Wild Strawberries (band)
Encyclopedia
Wild Strawberries is a Canadian
pop
band made up of married couple Roberta Carter-Harrison (vocals) and Ken Harrison, who are also, respectively, a physiotherapist and a doctor
by trade. They have released a number of album
s, their latest being Deformative Years (2005).
album, the band partnered with Nettwerk
for the production of their albums. Two albums were released under that label; a third album, Twist, was initially sponsored by Nettwerk, but creative differences resulted in the dissolution of the partnership.
The band has since eliminated all dependence on record labels, preferring instead independent production and promotion; the band has adopted a strategy to promote themselves directly to fans. With the release of Deformative Years, the band simultaneously released an extended web film
utilizing music from the album. The costs of producing this video were substantially lower than a music video
production for television music stations, such as MTV
or MuchMusic
.
The success of Bet You Think I'm Lonely also earned the band a Juno Award
nomination for Best New Band. Other early hits for the duo included "Life-Sized Marilyn Monroe
" and "Crying Shame".
, after Roberta Carter-Harrison sang at his wedding alongside flamenco
guitarist Robert Michaels. It was then recorded with Michaels for volume 3 of the Women & Songs
compilation album
series and later appeared as an unnumbered track on the Twist album.
Subsequently, Alan Fletcher from Warner put the band in contact with German electronic dance producer
and DJ
André Tanneberger (ATB). Tanneberger produced a remix
of the song, released as an ATB single
re-titled "Let U Go
". This popularized the song on both continents, as the single reached number 18 on the U.S. Billboard Hot Dance Music/Club Play charts and number 7 on the German Singles Chart. The song also marked the point in ATB's musical output when he began to produce songs with full vocal tracks, as opposed to sampled and looped
vocals.
The Wild Strawberries and ATB went on to collaborate on further songs, including the following ATB single "Hold You" and album tracks from the 2002 ATB album Dedicated, and multiple subsequent singles ("I Don't Wanna Stop", "Long Way Home") and album tracks from the 2003 ATB album Addicted to Music. All songs were co-written between Ken and Tanneberger, with vocals by Roberta.
Tanneberger later produced a new recording of "Let U Go" for the 2005 greatest hits compilation Seven Years: 1998-2005
, with new male vocalist Jan Löchel.
Sarah McLachlan
played guitar on and appeared in the video for "I Don't Want to Think About It". The band participated in all three years of the Lilith Fair
music festival, which McLachlan founded.
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
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...
band made up of married couple Roberta Carter-Harrison (vocals) and Ken Harrison, who are also, respectively, a physiotherapist and a doctor
Physician
A physician is a health care provider who practices the profession of medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring human health through the study, diagnosis, and treatment of disease, injury and other physical and mental impairments...
by trade. They have released a number of album
Album
An album is a collection of recordings, released as a single package on gramophone record, cassette, compact disc, or via digital distribution. The word derives from the Latin word for list .Vinyl LP records have two sides, each comprising one half of the album...
s, their latest being Deformative Years (2005).
History
The band's early releases were produced independently, leading to the founding of the Strawberry Records label. After the successful Bet You Think I'm LonelyBet You Think I'm Lonely
Bet You Think I'm Lonely was the fourth album released by the Wild Strawberries, and the only album released under their own label Strawberry Records. It followed the release of Life Sized Marilyn Monroe, which also became a track on this album. It was originally released in 1994, and the band...
album, the band partnered with Nettwerk
Nettwerk
The Nettwerk Music Group is the umbrella company for Nettwerk Management, Nettwerk Records, Nettwerk One Publishing, Nutone Records, and Artwerk. With over 150 employees, the Vancouver-based company has offices in New York, Los Angeles, London, Boston, Nashville, and Hamburg...
for the production of their albums. Two albums were released under that label; a third album, Twist, was initially sponsored by Nettwerk, but creative differences resulted in the dissolution of the partnership.
The band has since eliminated all dependence on record labels, preferring instead independent production and promotion; the band has adopted a strategy to promote themselves directly to fans. With the release of Deformative Years, the band simultaneously released an extended web film
Web film
A web film is a film made with the medium of the Internet and its distribution constraints in mind. This term aims to differentiate content made for the Internet from content made for other media, such as cinema or television, that has been converted into a World Wide Web-compatible format...
utilizing music from the album. The costs of producing this video were substantially lower than a music video
Music video
A music video or song video is a short film integrating a song and imagery, produced for promotional or artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a marketing device intended to promote the sale of music recordings...
production for television music stations, such as MTV
MTV
MTV, formerly an initialism of Music Television, is an American network based in New York City that launched on August 1, 1981. The original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJs....
or MuchMusic
MuchMusic
MuchMusic is a Canadian English language Category A specialty channel owned by Bell Media. MuchMusic is dedicated to music-related programs, pop and youth culture.-History:...
.
The success of Bet You Think I'm Lonely also earned the band a Juno Award
Juno Award
The Juno Awards are presented annually to Canadian musical artists and bands to acknowledge their artistic and technical achievements in all aspects of music...
nomination for Best New Band. Other early hits for the duo included "Life-Sized Marilyn Monroe
Marilyn Monroe
Marilyn Monroe was an American actress, singer, model and showgirl who became a major sex symbol, starring in a number of commercially successful motion pictures during the 1950s....
" and "Crying Shame".
Collaborations
One of the band's most-heard songs, "Wrong to Let You Go", was preceded and followed by collaborations with other musicians. The concept for the track was defined by Alan Fletcher, executive producer at Warner Music CanadaWarner Music Canada
Warner Music Canada is the Canadian division of Warner Music Group. The label previously operated as WEA Canada, the Canadian subsidiary of WEA International, which later changed its name to Warner Music International in 1990. It was founded in 1967 as Warner Reprise Canada Ltd...
, after Roberta Carter-Harrison sang at his wedding alongside flamenco
Flamenco
Flamenco is a genre of music and dance which has its foundation in Andalusian music and dance and in whose evolution Andalusian Gypsies played an important part....
guitarist Robert Michaels. It was then recorded with Michaels for volume 3 of the Women & Songs
Women & Songs
Women & Songs is a series of annual Canadian compilation album releases that only contain tracks by female artists. The first album, simply titled Women & Songs, was released December 9, 1997 and the series has since been both a major seller and a chart-topper in the Canadian music scene.-Regular...
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...
series and later appeared as an unnumbered track on the Twist album.
Subsequently, Alan Fletcher from Warner put the band in contact with German electronic dance producer
Record producer
A record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...
and DJ
Disc jockey
A disc jockey, also known as DJ, is a person who selects and plays recorded music for an audience. Originally, "disc" referred to phonograph records, not the later Compact Discs. Today, the term includes all forms of music playback, no matter the medium.There are several types of disc jockeys...
André Tanneberger (ATB). Tanneberger produced a remix
Remix
A remix is an alternative version of a recorded song, made from an original version. This term is also used for any alterations of media other than song ....
of the song, released as an ATB single
Single (music)
In music, a single or record single is a type of release, typically a recording of fewer tracks than an LP or a CD. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats. In most cases, the single is a song that is released separately from an album, but it can still appear...
re-titled "Let U Go
Let U Go (ATB song)
"Let U Go" is a song originally written by the Canadian musicians Ken Harrison and Roberta Michaels as "Wrong to Let You Go". This pop-rock song, recorded by the Wild Strawberries, the band consisting of Harrison and his wife Roberta Carter, first appeared on volume 3 of the compilation album...
". This popularized the song on both continents, as the single reached number 18 on the U.S. Billboard Hot Dance Music/Club Play charts and number 7 on the German Singles Chart. The song also marked the point in ATB's musical output when he began to produce songs with full vocal tracks, as opposed to sampled and looped
Music loop
In electroacoustic music, a loop is a repeating section of sound material. Short sections of material can be repeated to create ostinato patterns...
vocals.
The Wild Strawberries and ATB went on to collaborate on further songs, including the following ATB single "Hold You" and album tracks from the 2002 ATB album Dedicated, and multiple subsequent singles ("I Don't Wanna Stop", "Long Way Home") and album tracks from the 2003 ATB album Addicted to Music. All songs were co-written between Ken and Tanneberger, with vocals by Roberta.
Tanneberger later produced a new recording of "Let U Go" for the 2005 greatest hits compilation Seven Years: 1998-2005
Seven Years: 1998-2005
-Standard limited edition:*Standard 20 tracks as above, with a bonus DVD with the videos:# "9 PM "# "Don't Stop!"# "Killer"# "The Summer"# "The Fields of Love"# "Let U Go"# "Hold You"# "You're Not Alone"# "I Don't Wanna Stop"# "Long Way Home"...
, with new male vocalist Jan Löchel.
Sarah McLachlan
Sarah McLachlan
Sarah Ann McLachlan, OC, OBC is a Canadian musician, singer and songwriter. Known for her emotional ballads and mezzo-soprano vocal range, as of 2006, she has sold over 40 million albums worldwide. McLachlan's best-selling album to date is Surfacing, for which she won two Grammy Awards and four...
played guitar on and appeared in the video for "I Don't Want to Think About It". The band participated in all three years of the Lilith Fair
Lilith Fair
Lilith Fair was a concert tour and travelling music festival, founded by Canadian musician Sarah McLachlan, Nettwerk Music Group's Dan Fraser and Terry McBride, and New York talent agent Marty Diamond. It took place during the summers of 1997 to 1999, and was revived in the summer of 2010. It...
music festival, which McLachlan founded.
Discography
- Carving Wood Spectacles (independent release, 1989)
- Grace (1991)
- Life Sized Marilyn Monroe (EP, 1993)
- Bet You Think I'm LonelyBet You Think I'm LonelyBet You Think I'm Lonely was the fourth album released by the Wild Strawberries, and the only album released under their own label Strawberry Records. It followed the release of Life Sized Marilyn Monroe, which also became a track on this album. It was originally released in 1994, and the band...
(Strawberry Records, 1994) - Heroine (Nettwerk, 1995)
- Quiver (Nettwerk, 1998)
- Twist (independent release, 2000)
- Deformative Years (independent release, 2005)