The Karelia were a Scottish

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...

 band formed by current Franz Ferdinand

Franz Ferdinand (band)

Franz Ferdinand are a Scottish post-punk revival band formed in Glasgow in 2002. The band is composed of Alex Kapranos , Bob Hardy , Nick McCarthy , and Paul Thomson .The band first experienced chart success when their second single, "Take Me Out", reached #3 in...

 frontman Alex Kapranos

Alex Kapranos

Alexander Paul Kapranos Huntley , commonly known as Alex Kapranos, is a United Kingdom-based musician who is the lead singer and the guitarist of the Glasgow band Franz Ferdinand.-Early life:...

, known at the time as Alex Huntley, in 1996.

History

The Karelia formed in late 1996 from the ashes of rock/jazz band The Blisters, with Huntley, Alan Wylie, and Glen Thomson of the earlier band joined by Greek drummer Tassos Bobos. Their sound has been described as "prog/techno rock with Iggy

Iggy Pop

Iggy Pop is an American singer, songwriter, musician, and actor. Though considered an innovator of punk rock, Pop's music has encompassed a number of styles over the years, including pop, metal, jazz and blues...

-voxed overtones", and "jazzy film-noir lo-fi".

The band's only album, Divorce At High Noon, was released in 1997 on Roadrunner Records

Roadrunner Records

Roadrunner Records is an American record label that concentrates primarily on heavy metal bands. It is currently a subsidiary of Warner Music Group.-History:...

 to little acclaim. Produced by Bid of The Monochrome Set

The Monochrome Set

The Monochrome Set are an English post-punk band originally formed in 1978 from the remnants of a college group called The B-Sides...

, it was an off the wall mix of rock and jazz trumpet with unusual lyrics. The final song, "Garavurghty Butes", was completely freestyle with improvised lyrics and musical arrangement.
The band did not tour and were unknown outside Glasgow. Very few copies of the album sold (literally hundreds) and the band split in 1998 after contributing to an 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...

 for the Guided Missile

Guided Missile

Guided Missile is a London based independent record label set up by Paul Kearney in 1994.Guided Missile has always focused on 'the underground', preferring to put out a steady flow of releases and developing the numerous GM events around London and beyond....

 label.

Upon the huge success of Franz Ferdinand fans began to exchange originals of Divorce at High Noon for £50-£100. Because of this, the album was re-released in February 2005. It featured all of the previous album and two bonus tracks.

The band's name derives from the same named Greek tobacco industry "Karelia". It is also an area in Northern Europe in Russia (an autonomous republic), bordering Finland.

Line-up

The Karelia were:

• Alex Huntley (currently Alex Kapranos) on vocals
  Singing
  Singing is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, and augments regular speech by the use of both tonality and rhythm. One who sings is called a singer or vocalist. Singers perform music known as songs that can be sung either with or without accompaniment by musical instruments...
  
  , 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...
  
  , bouzouki
  Bouzouki
  The bouzouki , is a musical instrument with Greek origin in the lute family. A mainstay of modern Greek music, the front of the body is flat and is usually heavily inlaid with mother-of-pearl. The instrument is played with a plectrum and has a sharp metallic sound, reminiscent of a mandolin but...
  
   and banjolele
  Banjolele
  The banjolele is a four-stringed musical instrument with a small banjo-type body and a fretted ukulele neck. "Banjolele," sometimes also spelled "banjelele" or "banjulele" is a generic nickname given to the instrument, which was derived from the "banjulele-banjo", introduced by Alvin D...
  
  ,
• Glen Thompson on bass guitar
  Bass guitar
  The bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
  
   and percussion
  Percussion instrument
  A percussion instrument is any object which produces a sound when hit with an implement or when it is shaken, rubbed, scraped, or otherwise acted upon in a way that sets the object into vibration...
  
  ,
• Alan Wylie on trumpet
  Trumpet
  The trumpet is the musical instrument with the highest register in the brass family. Trumpets are among the oldest musical instruments, dating back to at least 1500 BCE. They are played by blowing air through closed lips, producing a "buzzing" sound which starts a standing wave vibration in the air...
  
  , and
• Thom Falls on 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 ....
  
  .

Albums

• Divorce At High Noon (1997) Roadrunner:

1. "Divorce At High Noon"
2. "Love's A Cliché"
3. "Say Try"
4. "To His Coy Dietress"
5. "Life In A Barrat Garret"
6. "Crazy Irritation"
7. "Remorse At High Noon"
8. "Dancing Along To Nekrotaphion"
9. "The Devil Rides Hyndland"
10. "The Infinite Duration"
11. "Nostalgia"
12. "Tension"
13. "Bleach Yours"
14. "Exaggeration"
15. "Garavurghty Butes"

reissued (2005) with bonus tracks:

1. "Divorce At High Noon" (French Version)
2. "Love's A Cliché" (Single Version)
3. "Love's A Cliché" (video)

Singles, EPs

• A Smooth Taste of The Karelia EP (1997) Roadrunner sd
• "Love's a Cliché" (1997) Roadrunner
• Club Beetroot Part 7 EP (1998) Flotsam & Jetsam
• "Vision in a World Without Spectacles" (1998) Flotsam & Jetsam

Compilation appearances

• Glasgow EP (1998) Guided Missile: "New Year in New York"
• Hits and Missiles LP (199?) Guided Missile: "The Only Difference"
• 15 Minutes With The Smiths (2000)