The Electric Soft Parade
Encyclopedia
The Electric Soft Parade are an English
psych-pop band from Brighton
, comprising brothers Alex
and Thomas White
, the creative core of the band, as well as a number of other musicians with whom they record and perform live, most recently including Andrew Mitchell (of Dundee-based group The Hazey Janes
) and Damo Waters, as well as long-standing bass/keyboard player, Matthew Twaites.
. Following interest in their 1999 LP, The Wonderful World Of The Feltro Media, the band were offered a deal with DB Records (a subsidiary of BMG
). The band officially signed to DB Records (as a two-piece) in January 2001, with their debut single following that April. Their original choice for a name was "The Soft Parade" but were made to change it after legal action by an American The Doors
cover band (The Soft Parade
being the title of a Doors album).
was released in February 2002 to wide critical acclaim. With A&R and production from Chris Hughes
, the album spawned two UK top-forty hits and led to performances on Top Of The Pops
, Later With Jools Holland
and a world-tour covering Europe, Japan and Australasia. They were also nominated for the 2002 Mercury Music Prize, where they lost out to Ms. Dynamite
. They later won the Q
Award for Best New Act.
The band's second LP, The American Adventure
appeared in October 2003 on BMG Records. Largely a response to their treatment at the hands of BMG
(DB had by this point folded despite substantial sales, and the band had been automatically up-streamed) the album was seen as too much of a departure from their previous work, and the band were dropped in early 2004. On release, the album received wildly differing responses, largely criticising the looser arrangements and downbeat feel (though NME awarded it 9/10, lauding the bands' "near-superhuman powers"). However, the album can now be seen as a major turning point in the bands' sound - from the hi-tech, digital production of Holes in the Wall to the organic feel of later releases.
on Truck Records
. The U.S. version of The Human Body EP was released in May 2006 on Better Looking Records
(their first official US release). ESP made their first U.S. appearance at the South by Southwest Festival in March 2006.
A third full album was released in April 2007. Entitled No Need to Be Downhearted
, it was named after a lyric
from The Fall's song "15 Ways" from their Middle Class Revolt
album). The album was entirely self-produced, using Truck Records
' rudimentary Portakabin studio in the Oxford
countryside.
In March and April 2007 they made their second visit to the South by Southwest Festival, took part in a tribute to Billy MacKenzie
at Shepherds Bush Empire
in aid of Sound Seekers
, and played a UK tour. There was also an extensive U.S. tour in May and June 2007 with Brakes and Pela
.
July and August 2007 saw appearances at UK and European festivals in Holland, Austria, France, Switzerland and Germany. The final single to be taken from No Need to Be Downhearted, "Appropriate Ending", was released on 26 November as a digital download. It included two covers, "Happiness
" originally by Elliott Smith
and "Friends Of The Heroes" by The Aislers Set
. The band toured from October to December 2007 with shows in France, Belgium, Spain, United Kingdom and Germany. The beginning of 2008 saw shows in Germany, Austria, Switzerland and France including dates supporting Ian Brown
.
On 11 June 2008, The Electric Soft Parade supported Sparks
at their Hello Young Lovers
show - the last of a 20 concert extravaganza at the Islington Academy, London. Following this show, the band took a two year break from touring and recording.
"A Quick One" EP, a four song download (and double A-side 7"), was released by Paris-based label A Quick One Records on July 18th 2011. Featuring a new song from each of the brothers, as well as two cover versions ("If I Can Dream" and "Orange Crate Art"") the EP marks the very first time the brothers have taken their "live band" into the recording studio. The band have stated their plan to record and release a series of EP's over the coming year, culminating in a 4th full-length album sometime in 2012.
The band will be rounding off 2011 with a run of UK shows, including support slots with Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds, British Sea Power and Dodgy, as well as choice headline shows of their own. Further live dates for early 2012 are expected to be announced shortly.
's ex-keyboardist Eamon Hamilton
and bassist Marc Beatty, of Tenderfoot. Over the next year, the band gigged under various names, including The Scars and Hungry Hamilton, all the while building a reputation as a formidable live act. After releasing their debut single, Pick Up The Phone
, through Tugboat in late 2004, Brakes
were offered a deal with Rough Trade Records
, and promptly recorded their debut, Give Blood, in January 2005. To date, they have released three critically acclaimed albums - two with Rough Trade (2005's Give Blood and 2006's The Beatific Visions
) and one with Fat Cat Records
(2009's Touchdown
).
. A follow-up, The Maximalist, was released through Cooking Vinyl
in March 2010.
and drumming on a new Pipettes
album as well as assisting London-based band Official Secrets Act.
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...
psych-pop band from Brighton
Brighton
Brighton is the major part of the city of Brighton and Hove in East Sussex, England on the south coast of Great Britain...
, comprising brothers Alex
Alex White (musician)
Alex White is a multi-instrumentalist who, along with brother Tom, forms the nucleus of Brighton band The Electric Soft Parade. Alex also plays drums in Brakes...
and Thomas White
Tom White (musician)
Thomas White is a Brighton, England-based musician, producer and visual artist. Educated at Davigdor Infants, Somerhill Juniors and Hove Park schools, he began learning the piano at the age of 5, picking up the violin a year later and teaching himself guitar, drums and clarinet in his early teens...
, the creative core of the band, as well as a number of other musicians with whom they record and perform live, most recently including Andrew Mitchell (of Dundee-based group The Hazey Janes
The Hazey Janes
The Hazey Janes are an indie pop band from Dundee, Scotland.The band consists of Andrew Mitchell , Liam Brennan and siblings Alice Marra and Matthew Marra .Formed around 2000 by guitarist Andrew Mitchell and bass player Matthew Marra, the band's music has...
) and Damo Waters, as well as long-standing bass/keyboard player, Matthew Twaites.
Career
Alex and Thomas originally formed Fixed Ascent (later The Feltro Media) with schoolfriends Alistair Gavan and Russell Gleason in around 1997. Whilst ostensibly a formulaic indie outfit, there were flashes of the more complex symphonic arrangements and varied production values that would characterise later Electric Soft Parade releases, and over three self-released albums the band cultivated a (relatively) original sound, not unlike that of Holes in the WallHoles in the Wall
Holes in the Wall is an album by The Electric Soft Parade, released in February 2002. The album was released on DB Records and was nominated for the Mercury Music Prize...
. Following interest in their 1999 LP, The Wonderful World Of The Feltro Media, the band were offered a deal with DB Records (a subsidiary of BMG
BMG
Bertelsmann Music Group, , was a division of Bertelsmann before its completion of sale of the majority of its assets to Japan's Sony Corporation of America on October 1, 2008. It was established in 1987 to combine the music label activities of Bertelsmann...
). The band officially signed to DB Records (as a two-piece) in January 2001, with their debut single following that April. Their original choice for a name was "The Soft Parade" but were made to change it after legal action by an American The Doors
The Doors
The Doors were an American rock band formed in 1965 in Los Angeles, California, with vocalist Jim Morrison, keyboardist Ray Manzarek, drummer John Densmore, and guitarist Robby Krieger...
cover band (The Soft Parade
The Soft Parade
The Soft Parade is the fourth studio album by The Doors, released in 1969.The album met with some controversy among fans and critics due to its inclusion of brass and string instrument arrangements, as opposed to the more stripped-down sound of their earlier recordings...
being the title of a Doors album).
2002 - 2004
The Brothers' debut, Holes in the WallHoles in the Wall
Holes in the Wall is an album by The Electric Soft Parade, released in February 2002. The album was released on DB Records and was nominated for the Mercury Music Prize...
was released in February 2002 to wide critical acclaim. With A&R and production from Chris Hughes
Chris Hughes (record producer)
Chris Hughes is a music producer and a former drummer for Adam and the Ants....
, the album spawned two UK top-forty hits and led to performances on Top Of The Pops
Top of the Pops
Top of the Pops, also known as TOTP, is a British music chart television programme, made by the BBC and originally broadcast weekly from 1 January 1964 to 30 July 2006. After 25 December 2006 it became a radio program, now hosted by Tony Blackburn...
, Later With Jools Holland
Later with Jools Holland
Later... with Jools Holland is a contemporary British music television show hosted by Jools Holland. A spin-off of The Late Show, it has been running in short series since 1992 and is a part of BBC Two's late-night line-up, usually at around 11pm to 12 midnight...
and a world-tour covering Europe, Japan and Australasia. They were also nominated for the 2002 Mercury Music Prize, where they lost out to Ms. Dynamite
Ms. Dynamite
Niomi Arleen McLean-Daley , who performs as Ms. Dynamite, is a double BRIT Award and three time MOBO Awards winning UK garage, R&B and hip hop singer and rapper.-Biography:...
. They later won the Q
Q (magazine)
Q is a popular music magazine published monthly in the United Kingdom.Founders Mark Ellen and David Hepworth were dismayed by the music press of the time, which they felt was ignoring a generation of older music buyers who were buying CDs — then still a new technology...
Award for Best New Act.
The band's second LP, The American Adventure
The American Adventure (album)
The American Adventure is the second album by UK prog-pop duo The Electric Soft Parade, released in 2003 on BMG UK & Ireland. The album was seen as a departure from their previous effort Holes in the Wall and paved the way for their third full-length LP, No Need To Be Down-Hearted.-Critical...
appeared in October 2003 on BMG Records. Largely a response to their treatment at the hands of BMG
BMG
Bertelsmann Music Group, , was a division of Bertelsmann before its completion of sale of the majority of its assets to Japan's Sony Corporation of America on October 1, 2008. It was established in 1987 to combine the music label activities of Bertelsmann...
(DB had by this point folded despite substantial sales, and the band had been automatically up-streamed) the album was seen as too much of a departure from their previous work, and the band were dropped in early 2004. On release, the album received wildly differing responses, largely criticising the looser arrangements and downbeat feel (though NME awarded it 9/10, lauding the bands' "near-superhuman powers"). However, the album can now be seen as a major turning point in the bands' sound - from the hi-tech, digital production of Holes in the Wall to the organic feel of later releases.
2005 - 2008
The Electric Soft Parade returned in late 2005 with the six-track The Human Body EPThe Human Body EP
The Human Body EP is an EP by The Electric Soft Parade, released in 2005. The song "The Captain" is a bonus track on the U.S. release of the EP.-Original release:# "A Beating Heart" – 3:07# "Cold World" – 4:07# "Stupid Mistake" – 2:42...
on Truck Records
Truck Records
Truck Records was an independent record label based in Oxford, England. It grew out of the Truck Festival, held annually in Steventon, a small village near Oxford...
. The U.S. version of The Human Body EP was released in May 2006 on Better Looking Records
Better Looking Records
Better Looking Records is a record label with offices in Los Angeles and San Diego. Founded in 1999, Paul Fischer, who DJ'd at KXLU college radio station in Los Angeles and worked at crank! Records, partnered with Dave Brown who ran Holiday Matinee Publicity and Muddle fanzine. The label grew...
(their first official US release). ESP made their first U.S. appearance at the South by Southwest Festival in March 2006.
A third full album was released in April 2007. Entitled No Need to Be Downhearted
No Need to Be Downhearted
No Need to Be Downhearted is an album by The Electric Soft Parade, released in 2007. The first single was "If That's the Case, Then I Don't Know".The album was named after a lyric from The Fall's song "15 Ways" from their album Middle Class Revolt....
, it was named after a lyric
Lyrics
Lyrics are a set of words that make up a song. The writer of lyrics is a lyricist or lyrist. The meaning of lyrics can either be explicit or implicit. Some lyrics are abstract, almost unintelligible, and, in such cases, their explication emphasizes form, articulation, meter, and symmetry of...
from The Fall's song "15 Ways" from their Middle Class Revolt
Middle Class Revolt
Middle Class Revolt is an album by The Fall, released in 1994 on Permanent Records. It spent one week on the UK album chart at number 48, a marked contrast to the top 10 debut of their preceding album The Infotainment Scan. The album's full title is Middle Class Revolt A/K/A The Vapourisation Of...
album). The album was entirely self-produced, using Truck Records
Truck Records
Truck Records was an independent record label based in Oxford, England. It grew out of the Truck Festival, held annually in Steventon, a small village near Oxford...
' rudimentary Portakabin studio in the Oxford
Oxford
The city of Oxford is the county town of Oxfordshire, England. The city, made prominent by its medieval university, has a population of just under 165,000, with 153,900 living within the district boundary. It lies about 50 miles north-west of London. The rivers Cherwell and Thames run through...
countryside.
In March and April 2007 they made their second visit to the South by Southwest Festival, took part in a tribute to Billy MacKenzie
Billy Mackenzie
William MacArthur "Billy" Mackenzie was a Scottish singer, with a distinctive falsetto voice best known as a member of The Associates.- Biography :...
at Shepherds Bush Empire
Shepherds Bush Empire
The O2 Shepherds Bush Empire is a music venue in Shepherd's Bush, London, England, run by the Academy Music Group. It was built in 1903, as a music hall, and in 1953 became the BBC Television Theatre...
in aid of Sound Seekers
Sound Seekers
Sound Seekers is a British charity which works to improve the lives of deaf children and children suffering from ear disease in the developing countries of the Commonwealth of Nations...
, and played a UK tour. There was also an extensive U.S. tour in May and June 2007 with Brakes and Pela
Pela
Pela was an American indie rock band from Brooklyn known for their intense live performances.-History:Pela's history goes back to the early ’90s when lead vocalist and guitarist Billy McCarthy met Christopher Herb. As best friends they worked at a mall together after dropping out of high school,...
.
July and August 2007 saw appearances at UK and European festivals in Holland, Austria, France, Switzerland and Germany. The final single to be taken from No Need to Be Downhearted, "Appropriate Ending", was released on 26 November as a digital download. It included two covers, "Happiness
Happiness (Elliott Smith song)
"Happiness" is a song written by Elliott Smith which was first released as a single in 1999.-Versions:A slightly different mix of the song was released on his album Figure 8 in 2000....
" originally by Elliott Smith
Elliott Smith
Steven Paul "Elliott" Smith was an American singer-songwriter and musician. Smith was born in Omaha, Nebraska, raised primarily in Texas, and resided for a significant portion of his life in Portland, Oregon, where he first gained popularity...
and "Friends Of The Heroes" by The Aislers Set
The Aislers Set
The Aislers Set is an indie pop band that formed in San Francisco in 1997 after the breakup of chief songwriter Amy Linton’s former band Henry's Dress...
. The band toured from October to December 2007 with shows in France, Belgium, Spain, United Kingdom and Germany. The beginning of 2008 saw shows in Germany, Austria, Switzerland and France including dates supporting Ian Brown
Ian Brown
Ian George Brown is an English musician, best known as the lead singer of the alternative rock band The Stone Roses, which broke up in 1996 but are confirmed to reunite in 2012. Since the break-up of the Stone Roses he has pursued a solo career...
.
On 11 June 2008, The Electric Soft Parade supported Sparks
Sparks (band)
Sparks is an American rock and pop band formed in Los Angeles in 1968 by brothers Ron and Russell Mael , initially under the name Halfnelson...
at their Hello Young Lovers
Hello Young Lovers (album)
Hello Young Lovers is the twentieth album by Sparks. It is a concept album which addresses aspects of modern love.-Release:Hello Young Lovers was commercially more popular than any Sparks album since the nineteen-seventies, and it reached #66 on the UK Album Chart. The album did not chart in the US...
show - the last of a 20 concert extravaganza at the Islington Academy, London. Following this show, the band took a two year break from touring and recording.
2010 - 2011
In December 2010, the band returned to the stage (as a five-piece) for the first time in over two years, at Maximalism!, a charity concert organised by the White brothers in aid of The Martlets Hospice. In January 2011 an official Facebook page appeared online, with details of new material and appearances. Energised by the reaction at the December show, the band held a monthly residency from March through June at The Prince Albert, Brighton, where they revisited their entire back catalogue in sequence, as well as debuting brand new material."A Quick One" EP, a four song download (and double A-side 7"), was released by Paris-based label A Quick One Records on July 18th 2011. Featuring a new song from each of the brothers, as well as two cover versions ("If I Can Dream" and "Orange Crate Art"") the EP marks the very first time the brothers have taken their "live band" into the recording studio. The band have stated their plan to record and release a series of EP's over the coming year, culminating in a 4th full-length album sometime in 2012.
The band will be rounding off 2011 with a run of UK shows, including support slots with Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds, British Sea Power and Dodgy, as well as choice headline shows of their own. Further live dates for early 2012 are expected to be announced shortly.
Brakes
After being released from their label in 2004, the White brothers began collaborating on a much harder, punk-influenced project with British Sea PowerBritish Sea Power
British Sea Power are an indie rock band based in Brighton, England, although three of the band members originally come from Kendal in Cumbria. Critics have likened their sound to a variety of groups, from The Cure and Joy Division to the Pixies and Arcade Fire. The band are famed for their live...
's ex-keyboardist Eamon Hamilton
Eamon Hamilton
Eamon Hamilton is frontman of Brakes and formerly played keyboards for British Sea Power.-Biography:Eamon Peter Hamilton is the singer and songwriter for the band Brakes, born on 19 April 1974 in Stewart, BC, Canada and raised in Stroud, Gloucestershire, UK.Hamilton moved to Brighton in 2000 and in...
and bassist Marc Beatty, of Tenderfoot. Over the next year, the band gigged under various names, including The Scars and Hungry Hamilton, all the while building a reputation as a formidable live act. After releasing their debut single, Pick Up The Phone
Pick Up the Phone
"Pick Up the Phone" was the debut single from Brakes. It is a political rant bemoaning the failure of the world's leaders to sort out major issues. It implores the leaders of Israel, Palestine, America and the United Kingdom to simply "pick up the phone" and talk to each other...
, through Tugboat in late 2004, Brakes
Brakes (band)
Brakes is a four member band from Brighton, England. The group formed in 2003. It consists of Eamon Hamilton , Thomas White , Marc Beatty , and Alex White .-Biography:Brakes formed in 2003, when Thomas White and Alex White of The Electric Soft Parade saw Eamon Hamilton perform...
were offered a deal with 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...
, and promptly recorded their debut, Give Blood, in January 2005. To date, they have released three critically acclaimed albums - two with Rough Trade (2005's Give Blood and 2006's The Beatific Visions
The Beatific Visions
The Beatific Visions is the second album by Brakes. It was released in November 2006. The Rough Trade Shop named it the fourth best album of the year.-Track listing:#"Hold Me in the River" – 2:00#"Margarita" – 2:06#"If I Should Die Tonight" – 2:01...
) and one with Fat Cat Records
Fat Cat Records
Fat Cat Records is an independent label based in Brighton on England’s South Coast. Their output includes electronica, post rock, indie, downtempo, minimal techno, noise and punk-pop...
(2009's Touchdown
Touchdown
A touchdown is a means of scoring in American and Canadian football. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchdown by advancing the ball into the opponent's end zone.-Description:...
).
Thomas White
Thomas White released his debut solo album, I Dream Of Black, on 14 July 2008 through Drift Records in the UK, Better Looking Records in the U.S. He spent much of 2009 touring and recording with Patrick WolfPatrick Wolf
Patrick Wolf is an English-Irish singer-songwriter from South London. Patrick utilises a wide variety of instruments in his music, most commonly the ukulele, piano and viola...
. A follow-up, The Maximalist, was released through Cooking Vinyl
Cooking Vinyl
Cooking Vinyl is a UK-based independent record company, founded in 1986. Its original orientation was toward contemporary folk music—notably Billy Bragg, and Michelle Shocked's Texas Campfire Tapes, recorded on a Sony Walkman, one of its first releases...
in March 2010.
The Pipettes and Official Secrets Act
For most of 2009, Alex has been co-writing, arrangingArrangement
The American Federation of Musicians defines arranging as "the art of preparing and adapting an already written composition for presentation in other than its original form. An arrangement may include reharmonization, paraphrasing, and/or development of a composition, so that it fully represents...
and drumming on a new Pipettes
The Pipettes
The Pipettes are a British indie pop girl group formed in 2003 in Brighton by "svengali" Robert "Monster Bobby" Barry. The group has released two albums, We Are the Pipettes, and Earth vs...
album as well as assisting London-based band Official Secrets Act.
Albums
- Holes in the WallHoles in the WallHoles in the Wall is an album by The Electric Soft Parade, released in February 2002. The album was released on DB Records and was nominated for the Mercury Music Prize...
(DB Records CD/LP, February 2002) UKUK Albums ChartThe UK Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales in the United Kingdom. It is compiled every week by The Official Charts Company and broadcast on a Sunday on BBC Radio 1 , and published in Music Week magazine and on the OCC website .To qualify for the UK albums chart...
#35 - The American AdventureThe American Adventure (album)The American Adventure is the second album by UK prog-pop duo The Electric Soft Parade, released in 2003 on BMG UK & Ireland. The album was seen as a departure from their previous effort Holes in the Wall and paved the way for their third full-length LP, No Need To Be Down-Hearted.-Critical...
(BMG CD/LP, October 2003) UK #45 - No Need to Be DownheartedNo Need to Be DownheartedNo Need to Be Downhearted is an album by The Electric Soft Parade, released in 2007. The first single was "If That's the Case, Then I Don't Know".The album was named after a lyric from The Fall's song "15 Ways" from their album Middle Class Revolt....
(Truck Records/Better Looking Records CD, April 2007) UK #163
Singles
- "Silent To The Dark" / "Something's Got To Give" (DB Records CD/7" Single, April 2001)
- "Empty At The End" / "Sumatran" (DB Records CD/7" Single, July 2001) UKUK Singles ChartThe 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 ...
#65 - "There's A Silence" (DB Records CD/7" Single, October 2001) UK #52
- "Silent To The Dark II" (DB Records CD/7" Single, March 2002) UK #23
- "Empty At The End" / "This Given Line" (DB Records CD/7" Single, May 2002) UK# 39
- "Same Way, Every Day" (DB Records CD/7" Single, September 2002)
- "Things I've Done Before" (BMG 7" Single, September 2003)
- "Lose Yr Frown" (BMG 7" Single, November 2003)
- "The Human Body EPThe Human Body EPThe Human Body EP is an EP by The Electric Soft Parade, released in 2005. The song "The Captain" is a bonus track on the U.S. release of the EP.-Original release:# "A Beating Heart" – 3:07# "Cold World" – 4:07# "Stupid Mistake" – 2:42...
" (Truck Records CD, November 2005) - "Life In The Back-Seat" (Truck Records 7" Single, October 2006)
- "If That's The Case, Then I Don't Know" (Truck Records 7" Single, March 2007)
- "Misunderstanding" (Truck Records 7" Single, July 2007)
- "Appropriate Ending EP" (Truck Records Download, November 2007)
- "A Quick One EP" (A Quick One Records 7"/Download, July 2011)
External links
- Official website
- ESP + Thomas White Fansite
- Tom White's personal blog and music collection at MOG.com
- Audiojunkies interview with Electric Soft Parade
- Twisted Ear ESP Feature – Story of the band from an interview in 2006
- No Need to Be Downhearted album review on The Line of Best Fit
- PUNKCAST#1166 live video from Maxwells NJ on Jun 15 2007. (RealPlayerRealPlayerRealPlayer is a cross-platform media player by RealNetworks that plays a number of multimedia formats including MP3, MPEG-4, QuickTime, Windows Media, and multiple versions of proprietary RealAudio and RealVideo formats.-History:...
), (mp4) - Interview with Tom White – Music News, July 2007