Midlake is an American rock band from Denton, Texas. The band first gained popularity in Europe, signing to Bella Union Records and playing at festivals such as Les Inrockuptibles, Wintercase,End Of The Road Festival and South by Southwest.
History
Midlake was formed in 1999 by a group of jazz students at the University of North Texas. The original lineup consisted of Tim Smith (vocals, guitars, keyboards), McKenzie Smith (drums), Paul Alexander (bass), Eric Nichelson (guitar), and Evan Jacobs (keyboards). Their initial work – under the name "The Cornbread All-Stars" — consisted of funk/jazz explorations heavily influenced by Herbie Hancock.
Later the band began to lean more toward an indie-rock sound. Tim Smith quit playing saxophone and began writing songs that were heavily influenced by bands such as Jethro Tull, Radiohead, Björk, and Grandaddy,artists who experiment, while still remaining accessible. [1]
Speaking about the band's influences, Smith commented:
"We don't want to get called a Radiohead rip-off band. I think Radiohead is a lot closer to my natural tendencies as a songwriter than a band like, um, Jethro Tull. I listen to way more Jethro Tull than I do Radiohead these days, but I could write 10 Radiohead songs before I could write one Jethro Tull song. I want to sound more like Jethro Tull, but I just can't. That's a big struggle."
Jacobs left the band and Eric Nichelson took over on keyboard. Jason Upshaw joined the band as a guitarist. Live recordings from this period, recorded at Denton's Panhandle House studio, were never released as the band felt they had moved beyond the material.[citation needed]
Not long before the band recorded their début EP, Milkmaid Grand Army, Upshaw was replaced on guitars by Eric Pulido, a longtime friend of drummer Smith, to form the current lineup. Their debut full-length album, 2004's Bamnan and Slivercork, was recorded at home in Denton, Texas and mastered at Abbey Road Studios. It showed a move in the direction of lo-fi psychedelic electronica, embracing influences such as Grandaddy and The Flaming Lips. The album even caught the ear of skateboarder-turned-actor Jason Lee, who produced and directed the music video for the song "Balloon Maker"[3], and who continues to support and promote the band.
In 2006, after nearly a year-and-a-half of recording and re-recording, they completed their second release for Bella Union, The Trials of Van Occupanther. The album was a venture into classic-rock revivalism, with a sound reminiscent of early-to-mid-'70s period Fleetwood Mac. The album was met with generally positive reviews.[citation needed]
In January 2009, their song "Bandits" was featured in an episode of the FOX television drama Fringe.[4]
The band is set to release the new album The Courage Of Others in the US on Feb 2, 2010, and on Feb 1, 2010 in the UK, accompanied by a small tour of parts of the southeastern US and the UK. [5]
Collaborations
Tim Smith is featured on the Chemical Brothers' 2007 album We Are the Night, contributing vocals to the track "The Pills Won't Help You Now".[6]
In 2007 Robert Gomez And Midlake guitarist Eric Pulido recorded a version of Feliz Navidad for a Merry Christmas from Bella Union CD. [7]
Midlake is also co-producing, engineering and playing on an album for their friend John Grant, former singer with label mates The Czars.[8] The album is due for release in February 2010.
In an interview with the UK music website The Line of Best Fit, Bella Union boss Simon Raymonde said
"I still think the Czars’ singer John Grant has one of the greatest voices in music today which is why I am about to release his debut solo record, the Queen Of Denmark. In a weird coincidence, the Midlake guys all fell in love with John’s voice too and invited him down to Denton this year to let them work on his record. They play all the instruments and produce. It’s genius."[9]
Discography
References
External links
