Ultrafox
Encyclopedia
Ultrafox is an electropop band formed by German
twins Claudia and Connie Holzer. Liam Howe and Joe Wilson of Sneaker Pimps
were also involved in the band's creation. The band was formed in 2001, and their only album, Ice Skating
, was released in June 2004. Since then, Howe and Wilson have stopped playing with the band due to other commitments, and David Westlake, also of Sneaker Pimps, has been working with them.
" and decided to make an album as quickly as possible, since all their favourite albums had been made in a short time. The album, Ice Skating, was made in two weeks in Munich
and London
.
The name, an obvious take on the 1980s New Wave
band Ultravox
, was decided on by Howe and Wilson, since Howe is a great fan of the band.
. Before the event they had only 20 hours practice - most big bands have up to a month before live performances. This was the first time David Westlake performed with them, playing drums.
The tour was a success, although problems plagued both nights. In London, since the stage had recently been repositioned, the sound system was incorrectly set up resulting in the backing track being too quiet (at one point the band stopped playing and listened to the crowd's conversation instead until the sound engineer could adjust the volume). In Vienna, excessive rain threatened to flood the venue, and indeed succeeded in flooding the toilets. The performance nevertheless went ahead and was well received.
Ultrafox later played in Client's
gig "Being Boiled" in November 2004, again at the Notting Hill Arts Club.
and English
lyrics, and are usually based around a broken drum beat and a strong bass line. (On the track "I Get Lifted", the bass line is taken from Jeff Wayne's
musical version of The War of the Worlds
).
They have been influenced by the likes of Kraftwerk
, Michael Jackson
, Def Leppard
, Daft Punk
and The Beach Boys
.
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
twins Claudia and Connie Holzer. Liam Howe and Joe Wilson of Sneaker Pimps
Sneaker Pimps
Sneaker Pimps were a British trip-hop band formed in Hartlepool, England in 1994. They are best known for their first album Becoming X and particularly the singles "6 Underground", "Spin Spin Sugar", and "Tesko Suicide" from the same album...
were also involved in the band's creation. The band was formed in 2001, and their only album, Ice Skating
Ice Skating (album)
Ice Skating is the debut album from Ultrafox, released in 2004 on the Loser Friendly Records label. It was made in two weeks in Munich and London.The track "Cloakroom Girl" was released as a double-pack-7" single before the album came out...
, was released in June 2004. Since then, Howe and Wilson have stopped playing with the band due to other commitments, and David Westlake, also of Sneaker Pimps, has been working with them.
Creation
According to the band, Ultrafox was created when the Holzers met Howe and Wilson "somewhere in EuropeEurope
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
" and decided to make an album as quickly as possible, since all their favourite albums had been made in a short time. The album, Ice Skating, was made in two weeks in Munich
Munich
Munich The city's motto is "" . Before 2006, it was "Weltstadt mit Herz" . Its native name, , is derived from the Old High German Munichen, meaning "by the monks' place". The city's name derives from the monks of the Benedictine order who founded the city; hence the monk depicted on the city's coat...
and 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...
.
The name, an obvious take on the 1980s New Wave
New Wave music
New Wave is a subgenre of :rock music that emerged in the mid to late 1970s alongside punk rock. The term at first generally was synonymous with punk rock before being considered a genre in its own right that incorporated aspects of electronic and experimental music, mod subculture, disco and 1960s...
band Ultravox
Ultravox
Ultravox is a British New Wave rock band. They were one of the primary exponents of the British electronic pop music movement of the late 1970s/early 1980s. The band was particularly associated with the New Romantic and New Wave movements....
, was decided on by Howe and Wilson, since Howe is a great fan of the band.
Touring
Ultrafox has undertaken one European tour. They played in the Notting Hill Arts Club in London on the 8th of June 2004 (their first ever live performance), and the following day in "Shelter" in ViennaVienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
. Before the event they had only 20 hours practice - most big bands have up to a month before live performances. This was the first time David Westlake performed with them, playing drums.
The tour was a success, although problems plagued both nights. In London, since the stage had recently been repositioned, the sound system was incorrectly set up resulting in the backing track being too quiet (at one point the band stopped playing and listened to the crowd's conversation instead until the sound engineer could adjust the volume). In Vienna, excessive rain threatened to flood the venue, and indeed succeeded in flooding the toilets. The performance nevertheless went ahead and was well received.
Ultrafox later played in Client's
Client (band)
Client are an English electronic musical group from London. They are most popular in Germany where they have had limited commercial success...
gig "Being Boiled" in November 2004, again at the Notting Hill Arts Club.
Style
Ultrafox has been said to have a unique sound, described by Connie as "dark, sophisticated electronic sounds" and Claudia as "minimalistic, catchy and groovy". Their songs have a mix of GermanGerman language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
and English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
lyrics, and are usually based around a broken drum beat and a strong bass line. (On the track "I Get Lifted", the bass line is taken from Jeff Wayne's
Jeff Wayne
Jeffry "Jeff" Wayne, born in Forest Hills, Queens, New York, is a musician best known for Jeff Wayne's Musical Version of The War of the Worlds, his musical version of H. G. Wells' The War of the Worlds...
musical version of The War of the Worlds
Jeff Wayne's Musical Version of The War of the Worlds
Jeff Wayne's Musical Version of The War of the Worlds is a 1978 concept album by Jeff Wayne, retelling the story of The War of the Worlds by H. G. Wells. Its format is progressive rock and string orchestra, using narration and leitmotifs to carry the story via rhyming melodic lyrics that express...
).
They have been influenced by the likes of Kraftwerk
Kraftwerk
Kraftwerk is an influential electronic music band from Düsseldorf, Germany. The group was formed by Ralf Hütter and Florian Schneider in 1970, and was fronted by them until Schneider's departure in 2008...
, Michael Jackson
Michael Jackson
Michael Joseph Jackson was an American recording artist, entertainer, and businessman. Referred to as the King of Pop, or by his initials MJ, Jackson is recognized as the most successful entertainer of all time by Guinness World Records...
, Def Leppard
Def Leppard
Def Leppard are an English rock band formed in 1977 in Sheffield as part of the New Wave of British Heavy Metal movement. Since 1992, the band have consisted of Joe Elliott , Rick Savage , Rick Allen , Phil Collen , and Vivian Campbell...
, Daft Punk
Daft Punk
Daft Punk are an electronic music duo consisting of French musicians Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo and Thomas Bangalter . Daft Punk reached significant popularity in the late 1990s house movement in France and met with continued success in the years following, combining elements of house with synthpop...
and The Beach Boys
The Beach Boys
The Beach Boys are an American rock band, formed in 1961 in Hawthorne, California. The group was initially composed of brothers Brian, Dennis and Carl Wilson, their cousin Mike Love, and friend Al Jardine. Managed by the Wilsons' father Murry, The Beach Boys signed to Capitol Records in 1962...
.
Current Plans
Ultrafox moved to London sometime after making Ice Skating, where recording studios and facilities for photography are more accessible. They stated they were working on a second album, which might have been released in 2007, but so far this album has yet to materialise.Discography
- Ice SkatingIce Skating (album)Ice Skating is the debut album from Ultrafox, released in 2004 on the Loser Friendly Records label. It was made in two weeks in Munich and London.The track "Cloakroom Girl" was released as a double-pack-7" single before the album came out...
2004 (album) - Cloakroom Girl (single)
- The Black Label (remixes)