Producers/remixers James Ford and James Shaw formed Simian Mobile Disco in 2005, following their departure from the experimental electronic rock band Simian. The two had originally formed Simian with singer Simon Lord and Alex MacNaughton in the late '90s. Not content with their roles in the band and wishing to indulge their longtime interest in electronic dance music, the two latched onto DJ gigs while touring with the band. Eventually, the duo split from Simian and dubbed themselves Simian Mobile Disco. Looking to prevent their own electronic dance tracks from sounding too polished and programmed, SMD exclusively used analog equipment. The result was Attack Decay Sustain Release, which appeared in June 2007 through the Wichita label. Meanwhile, Ford also devoted some time to several production gigs, which saw him helming music for the likes of Mystery Jets, Klaxons, and the Arctic Monkeys. Simian Mobile Disco toured sporadically throughout 2007 and began working on a new album the following year. A remix album, Sample and Hold, was released in 2008 to placate their music-hungry audience, while a proper sophomore album, Temporary Pleasure, appeared in 2009. ~ Kenyon Hopkin, All Music Guide
Simian Mobile Disco are an English production and remix team. Formed from the ashes of Simian in 2005 its members are James Ford and Jas Shaw. In addition to his work with Simian Mobile Disco, James Ford is a producer and has worked bands such as the Arctic Monkeys, Peaches and Klaxons.
Simian Mobile Disco was originally formed as a traveling DJ duet, playing on the side of their early four-piece band Simian[1]. They ultimately released a number of low profile singles, such as "The Count" on Kitsuné Music, but arguably gained more fame for their remixes of artists such as Muse, Klaxons, The Go! Team, Air and others. In 2006, Kitsuné released SMD's underground hit "Hustler", which features a vocal performance from New York singer Char Johnson.
Musical style
Musically, Simian Mobile Disco are known for heavily stylized tracks —often with minimal instrumentation— that associate themselves with a particular hook (vocal or instrumental —see mix of "Whoo! Alright, Yeah...Uh Huh" by The Rapture), which is repeated throughout the track. There is often a breakdown (occasionally more —see mix of "Magick" by Klaxons) comprising noise, drums and sometimes synths and vocals.
History
The band's debut album, Attack Decay Sustain Release was released on 18 June2007 on Wichita Recordings. Among the tracks included on it are "Hustler", "Tits and Acid", "I Believe", "Hot Dog" and lead single "It's the Beat", which features Ninja from UK indie band The Go! Team on vocals. The album contains five new tracks, and the European version includes a bonus disc. The album was preceded by two mix compilations in April and May, for the "Bugged Out" and "Go Commando" series respectively.
SMD supported Klaxons at Brixton Academy on the 5 December2007 and The Chemical Brothers at Aintree Pavilion on 9 December2007 and Brighton Centre on 12 December2007. SMD made a mix for Mixmag that came free with the January 2008 issue of Mixmag. While working on their second studio album, they released a collection of remixed SMD originals entitled Sample and Hold, which contains eleven tracks and was released in the UK on July 28, 2008. A North American date has not yet been announced.
In January 2009, they announced on their Myspace page that a new album was supposed to come out in 2009. Soon after that, they released a new track "Synthesise", on 12 February, through a music video (directed by Kate Moross and Alex Sushon) that "features live visual accompaniment" for the track[2]. Two days later, a new song was broadcast on the BBC Radio 1 named "10,000 Horses Can't Be Wrong", soon followed by the release on 6 March of the official music video on their YouTube channel.
On New Years Eve 2009 Simian Mobile Disco will headline 'Get Loaded in the Dark' at the world famous Brixton Academy alongside Annie Mac (BBC Radio 1), Chase & Status, Herve and Sub Focus.
"I Believe" (July 2007, Wichita Recordings) (backed with "System" and remixes by Switch and Prins Thomas)
"Run: Nike+ Sport Music" (Sept 2008, Nike, Inc.) (27:37 long running-oriented song released on iTunes, with an edited version as a b-side)
"Run" (Oct 2008, White Label) (four edited versions of "Run: Nike+ Sport Music")
"Synthesise" (Feb 2009) (with visual accompaniment, released exclusively via Beatport)
"10,000 Horses Can't Be Wrong" (March 2009) (music video directed by Kate Moross & Alex Sushon, released exclusively via Beatport)
"Audacity of Huge" featuring Chris Keating from Yeasayer (August 2009) with remixes by Dusty Kid, Dekker & Johan, Maxime Dangles and Naum Gabo)) - UK #60[9]
Remixes
These songs have been remixed by Simian Mobile Disco.
