Sweet Billy Pilgrim
Encyclopedia
Sweet Billy Pilgrim are an English Experimental Rock
/ Folk band, composed of bassist/banjo player Anthony Bishop, guitarist and singer Jana Carpenter
, guitarist and songwriter Tim Elsenburg, and drummer/percussionist Alistair Hamer.
and Hamer from Wendover
, both in Buckinghamshire
.
Sweet Billy Pilgrim formed in 2003 after their previous band, Cordisto, came to an end. The band are named after the main character
in Kurt Vonnegut
's book Slaughterhouse 5.
After repeated rejections from both major and independent record labels, Elsenburg bought a Power Book, they installed Pro Tools
, and the band began to record themselves. Due to financial restraints, all of Sweet Billy Pilgrim's records have (apart from the acoustic drums) been recorded and produced in a garden shed using a laptop
and one quite good microphone
. The band feel this has had a positive influence on their sound.
Their first release "Experience", was distributed amongst fans and was followed up by the Stars Spill Out of Cups EP. Released on their own label (Luxor Purchase) and featuring hand-stamped artwork, it contains three songs "Stars Spill Out of Cups", "God In The Details", and "Atlantis". The band also gave away a recording called "Forget to Breathe" as an .mp3. It is still available to hear on the bands MySpace site, although the original link to the file no longer works.
, they have gone on to release two albums.
We Just Did What Happened and No One Came was released in 2005 and awarded four stars by Mojo
magazine, and The Sunday Times
called it, "a rather special debut", making the track "Stars Spill Out of Cups" one of their songs of the year.
Twice Born Men
was released in 2009 and was awarded 5 stars and made CD of the Week by The Sunday Times
, later that year it made The Sunday Times' top 100 albums of 2009 list. The album was also awarded 4 stars by Mojo
and Uncut
, and was made a Mercury Prize
album of the year for 2009.
Besides their work as Sweet Billy Pilgrim all three members have worked together as session musicians having toured as members of Martin Grech
's band during the Open Heart Zoo
era, and playing on the Toyah Willcox
album Velvet Lined Shell
.
Bishop currently plays electric bass
in The Boy Least Likely To
's touring band, and his playing is featured on both of the band's albums.
Hamer toured with The Boy Least Likely To
until 2008, and his drumming is featured on the James Dean Bradfield
album The Great Western
.
Elsenburg has recorded and performed with Steve Jansen
, recorded with Adem Ilhan, remixed for David Sylvian
and Steve Adey
, and written with Toyah Willcox
.
Due to the complexity and layering of sounds used on the recordings, recreating the songs live requires the members to play many different instruments on stage. Bishop plays electric bass
, banjo
, cymbals and vocals. Elsenburg plays guitar
, harmonium
, harmonica
, and vocals. Hamer plays drums (usually a Yamaha Rock Tour Custom
), clarinet
, harmonium
, loops, and vocals. They are typically joined live by musician David Preece playing piano
, keyboards
, samples
, tin whistle
, accordion
, vocals, and square waves, Jana Carpenter
on backing vocals; and sometimes by Adam Chetwood (I Am Arrows
) playing acoustic guitar
, electric guitar
and banjo
.
On 9 July 2010 Sweet Billy Pilgrim appeared as themselves in series four, episode three ("Something Happened") of The IT Crowd
.
On 13 July 2010 their song "Future Perfect Tense" was made available as a download for the game Rock Band 2
In August 2010 they recruited Jana Carpenter
and started recording their 3rd studio album.
Experimental rock
Experimental rock or avant-garde rock is a type of music based on rock which experiments with the basic elements of the genre, or which pushes the boundaries of common composition and performance technique....
/ Folk band, composed of bassist/banjo player Anthony Bishop, guitarist and singer Jana Carpenter
Jana Carpenter
Jana Carpenter is a British actress, singer and guitarist. She has appeared in a few TV series episodes and films and is also vocalist and guitarist in the countryfolk/harmony band Piefinger, and Mercury Prize nominated experimental rock band Sweet Billy Pilgrim.-Filmography:-External links:...
, guitarist and songwriter Tim Elsenburg, and drummer/percussionist Alistair Hamer.
Biography
The original three members met whilst at school, Elsenburg and Bishop are from WingraveWingrave
Wingrave is a village in Buckinghamshire, England located about four miles north east of Aylesbury and three miles south west of Wing.The civil parish is called Wingrave with Rowsham within Aylesbury Vale district and incorporates the hamlet of Rowsham.Wingrave is twinned with La Bouëxière in...
and Hamer from Wendover
Wendover
Wendover is a market town that sits at the foot of the Chiltern Hills in Buckinghamshire, England. It is also a civil parish within Aylesbury Vale district...
, both in Buckinghamshire
Buckinghamshire
Buckinghamshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan home county in South East England. The county town is Aylesbury, the largest town in the ceremonial county is Milton Keynes and largest town in the non-metropolitan county is High Wycombe....
.
Sweet Billy Pilgrim formed in 2003 after their previous band, Cordisto, came to an end. The band are named after the main character
Billy Pilgrim
Billy Pilgrim was an American folk rock duo based in Atlanta, Georgia, comprising Andrew Hyra and Kristian Bush. The band's name was taken from the time-traveling anti-hero of Kurt Vonnegut's novel Slaughterhouse-Five. The name was adopted in 1994; prior to that the duo simply billed itself as...
in Kurt Vonnegut
Kurt Vonnegut
Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. was a 20th century American writer. His works such as Cat's Cradle , Slaughterhouse-Five and Breakfast of Champions blend satire, gallows humor and science fiction. He was known for his humanist beliefs and was honorary president of the American Humanist Association.-Early...
's book Slaughterhouse 5.
After repeated rejections from both major and independent record labels, Elsenburg bought a Power Book, they installed Pro Tools
Pro Tools
Pro Tools is a digital audio workstation platform for Microsoft Windows and Mac OS X operating systems, developed and manufactured by Avid Technology. It is widely used by professionals throughout the audio industries for recording and editing in music production, film scoring, film, and television...
, and the band began to record themselves. Due to financial restraints, all of Sweet Billy Pilgrim's records have (apart from the acoustic drums) been recorded and produced in a garden shed using a laptop
Laptop
A laptop, also called a notebook, is a personal computer for mobile use. A laptop integrates most of the typical components of a desktop computer, including a display, a keyboard, a pointing device and speakers into a single unit...
and one quite good microphone
Microphone
A microphone is an acoustic-to-electric transducer or sensor that converts sound into an electrical signal. In 1877, Emile Berliner invented the first microphone used as a telephone voice transmitter...
. The band feel this has had a positive influence on their sound.
Their first release "Experience", was distributed amongst fans and was followed up by the Stars Spill Out of Cups EP. Released on their own label (Luxor Purchase) and featuring hand-stamped artwork, it contains three songs "Stars Spill Out of Cups", "God In The Details", and "Atlantis". The band also gave away a recording called "Forget to Breathe" as an .mp3. It is still available to hear on the bands MySpace site, although the original link to the file no longer works.
, they have gone on to release two albums.
We Just Did What Happened and No One Came was released in 2005 and awarded four stars by Mojo
Mojo (magazine)
MOJO is a popular music magazine published initially by Emap, and since January 2008 by Bauer, monthly in the United Kingdom. Following the success of the magazine Q, publishers Emap were looking for a title which would cater for the burgeoning interest in classic rock music...
magazine, and The Sunday Times
The Sunday Times
The Sunday Times is a British Sunday newspaper.The Sunday Times may also refer to:*The Sunday Times *The Sunday Times *The Sunday Times *The Sunday Times...
called it, "a rather special debut", making the track "Stars Spill Out of Cups" one of their songs of the year.
Twice Born Men
Twice Born Men
Twice Born Men is an album by English experimental rock band Sweet Billy Pilgrim. It is a Barclaycard Mercury Music Prize album of the year 2009, and a Sunday Times top 100 album of 2009.-Track listing:# "Here It Begins"...
was released in 2009 and was awarded 5 stars and made CD of the Week by The Sunday Times
The Sunday Times
The Sunday Times is a British Sunday newspaper.The Sunday Times may also refer to:*The Sunday Times *The Sunday Times *The Sunday Times *The Sunday Times...
, later that year it made The Sunday Times' top 100 albums of 2009 list. The album was also awarded 4 stars by Mojo
Mojo (magazine)
MOJO is a popular music magazine published initially by Emap, and since January 2008 by Bauer, monthly in the United Kingdom. Following the success of the magazine Q, publishers Emap were looking for a title which would cater for the burgeoning interest in classic rock music...
and Uncut
UNCUT (magazine)
Uncut magazine, trademarked as UNCUT, is a monthly publication based in London. It is available across the English-speaking world, and focuses on music, but also includes film and books sections...
, and was made a Mercury Prize
Mercury Prize
The Mercury Prize, formerly called the Mercury Music Prize and currently known as the Barclaycard Mercury Prize for sponsorship reasons, is an annual music prize awarded for the best album from the United Kingdom and Ireland. It was established by the British Phonographic Industry and British...
album of the year for 2009.
Besides their work as Sweet Billy Pilgrim all three members have worked together as session musicians having toured as members of Martin Grech
Martin Grech
Martin Grech is a Maltese-English singer, songwriter and musician from Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire.-Career:He first achieved critical acclaim after his falsetto track, "Open Heart Zoo" was featured on a Lexus advert on British television in 2002...
's band during the Open Heart Zoo
Open Heart Zoo
Open Heart Zoo is a 2002 album by British alternative rock musician Martin Grech. The title track became famous when it was used by Lexus in a commercial.-Track listing:#"Here It Comes" – 5:02#"Open Heart Zoo" – 5:20#"Dalí" – 5:38#"Tonight" – 5:07...
era, and playing on the Toyah Willcox
Toyah Willcox
Toyah Ann Willcox is an English actress and singer. In a career spanning more than thirty years Toyah has had 13 top 40 singles, released 22 studio albums, written two books, appeared in over forty stage plays and ten feature films, as well as voicing and presenting numerous television shows...
album Velvet Lined Shell
Velvet Lined Shell
Velvet Lined Shell is a 6 track mini-album by Toyah Willcox. It was cited as a return to her punk roots. Recorded in her home town of Birmingham, most of the tracks have a deliberately raw feel to them, with Willcox naming Nick Cave and Garbage amongst her newer influences.Like Toyah's first album,...
.
Bishop currently plays electric bass
Electric Bass
Electric bass can mean:*Electric upright bass, the electric version of a double bass*Electric bass guitar*Bass synthesizer*Big Mouth Billy Bass, a battery-powered singing fish...
in The Boy Least Likely To
The Boy Least Likely To
The Boy Least Likely To is an English indie pop duo, composed of composer/multi-instrumentalist Pete Hobbs and lyricist/singer Jof Owen.Owen and Hobbs both grew up in the village of Wendover in Buckinghamshire. They met when they were still in school and started writing songs together. They began...
's touring band, and his playing is featured on both of the band's albums.
Hamer toured with The Boy Least Likely To
The Boy Least Likely To
The Boy Least Likely To is an English indie pop duo, composed of composer/multi-instrumentalist Pete Hobbs and lyricist/singer Jof Owen.Owen and Hobbs both grew up in the village of Wendover in Buckinghamshire. They met when they were still in school and started writing songs together. They began...
until 2008, and his drumming is featured on the James Dean Bradfield
James Dean Bradfield
James Dean Bradfield is the lead guitarist and vocalist for the Welsh rock band Manic Street Preachers.- Early life :...
album The Great Western
The Great Western
The Great Western is the debut solo album by Manic Street Preachers vocalist/guitarist James Dean Bradfield, released on July 24, 2006 on Columbia Records. The majority of the lyrics were written by Bradfield, who had only contributed lyrics to the songs "Ocean Spray" and "Firefight" previously for...
.
Elsenburg has recorded and performed with Steve Jansen
Steve Jansen
Steve Jansen is an English drummer, percussionist, singer and composer. He was educated at Catford Boys' School, Catford, South East London, where he failed academically, leaving at 16....
, recorded with Adem Ilhan, remixed for David Sylvian
David Sylvian
David Sylvian is an English singer-songwriter and musician who came to prominence in the late 1970s as the lead vocalist and main songwriter in the group Japan...
and Steve Adey
Steve Adey
Steve Adey is a musician and singer-songwriter. His music is characterised by slow tempos, minimalist arrangements, underpinned by a rich baritone vocal and chordal piano playing...
, and written with Toyah Willcox
Toyah Willcox
Toyah Ann Willcox is an English actress and singer. In a career spanning more than thirty years Toyah has had 13 top 40 singles, released 22 studio albums, written two books, appeared in over forty stage plays and ten feature films, as well as voicing and presenting numerous television shows...
.
Due to the complexity and layering of sounds used on the recordings, recreating the songs live requires the members to play many different instruments on stage. Bishop plays electric bass
Electric Bass
Electric bass can mean:*Electric upright bass, the electric version of a double bass*Electric bass guitar*Bass synthesizer*Big Mouth Billy Bass, a battery-powered singing fish...
, banjo
Banjo
In the 1830s Sweeney became the first white man to play the banjo on stage. His version of the instrument replaced the gourd with a drum-like sound box and included four full-length strings alongside a short fifth-string. There is no proof, however, that Sweeney invented either innovation. This new...
, cymbals and vocals. Elsenburg plays guitar
Guitar
The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
, harmonium
Harmonium
A harmonium is a free-standing keyboard instrument similar to a reed organ. Sound is produced by air being blown through sets of free reeds, resulting in a sound similar to that of an accordion...
, harmonica
Harmonica
The harmonica, also called harp, French harp, blues harp, and mouth organ, is a free reed wind instrument used primarily in blues and American folk music, jazz, country, and rock and roll. It is played by blowing air into it or drawing air out by placing lips over individual holes or multiple holes...
, and vocals. Hamer plays drums (usually a Yamaha Rock Tour Custom
Yamaha Rock Tour Custom
The Yamaha Rock Tour Custom was a professional line of drums first manufactured by Yamaha Drums in 1990. They were built at their factories in Japan and England.The range was fairy short lived with production stopping in 1994...
), clarinet
Clarinet
The clarinet is a musical instrument of woodwind type. The name derives from adding the suffix -et to the Italian word clarino , as the first clarinets had a strident tone similar to that of a trumpet. The instrument has an approximately cylindrical bore, and uses a single reed...
, harmonium
Harmonium
A harmonium is a free-standing keyboard instrument similar to a reed organ. Sound is produced by air being blown through sets of free reeds, resulting in a sound similar to that of an accordion...
, loops, and vocals. They are typically joined live by musician David Preece playing piano
Piano
The piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
, keyboards
Keyboard instrument
A keyboard instrument is a musical instrument which is played using a musical keyboard. The most common of these is the piano. Other widely used keyboard instruments include organs of various types as well as other mechanical, electromechanical and electronic instruments...
, samples
Sampling (music)
In music, sampling is the act of taking a portion, or sample, of one sound recording and reusing it as an instrument or a different sound recording of a song or piece. Sampling was originally developed by experimental musicians working with musique concrète and electroacoustic music, who physically...
, tin whistle
Tin whistle
The tin whistle, also called the penny whistle, English Flageolet, Scottish penny whistle, Tin Flageolet, Irish whistle and Clarke London Flageolet is a simple six-holed woodwind instrument. It is an end blown fipple flute, putting it in the same category as the recorder, American Indian flute, and...
, accordion
Accordion
The accordion is a box-shaped musical instrument of the bellows-driven free-reed aerophone family, sometimes referred to as a squeezebox. A person who plays the accordion is called an accordionist....
, vocals, and square waves, Jana Carpenter
Jana Carpenter
Jana Carpenter is a British actress, singer and guitarist. She has appeared in a few TV series episodes and films and is also vocalist and guitarist in the countryfolk/harmony band Piefinger, and Mercury Prize nominated experimental rock band Sweet Billy Pilgrim.-Filmography:-External links:...
on backing vocals; and sometimes by Adam Chetwood (I Am Arrows
I Am Arrows
I Am Arrows is an indie rock band founded by former Razorlight drummer Andy Burrows in June 2009. Eleven days after he left Razorlight, it was revealed that Burrows had signed to Universal Records – the same record label as his ex-band.- Live :...
) playing acoustic guitar
Acoustic guitar
An acoustic guitar is a guitar that uses only an acoustic sound board. The air in this cavity resonates with the vibrational modes of the string and at low frequencies, which depend on the size of the box, the chamber acts like a Helmholtz resonator, increasing or decreasing the volume of the sound...
, electric guitar
Electric guitar
An electric guitar is a guitar that uses the principle of direct electromagnetic induction to convert vibrations of its metal strings into electric audio signals. The signal generated by an electric guitar is too weak to drive a loudspeaker, so it is amplified before sending it to a loudspeaker...
and banjo
Banjo
In the 1830s Sweeney became the first white man to play the banjo on stage. His version of the instrument replaced the gourd with a drum-like sound box and included four full-length strings alongside a short fifth-string. There is no proof, however, that Sweeney invented either innovation. This new...
.
On 9 July 2010 Sweet Billy Pilgrim appeared as themselves in series four, episode three ("Something Happened") of The IT Crowd
The IT Crowd
The IT Crowd is a British sitcom by Channel 4, written by Graham Linehan, produced by Ash Atalla and starring Chris O'Dowd, Richard Ayoade, Katherine Parkinson and Matt Berry...
.
On 13 July 2010 their song "Future Perfect Tense" was made available as a download for the game Rock Band 2
Rock Band 2
Rock Band 2 is a music video game developed by Harmonix Music Systems. It is the sequel to Rock Band and is the second title in the series. The game allows up to four players to simulate the performance of popular songs by playing with controllers modeled after musical instruments...
In August 2010 they recruited Jana Carpenter
Jana Carpenter
Jana Carpenter is a British actress, singer and guitarist. She has appeared in a few TV series episodes and films and is also vocalist and guitarist in the countryfolk/harmony band Piefinger, and Mercury Prize nominated experimental rock band Sweet Billy Pilgrim.-Filmography:-External links:...
and started recording their 3rd studio album.
Albums
- We Just Did What Happened and No One Came - Wonderland Avenue (2005)
- Twice Born MenTwice Born MenTwice Born Men is an album by English experimental rock band Sweet Billy Pilgrim. It is a Barclaycard Mercury Music Prize album of the year 2009, and a Sunday Times top 100 album of 2009.-Track listing:# "Here It Begins"...
- Samadhi SoundSamadhi SoundSamadhi Sound is an independent record label founded by singer and musician David Sylvian after his departure from Virgin Records in the late nineties....
(2009)
EPs
- Stars Spill Out Of Cups EP - Luxor Purchase (2004)
- Brugada EP - Spoilt Victorian Child (2005)
Singles
- "Experience" - Luxor Purchase (2004)
- "Forget to Breathe" - Luxor Purchase (2005) (Free .mp3 download)
- "Future Perfect Tense b/w Kalypso (featuring Jen from the IT Crowd)" - Samadhi Sound (2010)