Islands (band)
Encyclopedia
Islands is a Canadian indie rock
Indie rock
Indie rock is a genre of alternative rock that originated in the United Kingdom and the United States in the 1980s. Indie rock is extremely diverse, with sub-genres that include lo-fi, post-rock, math rock, indie pop, dream pop, noise rock, space rock, sadcore, riot grrrl and emo, among others...

 band formed in 2005 in Montreal
Montreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...

, Quebec
Quebec
Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....

, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

, and currently based in Brooklyn
Brooklyn
Brooklyn is the most populous of New York City's five boroughs, with nearly 2.6 million residents, and the second-largest in area. Since 1896, Brooklyn has had the same boundaries as Kings County, which is now the most populous county in New York State and the second-most densely populated...

, New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...

.

Return to the Sea

In mid-2005 Islands recorded a debut album titled Return to the Sea
Return to the Sea
Return to the Sea is the full-length debut by indie rock band Islands. It was released April 4, 2006 on Equator Records.The cover painting is "The Sea of Ice" by Caspar David Friedrich, 1824.-Track listing:# "Swans " – 9:31...

, which was released in April 2006. The album was recorded in Montreal, Canada
Montreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...

, at Breakglass Studio
Breakglass Studio
Breakglass Studios is an analog and digital recording studio in Montreal, Canada. Local and international bands have recorded there, such as The Besnard Lakes, Les Breastfeeders, Bionic, Holy Fuck, Islands, Patrick Watson, Stars, Sunset Rubdown, The Unicorns, Voilà!, Wintersleep, Wolf Parade and...

 and in Jamie Thompson's bedroom
Jamie Thompson
Jamie Thompson is a Canadian musician who has been the drummer for several Canadian bands, including Islands, and Th' Corn Gangg. Jamie joined The Unicorns in 2003 for the release of the band's first major album, Who Will Cut Our Hair When We're Gone?...

, and was produced by audio engineer/record producer
Record producer
A record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...

 Mark Lawson.

Return to the Sea was re-mastered in England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

 for the Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...

an version of the album, and was released there by Rough Trade Records
Rough Trade Records
Rough Trade Records is an independent record label based in London. It was formed in 1978 by Geoff Travis who had opened a record store off Ladbroke Grove...

 on April 3, 2006. In North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...

, the album was released on the upstart label Equator Records
Equator Records (Canada)
Equator Records is an independent record label established in 2006 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The music label was founded by Matt Drouin and Fuzz de Grandpre. Equator has released 3 albums, Islands' Return to the Sea, The Lovely Feathers's Hind Hind Legs, and Teitur's second release Stay Under...

 on April 4, 2006. The cover of the album is one of Caspar David Friedrich
Caspar David Friedrich
Caspar David Friedrich was a 19th-century German Romantic landscape painter, generally considered the most important German artist of his generation. He is best known for his mid-period allegorical landscapes which typically feature contemplative figures silhouetted against night skies, morning...

's famous paintings, The Wreck of the Hope.

The album features numerous guest appearances, including members of Arcade Fire and Wolf Parade
Wolf Parade
Wolf Parade is an indie rock band formed in 2003 from Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The band is currently on an indefinite hiatus as of May 31, 2011.-History:...

. Two songs, "Flesh" and "Abominable Snow", were released to the public through The Simple Mission in June 2004, though neither appeared on the debut album. "Abominable Snow" had begun life as a song performed live by the Unicorns
The Unicorns
The Unicorns were a Lo-Fi/Indie Pop band from Montreal, Canada formed in December 2000 by Nicholas Thorburn and Alden Penner , who were later joined by Jamie Thompson in December 2003.-History:...

 prior to their breakup.

Return to the Sea has been described by Nick as having "some dancehall
Dancehall
Dancehall is a genre of Jamaican popular music that originated in the late 1970s. Initially dancehall was a more sparse version of reggae than the roots style, which had dominated much of the 1970s. In the mid-1980s, digital instrumentation became more prevalent, changing the sound considerably,...

 influences, some calypso
Calypso music
Calypso is a style of Afro-Caribbean music that originated in Trinidad and Tobago from African and European roots. The roots of the genre lay in the arrival of enslaved Africans, who, not being allowed to speak with each other, communicated through song...

... It's more diverse and sprawling and ambitious", and is "A bit more mature than The Unicorns
The Unicorns
The Unicorns were a Lo-Fi/Indie Pop band from Montreal, Canada formed in December 2000 by Nicholas Thorburn and Alden Penner , who were later joined by Jamie Thompson in December 2003.-History:...

... More of a Neil Young
Neil Young
Neil Percival Young, OC, OM is a Canadian singer-songwriter who is widely regarded as one of the most influential musicians of his generation...

 / Brian Wilson
Brian Wilson
Brian Douglas Wilson is an American musician, best known as the leader and chief songwriter of the group The Beach Boys. Within the band, Wilson played bass and keyboards, also providing part-time lead vocals and, more often, backing vocals, harmonizing in falsetto with the group...

 vibe running through it."
The band played various shows around the US and Canada throughout mid-late 2005, followed by an opening slot for Metric
Metric (band)
Metric is a Canadian indie rock and New Wave band founded in 1998 in Toronto. The band has also at various times been based in Montreal, London, New York City and Los Angeles...

 on their early 2006 tour. After Return to the Sea was released in April 2006, the band embarked on their first full headlining tour, playing small clubs around the US and Canada throughout May. They were joined by Cadence Weapon
Cadence Weapon
Cadence Weapon is the stage name of Rollie Pemberton, a Canadian rapper.-Biography:Born and raised in Edmonton, Alberta, his father was Teddy Pemberton, a pioneering hip hop DJ on CJSR-FM, and his grandfather was Rollie Miles, a football player for the Edmonton Eskimos...

 and Why? on the first half of the tour, and Cadence Weapon
Cadence Weapon
Cadence Weapon is the stage name of Rollie Pemberton, a Canadian rapper.-Biography:Born and raised in Edmonton, Alberta, his father was Teddy Pemberton, a pioneering hip hop DJ on CJSR-FM, and his grandfather was Rollie Miles, a football player for the Edmonton Eskimos...

 and Busdriver
Busdriver
Busdriver is a rapper from Los Angeles currently signed to Epitaph Records and Fake Four Inc-History:...

 on the second. The band generally received critical acclaim for their live shows, which sometimes ended with the band leading the audience out of the venue "pied piper style" and onto the surrounding streets.

Positions in Islands consist of Nicholas Thorburn (main vocals, synthesizer, guitar), Aaron Harris (drums), Sebastian Chow (xylophone, violin), Alex Chow (synthesizer, violin), Patrick Gregoire (guitar, bass clarinet) and Patrice Agbokou (bass guitar).

Jamie Thompson's departure/European Tour

On May 28, 2006, it was announced that Thompson would be leaving the band. He stated, "I'm just not sure that being in a successful band is all that important to me anymore. I'm not leaving because of any problems with people in the band. It's very hard to do this, Nick and I have been creating together for quite a long time now... our relationship, both creative and personal is something that I will cherish for the rest of my life." Of Islands' future he said, "I think Islands is one of the best, if not the best band out there these days, and I have every confidence that they will do incredibly well." This quote was displayed on the band's website for a short time, before being taken down. Islands decided to continue on without Thompson, and a European tour was scheduled, and further recordings confirmed.

Diamonds commented upon Thompson's departure, saying "Jamie has left Islands, but the band waltzes on! We wish Jamie the best in his new life. Islands are forever."

The band stayed relatively quiet in early and mid June following Jamie's departure from the band. However, in late June, with the European tour just weeks away, the band made two surprise appearances in Montreal, performing with a strikingly new lineup featuring new drummer
Drummer
A drummer is a musician who is capable of playing drums, which includes but is not limited to a drum kit and accessory based hardware which includes an assortment of pedals and standing support mechanisms, marching percussion and/or any musical instrument that is struck within the context of a...

 Aaron Harris and new vocalist/violin
Violin
The violin is a string instrument, usually with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is the smallest, highest-pitched member of the violin family of string instruments, which includes the viola and cello....

ist/percussionist Kate Perkins. Former touring guitarist
Guitarist
A guitarist is a musician who plays the guitar. Guitarists may play a variety of instruments such as classical guitars, acoustic guitars, electric guitars, and bass guitars. Some guitarists accompany themselves on the guitar while singing.- Versatility :The guitarist controls an extremely...

 Jim Guthrie was also noticeably absent from the band's roster. In 2006 the band did a Take-Away Show session with Vincent Moon
Vincent Moon
Vincent Moon is an independent filmmaker from Paris mainly known for his field work music videos of indie rock related musicians as well as some notable mainstream artists like Tom Jones, R.E.M. or Arcade Fire. Besides making music videos he also makes experimental films and documentaries...

.

The band departed for Europe the following week.

Despite his departure from the band he was seen backstage with Islands playing the tambourine at the 2008 Coachella Festival.

Arm's Way

Following their European tour, Islands toured Iceland, the United States and Canada premiering several songs from their new album including: "The Arm", "Kids", and "We Swim". Throughout their tour, it was not unusual to hear various cover songs such as the Kinks
The Kinks
The Kinks were an English rock band formed in Muswell Hill, North London, by brothers Ray and Dave Davies in 1964. Categorised in the United States as a British Invasion band, The Kinks are recognised as one of the most important and influential rock acts of the era. Their music was influenced by a...

' "Waterloo Sunset
Waterloo Sunset
Waterloo Sunset is a song by British rock band The Kinks. It was released as a single in 1967, and featured on their album Something Else by The Kinks...

" and Sinéad O'Connor
Sinéad O'Connor
Sinéad Marie Bernadette O'Connor is an Irish singer-songwriter. She rose to fame in the late 1980s with her debut album The Lion and the Cobra and achieved worldwide success in 1990 with a cover of the song "Nothing Compares 2 U"....

's "Red Football". In interviews around this time members of the band were quoted as saying that the next album would be 'heavier,' with Nick listening to a lot of T.Rex.

In a Pitchfork Media
Pitchfork Media
Pitchfork Media, usually known simply as Pitchfork or P4k, is a Chicago-based daily Internet publication established in 1995 that is devoted to music criticism and commentary, music news, and artist interviews. Its focus is on underground and independent music, especially indie rock...

 interview, Diamonds talked about future recording: "Yeah, we're thinking January or February. I've got high hopes for a producer...This guy Jeff Lynne
Jeff Lynne
Jeffrey "Jeff" Lynne is an English songwriter, composer, arranger, singer, multi-instrumentalist, and record producer who gained fame as the leader and sole constant member of Electric Light Orchestra and was a co-founder and member of The Traveling Wilburys together with George Harrison, Bob...

. He was in ELO and the Traveling Wilburys. He also did a George Harrison song that's one of my favorites, "Got My Mind Set on You". It's got the most amazing production. He gets such great sounds and vocals. Just the sound of the guitar and the drums is a perfect pop sound. I really want this record to be a good, good pop record." Diamonds later said that he was reconsidering this choice.

As well, on January 6, 2007, Diamonds posted on the band's website that he and the band would enter the studio and begin recording a new album in February. He stated that the album was already being planned out and specifically that the track list and title was picked out. Additionally, he said that he was dropping the "Diamonds" from his name and that he would be using his original name surname Thorburn from then on.

In January 2008, the band announced a short six date UK tour in February, playing shows in Manchester, Bristol, Nottingham, Brighton, Cambridge and London.

In February 2008, it was announced that Islands had signed to Los Angeles based ANTI-
ANTI-
ANTI- is an American record label founded in 1999 as a sister label of Epitaph Records.While Epitaph's focus has shifted over the last decade from mostly punk rock, nowadays ANTI- has a more diverse roster, ranging from country , hip hop , reggae , Soul , folk , rap-rock , indie rock...

 records, and the band appeared at the ANTI- SXSW showcase.

Islands' follow-up, Arm's Way
Arm's Way
Arm's Way is the second studio album by Montreal-based Indie rock band, Islands. It was released on May 20, 2008 on CD and download. The album's title is a play on the words "harm's way". The album leaked online on April 11, 2008...

would leak to various BitTorrent and file-sharing sites on April 11, 2008. The album would then be officially released on May 20, 2008, featuring a more anthematistical sound to its tracks than had previously been heard by people listening to a playback of their debut. In addition, the album featured a song entitled "Abominable Snow" previously performed live by Nick Thorburn's former band The Unicorns
The Unicorns
The Unicorns were a Lo-Fi/Indie Pop band from Montreal, Canada formed in December 2000 by Nicholas Thorburn and Alden Penner , who were later joined by Jamie Thompson in December 2003.-History:...

.

Vapours

As of June 19, 2009, it was confirmed that Jamie Thompson
Jamie Thompson
Jamie Thompson is a Canadian musician who has been the drummer for several Canadian bands, including Islands, and Th' Corn Gangg. Jamie joined The Unicorns in 2003 for the release of the band's first major album, Who Will Cut Our Hair When We're Gone?...

 had returned to Islands. Thompson's return was part of a huge band lineup overhaul in which every member save for Thorburn left the group. Thompson joined Evan Gordon and Geordie Gordon as the members of Islands' new lineup alongside Thorburn. The third Islands album, Vapours, was released September 22, 2009.

After Vapours was released, the band began an extensive North American tour, often featuring artists Jemina Pearl
Jemina Pearl
Jemina Pearl Abegg , known by the stage name Jemina Pearl, is an American singer, formerly the frontwoman of Be Your Own Pet....

 and Toro Y Moi
Toro Y Moi
Chazwick Bundick better known by his stage name Toro Y Moi, is an American recording artist and producer. His music has taken on many forms since he began recording, but he is often identified with the chillwave movement of summer 2010...

. During the spring of 2010, Islands will tour Europe, playing shows in Northern and Western Europe throughout March and April.

In an interview with Exclaim!
Exclaim!
Exclaim! is a monthly Canadian music magazine that features in-depth coverage of new music across all genres with special focus on Canadian and cutting-edge artists...

, Nick Thorburn explained how he likes to try new things, which is why he dismantled the line-up from Arm's Way to create an all-new line-up for Vapours. He remarked "That's important to me ― to be able to constantly try new things. That's why this record's largely informed by electronic stuff like drum machines, sequencing, and programming, which really scales it back from the last record."

Jamie Thompson once again left the band prior to the summer 2010 tour. He was again replaced with drummer Aaron Harris. No reason for his departure has been officially announced.

Post-Vapours

Nick Thorburn has made an album with Man Man's Honus called Out of Love
Out of Love
Out of Love is the debut studio album of indie rock supergroup Mister Heavenly. It was released on August 16, 2011 on the record label Sub Pop.-Track listing:...

: "One thing that has been floated around is Honus from Man Man and I making a record in a new (sub)genre we are developing, called Doom Wop, which is essentially low frequency, and extremely slowed down music atop traditional doo wop harmonies. Or something."
On October 25th it was announced on the Anti-Records blog that a new Islands record "A Sleep & A Forgetting" had been recorded and will be released on February 14th 2012. “This album is far more personal than any I’ve made before,” Thorburn explains. “I left New York after the end of a relationship and came to Los Angeles. There was a piano where I was staying and that’s where I wrote these songs. This record deals with loss, with memory and forgetting and with dreaming. I started writing it on Valentine’s Day and it’s coming out on Valentine’s Day.”

Current

  • Evan Gordon
  • Geordie Gordon
  • Aaron Harris (2006–2009), (2010–Present)
  • Nicholas Thorburn
    Nicholas Thorburn
    Nicholas Thorburn is a Canadian musician who has fronted The Unicorns, Th' Corn Gangg, Islands, Reefer, and Human Highway. He has gone by the stage name "Nick Diamonds."...


Former

  • Patrice Agbokou
  • Sebastian Chow
  • Alexander Chow
  • Mike Feuerstack
  • Patrick Gregoire
  • Jim Guthrie
  • Kate Perkins
  • Jamie Thompson
    Jamie Thompson
    Jamie Thompson is a Canadian musician who has been the drummer for several Canadian bands, including Islands, and Th' Corn Gangg. Jamie joined The Unicorns in 2003 for the release of the band's first major album, Who Will Cut Our Hair When We're Gone?...

     (2005–2006), (2009–2010)

Singles

Year Song Album
2006 "Rough Gem" Return to the Sea
Return to the Sea
Return to the Sea is the full-length debut by indie rock band Islands. It was released April 4, 2006 on Equator Records.The cover painting is "The Sea of Ice" by Caspar David Friedrich, 1824.-Track listing:# "Swans " – 9:31...

2006 "Don't Call Me Whitney, Bobby" Return to the Sea
Return to the Sea
Return to the Sea is the full-length debut by indie rock band Islands. It was released April 4, 2006 on Equator Records.The cover painting is "The Sea of Ice" by Caspar David Friedrich, 1824.-Track listing:# "Swans " – 9:31...

2007 "Dnttakemy Wingzz Away" Tomlab Alphabet Series -S-
2008 "The Arm" Arm's Way
Arm's Way
Arm's Way is the second studio album by Montreal-based Indie rock band, Islands. It was released on May 20, 2008 on CD and download. The album's title is a play on the words "harm's way". The album leaked online on April 11, 2008...


Studio albums

Year Album Label
2006 Return to the Sea
Return to the Sea
Return to the Sea is the full-length debut by indie rock band Islands. It was released April 4, 2006 on Equator Records.The cover painting is "The Sea of Ice" by Caspar David Friedrich, 1824.-Track listing:# "Swans " – 9:31...

Equator Records
2008 Arm's Way
Arm's Way
Arm's Way is the second studio album by Montreal-based Indie rock band, Islands. It was released on May 20, 2008 on CD and download. The album's title is a play on the words "harm's way". The album leaked online on April 11, 2008...

ANTI-
ANTI-
ANTI- is an American record label founded in 1999 as a sister label of Epitaph Records.While Epitaph's focus has shifted over the last decade from mostly punk rock, nowadays ANTI- has a more diverse roster, ranging from country , hip hop , reggae , Soul , folk , rap-rock , indie rock...

2009 Vapours
Vapours (Islands album)
Vapours is the third studio album by Montreal-based Indie rock band, Islands. It was released on September 22, 2009. Talking to Pitchfork, Diamonds told how he stripped away many of the layers present on the previous Islands album, 2008's Arm's Way. "I needed to withdraw from overblown metaphors...

ANTI-
ANTI-
ANTI- is an American record label founded in 1999 as a sister label of Epitaph Records.While Epitaph's focus has shifted over the last decade from mostly punk rock, nowadays ANTI- has a more diverse roster, ranging from country , hip hop , reggae , Soul , folk , rap-rock , indie rock...


Music videos


Unreleased songs & Covers (played live)

  • "Come Into My Room" (aka "I Wanna Love That Little Child")
  • "I'm Not Crazy"
  • "We Love Giving In"
  • "Be Someone Else"
  • "Dogs"
  • "Paradise City"
  • "Divine
    Divine (Sébastien Tellier song)
    "Divine" is a song by Sébastien Tellier from his 2008 album Sexuality. The song represented France at the Eurovision Song Contest 2008. The song is in English, with a few verses in French...

    " (Sébastien Tellier
    Sébastien Tellier
    Sébastien Tellier is a French singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. He is currently signed to Record Makers, a French independent record label. He sings in English, French and Italian.-Biography:...

     cover)
  • "Cyanide Breath Mint" (Beck
    Beck
    Beck Hansen is an American musician, singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist, known by the stage name Beck...

     cover)
  • "Hurry Up, Run" (Th' Corn Gangg
    Th' Corn Gangg
    Th' Corn Gangg is an indie pop/hip hop band from Montreal, Canada. The band was founded by Jamie Thompson and Nicholas Thorburn as a direct off-shoot project of The Unicorns several months prior to their December 2004 break-up, but prior to the formation of Islands by those same two musicians.Th'...

     cover)
  • "Graceland"
    Graceland (song)
    "Graceland" is the title song of the album Graceland, released in 1986 by Paul Simon. The song features vocals by The Everly Brothers.The lyrics deal with the singer's thoughts during a road trip to Graceland after the failure of his marriage to actress and author Carrie Fisher.-Reception:It was...

     (Paul Simon
    Paul Simon
    Paul Frederic Simon is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist.Simon is best known for his success, beginning in 1965, as part of the duo Simon & Garfunkel, with musical partner Art Garfunkel. Simon wrote most of the pair's songs, including three that reached number one on the US singles...

     cover)
  • "Waterloo Sunset
    Waterloo Sunset
    Waterloo Sunset is a song by British rock band The Kinks. It was released as a single in 1967, and featured on their album Something Else by The Kinks...

    " (Kinks cover)
  • "Monster Mash
    Monster Mash
    "Monster Mash" is a 1962 novelty song and the best-known song by Bobby "Boris" Pickett. The song was released as a single on Gary S. Paxton's Garpax Records label in August 1962 along with a full-length LP called The Original Monster Mash, which contained several other monster-themed tunes...

    " (Bobby 'Boris' Pickett cover)
  • "Joy" (Islands)
  • "Red Football" (Sinéad O'Connor
    Sinéad O'Connor
    Sinéad Marie Bernadette O'Connor is an Irish singer-songwriter. She rose to fame in the late 1980s with her debut album The Lion and the Cobra and achieved worldwide success in 1990 with a cover of the song "Nothing Compares 2 U"....

     cover)
  • "Big Bluff" (Rough Gem B-Side)
  • "I Won't Share You" (The Smiths
    The Smiths
    The Smiths were an English alternative rock band, formed in Manchester in 1982. Based on the song writing partnership of Morrissey and Johnny Marr , the band also included Andy Rourke and Mike Joyce...

     cover)

See also

  • Music of Canada
    Music of Canada
    The music of Canada has influences that have shaped the country. Aboriginals, the British, and the French have all made unique contributions to the musical heritage of Canada. The music has subsequently been heavily influenced by American culture because of its proximity and migration between...

  • Music of Quebec
    Music of Quebec
    Being a modern cosmopolitan society, today, all types of music can be found in the Canadian province of Quebec. What is specific to Quebec though are traditional songs, a unique variety of Celtic music, legions of excellent jazz musicians, a culture of classical music, and a love of foreign rhythms...

  • Canadian rock
    Canadian rock
    Canadian rock describes a wide and diverse variety of music produced by Canadians, beginning with American style rock 'n' roll in the mid-20th century. Since then Canada has had a considerable impact on the development of the modern popular music called rock...

  • List of Canadian musicians
  • List of bands from Canada
  • :Category:Canadian musical groups

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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