The Dykeenies
Encyclopedia
The Dykeenies are a Scottish 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 from Cumbernauld
Cumbernauld
Cumbernauld is a Scottish new town in North Lanarkshire. It was created in 1956 as a population overspill for Glasgow City. It is the eighth most populous settlement in Scotland and the largest in North Lanarkshire...

, formed in 2005. The group consists of brothers Brian Henderson (vocals, synthesizer
Synthesizer
A synthesizer is an electronic instrument capable of producing sounds by generating electrical signals of different frequencies. These electrical signals are played through a loudspeaker or set of headphones...

s) and Andrew Henderson (bass guitar
Bass guitar
The bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....

, backing vocals
Backing vocalist
A backing vocalist or backing singer is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists...

), along with Steven Ramsay (lead guitar
Lead guitar
Lead guitar is a guitar part which plays melody lines, instrumental fill passages, guitar solos, and occasionally, some riffs within a song structure...

, backing vocals) and John Kerr (drums
Drum kit
A drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....

, backing vocals). Since their formation, they have released one studio album, Nothing Means Everything
Nothing Means Everything
Nothing Means Everything is the debut album from Scottish band The Dykeenies. It was released on the Lavolta Records label on 17 September 2007.-Track listing:...

, accompanied by three singles. After a worldwide tour, the band began work on their second album, which was released in October 2011.

Beginnings and King Tut's (2005–2006)

The band played their first headline gig at the 350-capacity ABC2
ABC Glasgow
The O2 ABC is a nightclub and music venue on Sauchiehall Street, in the centre of Glasgow, Scotland's largest city. The building was constructed in 1875 but was largely rebuilt in the 1920s. It had been put to a number of uses before being converted for its current purpose between 2002 and 2005. In...

, a small venue in Glasgow
Glasgow
Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...

 in late 2005. The gig was a sell-out show. In November 2005, they were named as the inaugural "Artist of the Month" in the Your Sound competition; a scheme run by Glasgow music venue King Tut's Wah Wah Hut
King Tut's Wah Wah Hut
King Tut's Wah Wah Hut, also known as King Tut's, is a live music venue and bar in on St. Vincent Street, Glasgow, Scotland. It is owned and managed by Glasgow-based gig promoters DF Concerts...

 along with DF Concerts to project local unsigned talent. They would go on to play a sold-out show at King Tut's, despite only ever having appeared at the venue once before. As well as this, a demo
Demo (music)
A demo version or demo of a song is one recorded for reference rather than for release. A demo is a way for a musician to approximate their ideas on tape or disc, and provide an example of those ideas to record labels, producers or other artists...

 version of the song "New Ideas" was included in Have Yourself a Filthy Little Christmas, a compilation album
Compilation album
A compilation album is an album featuring tracks from one or more performers, often culled from a variety of sources The tracks are usually collected according to a common characteristic, such as popularity, genre, source or subject matter...

 released as a free download
Music download
A music download is the transferral of music from an Internet-facing computer or website to a user's local computer. This term encompasses both legal downloads and downloads of copyright material without permission or payment...

 by independent record label
Independent record label
An independent record label is a record label operating without the funding of or outside the organizations of the major record labels. A great number of bands and musical acts begin on independent labels.-Overview:...

 Filthy Little Angels on 12 December 2005.
They progressed to play an even bigger venue in Glasgow when they supported Mystery Jets
Mystery Jets
Mystery Jets are an English five-piece indie band, formerly based on Eel Pie Island in Twickenham, London. The band was formed by Henry Harrison , Blaine Harrison and William Rees when the boys were still at school and would send each other songs on cassettes...

 at Glasgow's Queen Margaret Union
Queen Margaret Union
The Queen Margaret Union is one of two students' unions at the University of Glasgow, Scotland. Founded in 1890, it caters for the social and cultural needs of its members by providing a range of services including, entertainments, catering, shop facilities, bars and games.-History:The Queen...

 (one of two Student unions
Students' union
A students' union, student government, student senate, students' association, guild of students or government of student body is a student organization present in many colleges and universities, and has started appearing in some high schools...

 of Glasgow University
University of Glasgow
The University of Glasgow is the fourth-oldest university in the English-speaking world and one of Scotland's four ancient universities. Located in Glasgow, the university was founded in 1451 and is presently one of seventeen British higher education institutions ranked amongst the top 100 of the...

) on 3 May 2006, despite at this point never having released a single.

After winning the Your Sound competition, the band signed to King Tut's Recordings. Again, despite having released little or no material at the time, the band were asked to play the "T Break" stage at T in the Park
T in the Park
T in the Park is a major British music festival that has been held annually since 1994. It is named after its main sponsor, the brewing company Tennents. It was originally held at Strathclyde Park, Lanarkshire but since 1997 has been held at a disused airfield in Balado, Kinross-shire...

 in Kinross
Kinross
Kinross is a burgh in Perth and Kinross, Scotland. It was formerly the county town of Kinross-shire.Kinross is a fairly small town, with some attractive buildings...

, Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...

, on 9 July 2006. A week later, The Dykeenies released their first single, a double a-side "New Ideas/Will It Happen Tonight?". A video was recorded for the former track, featuring the band playing inside King Tut's Wah Wah Hut
King Tut's Wah Wah Hut
King Tut's Wah Wah Hut, also known as King Tut's, is a live music venue and bar in on St. Vincent Street, Glasgow, Scotland. It is owned and managed by Glasgow-based gig promoters DF Concerts...

. In September 2006, the band signed to independent record label
Independent record label
An independent record label is a record label operating without the funding of or outside the organizations of the major record labels. A great number of bands and musical acts begin on independent labels.-Overview:...

 Lavolta Records.

Two months later, the band released their first EP
Extended play
An EP is a musical recording which contains more music than a single, but is too short to qualify as a full album or LP. The term EP originally referred only to specific types of vinyl records other than 78 rpm standard play records and LP records, but it is now applied to mid-length Compact...

 through Lavolta, titled Waiting for Go. The release featured the title track, as well as tracks "Things You Cannot See", "Feels Like Sleep" and "Dark Time". It was produced by Jim Abbiss
Jim Abbiss
Jim Abbiss is a British music producer, best known for his work on records including Arctic Monkeys' Mercury Music Prize winning debut album, Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not, Ladytron's Witching Hour, Sneaker Pimps' debut Becoming X, Editors' debut The Back Room, Kasabian's...

, who had previously worked with Arctic Monkeys
Arctic Monkeys
Arctic Monkeys are an English indie rock band. Formed in 2002 in High Green, a suburb of Sheffield, the band currently consists of Alex Turner , Jamie Cook , Nick O'Malley and Matt Helders...

, Kasabian and Bombay Bicycle Club
Bombay Bicycle Club
Bombay Bicycle Club are a British indie rock and folk band from Crouch End, London. The band comprises: Jack Steadman , Jamie MacColl , Ed Nash and Suren de Saram ....

; and mixed by previous New Order
New Order
New Order are an English rock band formed in 1980 by Bernard Sumner , Peter Hook and Stephen Morris...

 and Kaiser Chiefs
Kaiser Chiefs
Kaiser Chiefs are an English indie rock band from Leeds who formed in 1996. They were named after the South African football club Kaizer Chiefs....

 collaborator Cenzo Townshend. Following the release of the EP, the band were invited by 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...

to play on the first ever four band O2 Rock N Roll Riot Tour, alongside The Horrors
The Horrors
The Horrors are an English band from Southend on Sea, formed in 2005. Their debut Strange House, was released in 2007 and reached number thirty-seven on the UK Albums Chart, their second album Primary Colours was released in 2009 and peaked at number 25 in the UK...

, The Fratellis
The Fratellis
The Fratellis were an indie rock band from Glasgow, Scotland. The band consisted of lead vocalist and guitarist Jon Fratelli , bass guitarist Barry Fratelli , and drummer and backing vocalist Mince Fratelli .The band released 2 albums during their career, Costello Music in 2006 and Here We Stand in...

 and The Maccabees
The Maccabees
The Maccabees are a indie rock band from Brighton, England. They have released two albums so far, Colour It In in 2007, with a follow-up, Wall of Arms, released on 4 May 2009...

.

Nothing Means Everything (2007–2010)

The band were given another boost into the musical limelight with the help from Xfm Scotland (now Galaxy Scotland
Galaxy Scotland
105-106 Capital is a regional radio station broadcasting to Scotland's Central Belt, an area surrounding the two cities of Glasgow and Edinburgh, and the kingdom of Fife...

). The radio station began by asking them to be a part of Xfm Scotland's first ever "Winter Wonderland" gig, one of three one-day winter music festival
Music festival
A music festival is a festival oriented towards music that is sometimes presented with a theme such as musical genre, nationality or locality of musicians, or holiday. They are commonly held outdoors, and are often inclusive of other attractions such as food and merchandise vending machines,...

s taking place in venues across the United Kingdom. They were then called up again to support Maxïmo Park
Maxïmo Park
Maxïmo Park are a British alternative rock band, formed in 2000. They are signed to Warp Records. The band consists of Paul Smith , Duncan Lloyd , Archis Tiku , Lukas Wooller and Tom English...

 at Edinburgh
Edinburgh
Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area...

's Liquid Room as part of "Xfm Live Sessions" on 31 March 2007.

Following numerous headline and support gigs in and around Glasgow between November 2006 and March 2007, The Dykeenies released a new recording of "New Ideas
New Ideas
"New Ideas" is the debut single by Scottish New Wave/Indie rock act The Dykeenies. It was first released as a Double A-side with "Will It Happen Tonight?" on 17 July 2006. The band also recorded a video for the track...

" on 9 April 2007, with previously unreleased tracks "Safe", "Simplify" and "Layers" featuring alongside various remixes as b-sides. The band marked the release with an extensive UK tour, including playing their first headline gig at Glasgow
Glasgow
Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...

's QMU
Queen Margaret Union
The Queen Margaret Union is one of two students' unions at the University of Glasgow, Scotland. Founded in 1890, it caters for the social and cultural needs of its members by providing a range of services including, entertainments, catering, shop facilities, bars and games.-History:The Queen...

, a venue they had previously only played supporting Mystery Jets
Mystery Jets
Mystery Jets are an English five-piece indie band, formerly based on Eel Pie Island in Twickenham, London. The band was formed by Henry Harrison , Blaine Harrison and William Rees when the boys were still at school and would send each other songs on cassettes...

. This single was the band's first entry into the UK Singles Chart
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...

, reaching number 54. The band would release further singles "Clean Up Your Eyes" and "Stitches" between July and September 2007, reaching number 53 and 61, respectively.

The band released their debut album, Nothing Means Everything
Nothing Means Everything
Nothing Means Everything is the debut album from Scottish band The Dykeenies. It was released on the Lavolta Records label on 17 September 2007.-Track listing:...

, on 17 September 2007. They would again play the QMU in support of the album, a concert which was originally booked for Glasgow's ABC
ABC Glasgow
The O2 ABC is a nightclub and music venue on Sauchiehall Street, in the centre of Glasgow, Scotland's largest city. The building was constructed in 1875 but was largely rebuilt in the 1920s. It had been put to a number of uses before being converted for its current purpose between 2002 and 2005. In...

, but was moved due to scheduling problems. During the concert, the band covered "Starman
Starman (song)
"Starman" is a single by David Bowie, released in April 1972. The song was a late addition to The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars, included at the insistence of RCA’s Dennis Katz, who heard a demo and loved the track, believing it would make a great single...

" by David Bowie
David Bowie
David Bowie is an English musician, actor, record producer and arranger. A major figure for over four decades in the world of popular music, Bowie is widely regarded as an innovator, particularly for his work in the 1970s...

, an artist they have stated as a major musical influence.

On 9 December 2008, The Daily Record
Daily Record (Scotland)
The Daily Record is a Scottish tabloid newspaper based in Glasgow. It had been the best-selling daily paper in Scotland for many years with a paid circulation in August 2011 of 307,794 . It is now outsold by its arch-rival the Scottish Sun which in September 2010 had a circulation of 339,586 in...

announced that guitarist Alan Henderson had left the band, leaving over "musical differences". Vocalist Brian Henderson said that Alan was not seeing eye to eye on musical terms with the rest of the band. On 11 December 2008, the band announced a one-off date at King Tut's on 18 February 2009, their first gig since playing London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

's Underage Festival on 8 August 2008. The event sold out. A full tour was later announced, playing sixteen dates across the UK
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

. Brian Henderson stated in an interview with The Daily Record that the band are currently experimenting with a number of new instruments, including bongo drum
Bongo drum
Bongo or bongos are a Cuban percussion instrument consisting of a pair of single-headed, open-ended drums attached to each other. The drums are of different size: the larger drum is called in Spanish the hembra and the smaller the macho...

s, 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...

s, and gospel choir
Gospel music
Gospel music is music that is written to express either personal, spiritual or a communal belief regarding Christian life, as well as to give a Christian alternative to mainstream secular music....

s. Henderson added that the band are seven songs from finishing the album.

During the band's March tour, the band have included new songs "Awake", "Square Balloons", "Minus One", "Traps" and "Are You With Me Now?". The latter has been released as a free download through the band's website and MySpace. The band's new single "Sounds of the City" was released on 27 April 2009, with an instrumental version of the song as a b-side. As well as this, the band played a number of summer music festival
Music festival
A music festival is a festival oriented towards music that is sometimes presented with a theme such as musical genre, nationality or locality of musicians, or holiday. They are commonly held outdoors, and are often inclusive of other attractions such as food and merchandise vending machines,...

s in 2009, including T in the Park
T in the Park
T in the Park is a major British music festival that has been held annually since 1994. It is named after its main sponsor, the brewing company Tennents. It was originally held at Strathclyde Park, Lanarkshire but since 1997 has been held at a disused airfield in Balado, Kinross-shire...

, Summer Sundae
Summer Sundae
Summer Sundae is an annual music festival held in Leicester, England which focuses on indie, alternative, and local music...

, and the Loopallu festival in Ullapool
Ullapool
Ullapool is a small town of around 1,300 inhabitants in Ross and Cromarty, Highland, Scotland. Despite its small size, it is the largest settlement for many miles around, and is a major tourist destination of Scotland. The North Atlantic Drift passes by Ullapool, bringing moderate temperatures...

.

Canyon of Echoes (2011)

The band announced on 18 July 2011 via their Myspace
Myspace
Myspace is a social networking service owned by Specific Media LLC and pop star Justin Timberlake. Myspace launched in August 2003 and is headquartered in Beverly Hills, California. In August 2011, Myspace had 33.1 million unique U.S. visitors....

 and Facebook
Facebook
Facebook is a social networking service and website launched in February 2004, operated and privately owned by Facebook, Inc. , Facebook has more than 800 million active users. Users must register before using the site, after which they may create a personal profile, add other users as...

 accounts that their new album 'Canyon of Echoes' will be released on 03 October 2011. They will undertake a short UK tour to support the release. On the 29 August 2011 they premiered the video for new single 'Awake' on their official Facebook
Facebook
Facebook is a social networking service and website launched in February 2004, operated and privately owned by Facebook, Inc. , Facebook has more than 800 million active users. Users must register before using the site, after which they may create a personal profile, add other users as...

 and YouTube
YouTube
YouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....

 channel.

Musical style

The Dykeenies' musical style has been noted primarily as 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...

, with influences including The Cribs
The Cribs
The Cribs are an English three-piece indie rock band from Wakefield, West Yorkshire. The band consists of twins Gary and Ryan Jarman and their younger brother Ross Jarman. They were subsequently joined by ex-The Smiths and Modest Mouse guitarist Johnny Marr who was made a formal member of the group...

, Bloc Party
Bloc Party
Bloc Party are a British Indie rock band, composed of Kele Okereke , Russell Lissack , Gordon Moakes , and Matt Tong...

 and The Futureheads
The Futureheads
The Futureheads are an English post-punk band from Sunderland. consisting of Ross Millard , Barry Hyde and David "Jaff" Craig...

. Their musical style has also been compared to art rock
Art rock
Art rock is a subgenre of rock music that originated in the United Kingdom in the 1960s, with influences from art, avant-garde, and classical music. The first usage of the term, according to Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary, was in 1968. Influenced by the work of The Beatles, most notably their Sgt...

 and, more prominently, art pop. God Is in the TV
God Is in the TV Zine
God is in the TV Zine, or GIITTV, is an independent music and cultural webzine based in the UK. Launched in 2003 by Bill Cummings and Alex Worsnip, it now covers a wide range of music including unsigned, independent and major releases....

described "New Ideas
New Ideas
"New Ideas" is the debut single by Scottish New Wave/Indie rock act The Dykeenies. It was first released as a Double A-side with "Will It Happen Tonight?" on 17 July 2006. The band also recorded a video for the track...

" as sounding "like the first few tracks of Silent Alarm", as well as comparing "Will It Happen Tonight?" to We Are Scientists
We Are Scientists
We Are Scientists is a New York-based indie rock band that formed in Berkeley, California in 2000. Originally formed of Keith Murray on drums, Chris Cain playing bass guitar and Scott Lamb providing vocals and guitar, before Michael Tapper became drummer and Keith became vocalist and guitarist...

. Dykeenies have also stated that David Bowie
David Bowie
David Bowie is an English musician, actor, record producer and arranger. A major figure for over four decades in the world of popular music, Bowie is widely regarded as an innovator, particularly for his work in the 1970s...

 is a major influence of the band, releasing an cover version
Cover version
In popular music, a cover version or cover song, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording of a contemporary or previously recorded, commercially released song or popular song...

 of Starman
Starman (song)
"Starman" is a single by David Bowie, released in April 1972. The song was a late addition to The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars, included at the insistence of RCA’s Dennis Katz, who heard a demo and loved the track, believing it would make a great single...

as part of their Live at the Apple Store, Glasgow EP
Extended play
An EP is a musical recording which contains more music than a single, but is too short to qualify as a full album or LP. The term EP originally referred only to specific types of vinyl records other than 78 rpm standard play records and LP records, but it is now applied to mid-length Compact...

. One particular live review even linked the band to the short-lived "New Rave
New Rave
New rave is a term applied to several types of music that fuse elements of electronic music, new wave, rock, indie, techno, bastard pop, breakbeat hardcore and electro house...

" genre, as well as comparing lead singer Brian Henderson's vocals to that of 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...

. Nothing Means Everything
Nothing Means Everything
Nothing Means Everything is the debut album from Scottish band The Dykeenies. It was released on the Lavolta Records label on 17 September 2007.-Track listing:...

has been noted as being a more mature pop
Pop music
Pop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...

 album, with "The Panic" in particular noted as having dark lyrical content.

Singles

Year Song Album UK Singles Chart
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...

2006 "New Ideas/Will It Happen Tonight?
New Ideas
"New Ideas" is the debut single by Scottish New Wave/Indie rock act The Dykeenies. It was first released as a Double A-side with "Will It Happen Tonight?" on 17 July 2006. The band also recorded a video for the track...

"
non-album single
2007 "New Ideas" (reissue) Nothing Means Everything
Nothing Means Everything
Nothing Means Everything is the debut album from Scottish band The Dykeenies. It was released on the Lavolta Records label on 17 September 2007.-Track listing:...

54
"Clean Up Your Eyes" 53
"Stitches" 61
2009 "Sounds of the City" non-album single
2011 "Awake" Canyon of Echoes

"—" denotes releases that did not chart.

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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