "Superstitious" at a karaoke night. Maxïmo Park issued their debut 7", The Coast Is Always Changing/The Night I Lost My Head, in 2004; it caught the ears of Warp Records, which despite being a mostly electronic label signed them and released their second single, "Apply Some Pressure," early in 2005. It made the Top 20 in the U.K.'s national charts. At that time, Warp also released the Apply Some Pressure EP, which featured tracks from both of the band's singles, in the U.S.Maxïmo Park also finished recording their debut album with producer Paul Epworth (who also worked with Bloc Party and Babyshambles) that winter and spent the spring touring the U.K., Japan, and the U.S., making an appearance at South by Southwest. The "Graffiti" single heralded the arrival of the band's full-length debut, A Certain Trigger, late that spring. More tours of the U.S. and U.K., including gigs at Glastonbury and Reading, kept the band busy that summer. Early in 2006, the B-sides collection Missing Songs was released; Maxïmo Park also maintained their hectic touring schedule and returned to the studio late that year, teaming with producer Gil Norton. Our Earthly Pleasures arrived in spring 2007. For 2009's Quicken the Heart, Maxïmo Park ventured to Los Angeles to record with producer Nick Launay, who gave the songs a slightly rawer yet still danceable sound. In 2010, the band took a break from their near-constant recording and touring, during which time Smith made the solo album Margins. The band's hiatus continued until 2012, when Maxïmo Park resurfaced with The National Health, a harder-hitting, politicized effort produced by Gil Norton. ~ Heather Phares, Rovi
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Maxïmo Park
"Tom English" redirects here. For other people by this name, see Thomas English.
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| Maxïmo Park | |
|---|---|
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| Background information | |
| Origin | Newcastle, England |
| Genres | Alternative rock, indie rock, post-punk revival |
| Years active | 2001–present |
| Labels | Warp |
| Website | maximopark.com |
| Members | |
| Paul Smith Duncan Lloyd Archis Tiku Lukas Wooller Tom English |
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Maxïmo Park are a British alternative rock band, formed in 2000. They are signed to Warp Records. The band consists of Paul Smith (vocals), Duncan Lloyd (guitar), Archis Tiku (bass), Lukas Wooller (keyboard) and Tom English (drums). The band have released three studio albums: their 2005 debut album A Certain Trigger, which was nominated for the Mercury Prize, the 2007 follow-up Our Earthly Pleasures, and their third album named Quicken the Heart, was released in May 2009. The first two albums went gold in the UK.[1]
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Contents
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History
Formation and early releases (2000–2004)
Maxïmo Park were formed in Pitlochry by guitarist and founding members Ben Nairn with bass player Ceri Patterson in 2000[citation needed]. They are named after Máximo Gómez Park (also known as Domino Park), located in Little Havana, Miami[citation needed]. Initially, the four founding members played several small shows including Manchester's 'In the City', which showcases unsigned bands in the UK. In 2003, the band decided they wanted a frontman as original singers Archis and Duncan wanted to focus on writing the songs. The then-girlfriend of drummer Tom English, noticed his friend Paul Smith singing along to Stevie Wonder's "Superstition".[2] When Smith was found, the band did not know if he could sing: "When he first joined we didn't know if he could; just that he was a lunatic jumping around in a suit, it felt like the last piece of the jigsaw". With Smith joining the band gave him demos of their songs and from then on started writing as unit.
Around March 2004, a friend funded 300 copies of a 7" red vinyl single (Graffiti / Going Missing) and later released a vinyl of their tracks (The Coast Is Always Changing) that they recorded in Duncan Lloyd's house in Fenham. After some time of doing gigs around their home town, Steve Beckett of the dance-electronic label Warp Records got hold of one of these records and decided to sign the band to his label.
A Certain Trigger to Our Earthly Pleasures (2005–2007)
In 2005, Maxïmo Park released their debut album, A Certain Trigger, which sold over 300,000 copies and was nominated for the Mercury Prize in July 2005.[2] In July Maxïmo Park had the honour of being the first band to play the Ibiza Rocks festival on its opening event.[3]
The band also contributed their song "Wasteland" to Help!: A Day in the Life.
In August 2006, the band announced that they had started work on their next album, which was produced by Gil Norton and recorded in London at Rak Studios in St John's Wood. On 22 January 2007, the band announced that their second album, Our Earthly Pleasures, would be released on 2 April 2007 and would be preceded by the album's lead single, "Our Velocity", on 19 March 2007.[4] On 30 January 2007 the band released details of a tour to promote Our Earthly Pleasures, the tickets of which sold out within minutes upon their release on 2 February 2007.
In July 2009, Paul Smith revealed in The Guardian that they had been writing a lot of material based on obituaries and mentioned a possibility of a compilation CD of songs based on biographical and obituarial content.
Quicken the Heart (2008–2009)
In October 2008, the band announced that they had started recording their third album in Los Angeles with producer Nick Launay, known for his recent work with Nick Cave and Grinderman.[5] On 26 November 2008, it was reported by ClashMusic.com that Smith had announced in a blog posting that the album had been completed, but the producer of the album, Launay, wanted to take "a little break before starting to mix it".[6]
The full track list of the album was announced on 11 March 2009. Quicken the Heart was released on May 11, with the first single, "The Kids Are Sick Again" being released a week earlier.[7] Tickets for a tour taking place in May 2009 sold out in record time[citation needed].
In 2009 they contributed a cover of a Vincent Gallo song to the Warp20 (Recreated) compilation, as well as having their song "Acrobat" covered by Seefeel. In 2010 they performed a new song called "Banlieue",[8] however there has been no news on this song since.
The National Health (2011–present)
On 28 March 2012, Maxïmo Park announced the fourth album title as The National Health. Smith said "We're in a global recession and everyone is being bombarded with bouncy, happy music. The nation is out of control and the record is about taking back control, and being a force for change in your own life. It can't speak for everybody but it has its eyes and ears all around us… that's always been a Maxïmo Park thing: look at yourself." The album will be released on 11 June.[9]
Members
- Tom English – drums
- Duncan Lloyd – guitar
- Paul Smith – vocals
- Archis Tiku – bass
- Lukas Wooller – keyboard
Discography
Main article: Maxïmo Park discography
Studio albums
- A Certain Trigger (2005)
- Our Earthly Pleasures (2007)
- Quicken the Heart (2009)
- The National Health (2012)
Compilation albums
- Missing Songs (2006)
- 12 - a collection of remixes
References
- ^ "Certified Awards Search". BPI. http://www.bpi.co.uk/certifiedawards/search.aspx. Retrieved 27 May 2012.
- ^ a b Duerden, Nick (22 February 2007). "An audience with Maximo Park's front man". The Independent. http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/features/an-audience-with-maximo-parks-front-man-437402.html. Retrieved 16 March 2009.
- ^ Events. Ibiza Rocks. Retrieved on 2012-04-15.
- ^ "Maximo Park unveil new album details". NME. 22 January 2007. http://www.nme.com/news/maximo-park/25951. Retrieved 30 January 2007.
- ^ "Maximo Park begin recording third album". NME. 27 October 2008. http://www.nme.com/news/maximo-park/40666. Retrieved 16 March 2009.
- ^ "Maximo Park Finish New Album Band Prepare Third LP". ClashMusic.com. 26 November 2008. http://www.clashmusic.com/news/maximo-park-finish-new-album. Retrieved 16 March 2009.
- ^ "Quicken The Heart Tracklisting and Release Date". maximopark.com. 11 March 2009. http://www.maximopark.com/quicken-the-heart-tracklisting-and-release-date. Retrieved 16 March 2009.
- ^ song called Banlieue, Maximo park play new. "Maximo Park - Banlieue - (Split Festival 2010)". http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lqPQQt5LvbM&NR=1.
- ^ "Maximo Park announce details of new album". NME.com. 28 March 2012. http://www.nme.com/news/maximo-park/62899. Retrieved 28 March 2012.
External links
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Mentioned in
Maxïmo Park
(Rock Band, 2000s)
Missing Songs
(2006 Album by Maxïmo Park)
A Certain Trigger
(2005 Album by Maxïmo Park)
Our Earthly Pleasures [UK Bonus Tracks]
(2007 Album by Maximo Park)
A Certain Trigger [Bonus Disc]
(2005 Album by Maxïmo Park)
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