Future Islands (Band)
Encyclopedia
Future Islands are a synthpop
band based in Baltimore
, Maryland
. The band is composed of Gerrit Welmers (keyboards and programming), William Cashion (bass, acoustic and electric guitars), and Samuel T. Herring (words and vocals). Future Islands formed in January 2006 in Greenville, North Carolina
.
in Greenville. Their first band was Art Lord & the Self-Portraits, which included Samuel T. Herring, William Cashion, Gerrit Welmers, Adam Beeby, and Kymia Nawabi. That band lasted from February 2003 until Fall of 2005. In 2006, Cashion, Herring, and Welmers formed Future Islands with Erick Murillo, who played an electronic drum kit.
Future Islands released Little Advances in April 2006 and a self-released split CD with Welmers' solo project Moss of Aura in January 2007. They recorded their debut album "Wave Like Home" with Chester Gwazda at Backdoor Skateshop in Greenville, NC later that year. London-based label Upset the Rhythm released Wave Like Home in the Summer of 2008. The cover art was designed by Kymia Nawabi, a former member of Art Lord & the Self-Portraits.
In late 2007/early 2008, the band relocated to Baltimore, MD. The "Feathers and Hallways" 7" was recorded in Oakland, CA during their first US tour and was their first release as a focused three-piece. Their second album, In Evening Air, was recorded in the band's living room in the historic Marble Hill neighborhood in Baltimore.
In 2009 the band signed to Chicago independent record company Thrill Jockey
.
As Art Lord & the Self-Portraits:
Synthpop
Synthpop is a genre of popular music that first became prominent in the 1980s, in which the synthesizer is the dominant musical instrument. It was prefigured in the 1960s and early 1970s by the use of synthesizers in progressive rock, electronic art rock, disco and particularly the "Kraut rock" of...
band based in Baltimore
Baltimore
Baltimore is the largest independent city in the United States and the largest city and cultural center of the US state of Maryland. The city is located in central Maryland along the tidal portion of the Patapsco River, an arm of the Chesapeake Bay. Baltimore is sometimes referred to as Baltimore...
, Maryland
Maryland
Maryland is a U.S. state located in the Mid Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware to its east...
. The band is composed of Gerrit Welmers (keyboards and programming), William Cashion (bass, acoustic and electric guitars), and Samuel T. Herring (words and vocals). Future Islands formed in January 2006 in Greenville, North Carolina
Greenville, North Carolina
Greenville is the county seat of Pitt County and principal city of the Greenville, North Carolina metropolitan area. Greenville is the health, entertainment, and educational hub of North Carolina's Tidewater and Coastal Plain and in 2008 was listed as the Tenth Largest City in North Carolina...
.
History
The band met and formed in while studying art at East Carolina UniversityEast Carolina University
East Carolina University is a public, coeducational, engaged doctoral/research university located in Greenville, North Carolina, United States. Named East Carolina University by statute and commonly known as ECU or East Carolina, the university is the largest institution of higher learning in...
in Greenville. Their first band was Art Lord & the Self-Portraits, which included Samuel T. Herring, William Cashion, Gerrit Welmers, Adam Beeby, and Kymia Nawabi. That band lasted from February 2003 until Fall of 2005. In 2006, Cashion, Herring, and Welmers formed Future Islands with Erick Murillo, who played an electronic drum kit.
Future Islands released Little Advances in April 2006 and a self-released split CD with Welmers' solo project Moss of Aura in January 2007. They recorded their debut album "Wave Like Home" with Chester Gwazda at Backdoor Skateshop in Greenville, NC later that year. London-based label Upset the Rhythm released Wave Like Home in the Summer of 2008. The cover art was designed by Kymia Nawabi, a former member of Art Lord & the Self-Portraits.
In late 2007/early 2008, the band relocated to Baltimore, MD. The "Feathers and Hallways" 7" was recorded in Oakland, CA during their first US tour and was their first release as a focused three-piece. Their second album, In Evening Air, was recorded in the band's living room in the historic Marble Hill neighborhood in Baltimore.
In 2009 the band signed to Chicago independent record company Thrill Jockey
Thrill Jockey
Thrill Jockey Records is an American independent record label established in 1992 in New York City by former Atlantic Records A&R representative Bettina Richards.-History:...
.
Albums
- Wave Like Home (Upset the Rhythm - August 25, 2008)
- In Evening Air (Thrill Jockey - May 4, 2010)
- On the Water (Thrill Jockey - October 11, 2011)
EPs and Singles
- Little Advances (self-released - April 28, 2006)
- Split CD-R with Moss of Aura (self-released - January 6, 2007)
- Split 7" with Dan Deacon (307 Knox Records - August 5, 2008 - purple vinyl, limited to 1000)
- Feathers & Hallways 7" EP (Upset the Rhythm - April 15, 2009 - white virgin vinyl)
- Post Office Wave Chapel 12" remix EP (Free Danger - February 2010, limited to 500)
- In The Fall 12" EP (Thrill Jockey - April 2010 - Blue Vinyl, limited to 1000)
- Undressed 12" EP (Thrill Jockey - September 2010, limited to 1000)
- Split 7" with Lonnie Walker (Friends Records - November 2010, limited to 1000)
- Before the Bridge 7" single (Thrill Jockey - July 19, 2011, limited to 750)
As Art Lord & the Self-Portraits:
- Searching for a Complement (self-released - August 2003)
- In Your Boombox (self-released - October 2003)
- Ideas for Housecrafts (self-released - February 2004)
- Snail (self-released - 2005)
- "Sad Apples, Dance!" featured on Compulation Vol. 2: Songs from North Carolina (Poxworld Empire)
- In Your Idea Box digital-only "best-of" release (307 Knox Records - September 2008)
External links
- Official site
- Future Islands on MySpace