Alpinestars (band)
Encyclopedia
Alpinestars was an electronic rock duo formed in 1999 in Manchester
by Richard Woolgar and Glyn Thomas.
Although Maxim never produced anything, it brought Woolgar and Thomas to the attention of the promoter of a local Manchester club. They were invited to create an hour-long set to perform live within a week. They took the name "Alpinestars" after a mountain bike Thomas owned and proceeded to meet the challenge. The performance was a success and Alpinestars signed with Faith and Hope Records.
EP titled "Las Vegas." Its third track, "Interlaken," became the most requested track on Steve Lamacq
's "Radio 1" evening show. The band followed up with two more EPs, "Silicon Chick" in November 1999, and "Kitzbuhel Weekend" in March 2000. A single off this latter EP became a "Single of the Week" in NME
magazine.
(standing for "Beginner's All-Purpose Symbolic Instruction Code"). B.A.S.I.C. was released in September 2000 by Faith and Hope, and later rereleased in 2003 by Guidance Recordings. It was praised by numerous magazines, despite being hard to find.
Alpinestars left Faith and Hope in 2001 and released their second major album, White Noise, a year later, with Riverman Records and Astralwerks
(for the US release). Both Woolgar and Thomas contributed vocals for songs on White Noise, and Brian Molko
, lead singer of Placebo
, lent Alpinestars his voice for "Carbon Kid." According to Woolgar, "We wanted to get away from the sampler duo mentality."
In a 2002 interview with PlayLouder
, the pair was asked to talk about the direction they wanted to go with White Noise. On being unsigned, Thomas explained,
Alpinestars has not released anything significant since White Noise, although a third album entitled Time Spent With Machines was recorded with Dimitri Tikovoi and Rob Kirwan in 2005 in Flood's studio in Kensal Green, London. It has yet to be released by their label Riverman.
Since then Glyn Thomas has reputedly reinvented himself as Lucien Caine, producing music that is quite different from Alpinestars, and also produced early demos for acoustic musicians Stephen Fretwell and Liam Frost.
Manchester
Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...
by Richard Woolgar and Glyn Thomas.
The Beginnings (1995-1999)
Richard Woolgar and Glyn Thomas met each other in 1995, as a result of being in separate bands that shared the same rehearsal space. They found they had more in common with each other than with their respective bands, so they broke away to form their own ephemeral electro group, which they named "Maxim."Although Maxim never produced anything, it brought Woolgar and Thomas to the attention of the promoter of a local Manchester club. They were invited to create an hour-long set to perform live within a week. They took the name "Alpinestars" after a mountain bike Thomas owned and proceeded to meet the challenge. The performance was a success and Alpinestars signed with Faith and Hope Records.
The EPs (1999-2000)
The band debuted in August 1999 with a limited editionSpecial edition
The terms special edition, limited edition and variants such as deluxe edition, collector's edition and others, are used as a marketing incentive for various kinds of products, originally published products related to the arts, such as books, prints or recorded music and films, but now including...
EP titled "Las Vegas." Its third track, "Interlaken," became the most requested track on Steve Lamacq
Steve Lamacq
Steve Lamacq , sometimes known by his nicknames Lammo or "The Cat" is an English disc jockey, currently working with the BBC radio stations BBC 6 Music and BBC Radio 2.-Early career:He was born in Basingstoke, Hampshire...
's "Radio 1" evening show. The band followed up with two more EPs, "Silicon Chick" in November 1999, and "Kitzbuhel Weekend" in March 2000. A single off this latter EP became a "Single of the Week" in NME
NME
The New Musical Express is a popular music publication in the United Kingdom, published weekly since March 1952. It started as a music newspaper, and gradually moved toward a magazine format during the 1980s, changing from newsprint in 1998. It was the first British paper to include a singles...
magazine.
B.A.S.I.C. and White Noise (2000-2003)
In July 2000, Alpinestars released their first commercial single "77 Sunset Strip," which they followed up with their first full-length album B.A.S.I.C.B.A.S.I.C. (album)
B.A.S.I.C. is an album composed by the music group Alpinestars.- Track listing :All compositions from Thomas and Woolgar except where noted.# "Jump Jet" – 2:52# "77 Sunset Strip" – 4:28# "Hyper Hyper" – 4:31# "Keep It Coming" – 3:16...
(standing for "Beginner's All-Purpose Symbolic Instruction Code"). B.A.S.I.C. was released in September 2000 by Faith and Hope, and later rereleased in 2003 by Guidance Recordings. It was praised by numerous magazines, despite being hard to find.
Alpinestars left Faith and Hope in 2001 and released their second major album, White Noise, a year later, with Riverman Records and Astralwerks
Astralwerks
Astralwerks is a New York-based record label that releases primarily electronic music. It is owned by Virgin Records/EMI and distributed by Caroline Distribution in the United States....
(for the US release). Both Woolgar and Thomas contributed vocals for songs on White Noise, and Brian Molko
Brian Molko
Brian Molko is a songwriter, lead vocalist, and guitarist of the band Placebo. He is known in particular for his high-pitched vocals, androgynous appearance, and unique, Sonic Youth-influenced guitar style and tuning.-Early life:Born to an American father of French-Italian heritage and a Scottish...
, lead singer of Placebo
Placebo (band)
Placebo are a British rock band from London, England, formed in 1994 by singer and guitarist Brian Molko and bass guitarist Stefan Olsdal. The band was joined by drummer Robert Schultzberg, who was later replaced by Steve Hewitt after conflicts with Molko. Hewitt left the band in October 2007 and...
, lent Alpinestars his voice for "Carbon Kid." According to Woolgar, "We wanted to get away from the sampler duo mentality."
In a 2002 interview with PlayLouder
PlayLouder
Playlouder is a digital music and media company. It is a music site which provides news, reviews, and other related content. It also claims to be the world's first Music Service Provider or MSP — a broadband, Internet Service Provider that bundles access to music content with broadband...
, the pair was asked to talk about the direction they wanted to go with White Noise. On being unsigned, Thomas explained,
Alpinestars has not released anything significant since White Noise, although a third album entitled Time Spent With Machines was recorded with Dimitri Tikovoi and Rob Kirwan in 2005 in Flood's studio in Kensal Green, London. It has yet to be released by their label Riverman.
Since then Glyn Thomas has reputedly reinvented himself as Lucien Caine, producing music that is quite different from Alpinestars, and also produced early demos for acoustic musicians Stephen Fretwell and Liam Frost.
Albums
- B.A.S.I.C.B.A.S.I.C. (album)B.A.S.I.C. is an album composed by the music group Alpinestars.- Track listing :All compositions from Thomas and Woolgar except where noted.# "Jump Jet" – 2:52# "77 Sunset Strip" – 4:28# "Hyper Hyper" – 4:31# "Keep It Coming" – 3:16...
(Guidance RecordingsGuidance RecordingsGuidance Recordings is a House record label based in Chicago, IllinoisThe record label was founded in 1996 by Ivan Pavlovich, Rob Kouchoukos, and Sid Stary....
, 2000) - White Noise (2002)
Singles
- 2000 "77 Sunset Strip" UK #139
- 2001 "Interlaken" UK #119
- 2002 "Snow Patrol" UK #99
- 2002 "Carbon Kid" (feat. Brian MolkoBrian MolkoBrian Molko is a songwriter, lead vocalist, and guitarist of the band Placebo. He is known in particular for his high-pitched vocals, androgynous appearance, and unique, Sonic Youth-influenced guitar style and tuning.-Early life:Born to an American father of French-Italian heritage and a Scottish...
) UK #63 - 2003 "Burning Up" UK #84
Game appearances
- "Jump Jet" featured in Midnight Club IIMidnight Club IIMidnight Club II is the first sequel to Midnight Club: Street Racing, published for the PlayStation 2, Xbox and Microsoft Windows. Players race through cities inspired by Los Angeles, Paris, and Tokyo...
. - "Snow Patrol" featured in SSX 3SSX 3SSX 3 is a snowboarding extreme racing game published by Electronic Arts and developed by EA Sports BIG, which was released in late 2003. It is the third installment in the SSX series, and is THX approved. Like the previous installments, the game was critically acclaimed...
. - "Carbon Kid" featured in Project Gotham Racing 3Project Gotham Racing 3Project Gotham Racing 3 is an arcade-style racing game that was released with the launch of the Xbox 360 on November 22, 2005 for the US market and December 2, 2005 in Europe, and was released on January 12, 2006 in Japan. Developed by Bizarre Creations, it is the third installment in the Project...
and in Test Drive UnlimitedTest Drive UnlimitedTest Drive Unlimited is an arcade-style racing game, the 9th game of the Test Drive series, it features over 125 licensed sports cars and motorcycles and a terrain modeled after the Hawaiian island of Oahu that features some 1000 miles of roads and highways. Test Drive Unlimited is the ninth main...
.