The Race (band)
Encyclopedia
The Race is an indie rock
band formed in 2004 in Reading
, UK. Likened to bands such as U2
and Arcade Fire by music magazines the NME
, Drowned In Sound
and The Fly
. Buchanan's vocals have a strong, Cure-like quality, the band released their first long-playing album in 2006 through Shifty Disco Records (home to Young Knives and [aperlung). Following the album release, the band toured, including residencies
at Club NME
, as well as appearances at Truck Festival
and Reading Festival
.
In January 2007, the band recorded a session
for Huw Stephens
(BBC Radio 1
) at the Maida Vale Studios
. The band already had secured radio airplay, having previously performed a session for XFM
in June 2005.
The band's second album, In My Head It Works, was released in 2009. Marketing for the record included a "Pass It On" campaign - a chain letter
-style process that distributes promotional copies of the album across the country.
Buchanan is now a masseur at Reading F.C.
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 2004 in Reading
Reading, Berkshire
Reading is a large town and unitary authority area in England. It is located in the Thames Valley at the confluence of the River Thames and River Kennet, and on both the Great Western Main Line railway and the M4 motorway, some west of London....
, UK. Likened to bands such as U2
U2
U2 are an Irish rock band from Dublin. Formed in 1976, the group consists of Bono , The Edge , Adam Clayton , and Larry Mullen, Jr. . U2's early sound was rooted in post-punk but eventually grew to incorporate influences from many genres of popular music...
and Arcade Fire by music magazines the 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...
, Drowned In Sound
Drowned in Sound
DrownedinSound.com or DiS is a UK based music webzine financed by artist management company Silentway . The site is an editorially independent music website.-History:...
and The Fly
The Fly (magazine)
The Fly is a free music magazine published monthly in the United Kingdom. The magazine is published by the HMV owned MAMA Group.The magazine started as a listings leaflet in Camden, north London, for the Barfly music venue on Chalk Farm Road...
. Buchanan's vocals have a strong, Cure-like quality, the band released their first long-playing album in 2006 through Shifty Disco Records (home to Young Knives and [aperlung). Following the album release, the band toured, including residencies
Artist in residence
Artist-in-residence programs and other residency opportunities allow visiting artists to stay and work so that they may apply singular focus to their art practice....
at Club 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...
, as well as appearances at Truck Festival
Truck Festival
Truck Festival is an annual independent music festival in Oxfordshire, England. It was started in 1998 by the Bennett family , who decided that mainstream festivals such as Glastonbury had become too commercial and predictable. It is held in July at Hill Farm in Steventon, near Abingdon...
and Reading Festival
Reading and Leeds Festivals
The Reading and Leeds Festivals are a pair of annual music festivals that take place in Reading and Leeds in England. The events take place simultaneously on the Friday, Saturday and Sunday of the August bank holiday weekend, sharing the same bill. The Reading Festival is held at Little John's Farm...
.
In January 2007, the band recorded a session
Session
-Bureaucracy:*Executive session, a portion of the United States Senate's daily session*Legislative session*Session *Session , a governing body in Presbyterian polity*Court of Session, the supreme civil court of Scotland...
for Huw Stephens
Huw Stephens
Huw Stephens is a radio presenter currently broadcasting shows on BBC Radio 1.-Early life and career:Stephens was born in Cardiff, Wales, the son of the author and literary journalist Meic Stephens...
(BBC Radio 1
BBC Radio 1
BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation which also broadcasts internationally, specialising in current popular music and chart hits throughout the day. Radio 1 provides alternative genres after 7:00pm including electronic dance, hip hop, rock...
) at the Maida Vale Studios
Maida Vale Studios
Maida Vale Studios is a complex of seven BBC studios on Delaware Road, Maida Vale, London.It has been used to record thousands of classical music, popular music and drama sessions for BBC Radio 1, BBC Radio 2, BBC Radio 3 and BBC Radio 4 from 1946 to the present...
. The band already had secured radio airplay, having previously performed a session for XFM
Xfm
Xfm is a brand of two commercial radio stations focused on alternative music, primarily indie pop, and owned by Global Radio.-History:Xfm was created in London in 1992 by Sammy Jacob, who later co-founded NME Radio in 2008. Xfm subsequently expanded to a network of four stations; there are...
in June 2005.
The band's second album, In My Head It Works, was released in 2009. Marketing for the record included a "Pass It On" campaign - a chain letter
Chain letter
A typical chain letter consists of a message that attempts to the recipient to make a number of copies of the letter and then pass them on to as many recipients as possible...
-style process that distributes promotional copies of the album across the country.
Buchanan is now a masseur at Reading F.C.
Reading F.C.
Reading Football Club is an English association football club based in the town of Reading, Berkshire who currently play in the Championship...
Band members
- Dan Buchanan (vocalsSingingSinging 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...
, casiotoneCasiotoneCasiotone refers to a series of home electronic keyboards released by Casio Computer Co. in the early 1980s.These first keyboards used a sound synthesis technique known as Vowel-Consonant synthesis to approximate the sounds of other instruments...
, glockenspielGlockenspielA glockenspiel is a percussion instrument composed of a set of tuned keys arranged in the fashion of the keyboard of a piano. In this way, it is similar to the xylophone; however, the xylophone's bars are made of wood, while the glockenspiel's are metal plates or tubes, and making it a metallophone...
) - Jessica del Rio (guitarGuitarThe 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...
, vocals) - James del Rio (guitar)
- Graeme Moorcroft (bassBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
) - Andrew Aitken (drumsDrum kitA 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 ....
)
Singles
- "Raising Children" / "Go Figure" (Shifty Disco, 13 June 2005)
- "Amersham Road" / "Hope Song" (Shifty Disco, 3 October 2005)
- "When It Falls" (Shifty Disco, 13 November 2006)
- "Comfort, Comfort" (Shifty Disco, 19 March 2007)
Albums
- Be Your AlibiBe Your AlibiBe Your Alibi is the debut studio album by indie rock band The Race.-Track listing:#Find Out#Go Figure#Comfort, Comfort#When It Falls#Tom Song#Research#Raising Children#So Young And Beautiful#Smile#Amersham Road#Hope Song...
(Shifty Disco, 11 September 2006) - In My Head It WorksIn My Head It WorksIn My Head It Works is the second album by English band The Race, and was released in 2009.-Track listing:#"Begin" – 1:06#"I Get It Wrong" – 2:54#"Rude Boy" – 2:55#"Moorwood" – 4:41#"Undecided" – 3:16#"Summer" – 2:44#"Killer" – 3:51...
(Shifty Disco, 9 March 2009)