Younger Brother
Encyclopedia
Younger Brother is an electronic duo formed in 2003 by Simon Posford and Benji Vaughan
. Their debut album A Flock of Bleeps was released in 2003, followed by The Last Days of Gravity
in 2007 and Vaccine in 2011.
After making a remix for a charity record, Simon Posford (Shpongle
, Hallucinogen
) and Benji Vaughan (Prometheus) decided to come together in the studio to create their own type of electronic music that is generally described as “unclassifiable.”
The album A Flock of Bleeps released on Twisted Records
became a cult classic in the underground electronica scene and included such tracks as ‘Crumblenaut’ and ‘Finger’. This led to massive demand to see them live and they have played shows from London to Tokyo, New York to Moscow.
Inspired by the live shows Simon and Benji decided to move away from the pure electronic sound of the first album A Flock of Bleeps and create a more organic sound. Having no band, they played the instruments themselves and recruited long time friend and former Leftfield
vocalist Ru Campbell to perform the vocals. The resulting album was Last Days of Gravity (with artwork made by the legendary Storm Thorgerson
whose work has graced albums by Pink Floyd
, Alan Parsons
, and Led Zeppelin
, among many others) release in 2007 narrowly missed a nomination for the 2008 Mercury Music Prize and received masses of positive press. They also returned to play shows with the "Younger Brother Live" band in Boulder and Denver, Colorado and in California, which included Marc Brownstein
(The Disco Biscuits, Electron) on bass, Tom Hamilton (Brothers Past
, The American Babies, Electron) on guitar, and Joe Russo
(The Benevento/Russo Duo, Furthur, Bustle In Your Hedgerow, The American Babies, Electron) on drums in Japan, the US and played a sell out show to 3,000 people at the Brixton Academy, London.
2009 saw Younger Brother produce “Phoenix on a Diamond Sky” for British cult film Heartless
, directed by Philip Ridley
and due for release in 2010. A successful US tour took place in July, which included a headline set at the Camp Bisco Festival and saw them play to 8,000 people.
Their third album Vaccine, recorded with its U.S. band lineup (Marc Brownstein
- the Disco Biscuits, Joe Russo (musician)
- Benevento/Russo Duo
/Furthur (band)
& Tom Hamilton - Brothers Past
), became available via iTunes
on April 4, 2011 and is available streaming from My Old Kentucky Blog.
The band's name is taken from a Kogi
prophecy, the Kogi regarded themselves as the Older Brother and say that the destruction of the Earth and environment would be by Westerners called Younger Brother. Simon Posford and Benji Vaughan describe this in the Twisted DVD from 2007 during an interview. Fragments from this prophecy are found in the song "Evil and Harm".
Benji Vaughan
Benjamin Vaughan, better known as Benji Vaughan, is a British psychedelic trance musician. He has released music under many names, of which most well known is his solo project, Prometheus, and his collaboration with Twisted Records label colleague, Simon Posford, under the moniker Younger Brother...
. Their debut album A Flock of Bleeps was released in 2003, followed by The Last Days of Gravity
The Last Days of Gravity
The Last Days of Gravity is Younger Brother's second album. It is a collaborative downtempo psychedelic project between English psytrance Producers Simon Posford and Benji Vaughan ....
in 2007 and Vaccine in 2011.
After making a remix for a charity record, Simon Posford (Shpongle
Shpongle
Shpongle is an English psychedelic downtempo/psybient music project formed in 1996. The group includes Simon Posford and Raja Ram . Their musical style combines eastern ethnic instruments and vocals with contemporary western synthesizer-based psychedelic music...
, Hallucinogen
Hallucinogen (musician)
Hallucinogen is the stage name of Simon Posford, an English electronic musician,specializing in Psychedelic trance music. His first studio album, Twisted, released in 1995, is considered one of the most influential albums in the genre; the first track "LSD" in particular remains the defining sound...
) and Benji Vaughan (Prometheus) decided to come together in the studio to create their own type of electronic music that is generally described as “unclassifiable.”
The album A Flock of Bleeps released on Twisted Records
Twisted Records (UK)
Twisted Records is a UK-based record label specialising in Electronica and psychedelic downtempo music for worldwide release, Film, TV and Web. The label was founded by Simon Posford a.k.a. Hallucinogen and Simon Holtom.-Musical Artists:* Hallucinogen...
became a cult classic in the underground electronica scene and included such tracks as ‘Crumblenaut’ and ‘Finger’. This led to massive demand to see them live and they have played shows from London to Tokyo, New York to Moscow.
Inspired by the live shows Simon and Benji decided to move away from the pure electronic sound of the first album A Flock of Bleeps and create a more organic sound. Having no band, they played the instruments themselves and recruited long time friend and former Leftfield
Leftfield
Leftfield are a British duo of electronica artists and record producers, namely Paul Daley and Neil Barnes, who formed in 1990 in London, England...
vocalist Ru Campbell to perform the vocals. The resulting album was Last Days of Gravity (with artwork made by the legendary Storm Thorgerson
Storm Thorgerson
Storm Thorgerson is an English graphic designer, known for his work for rock bands such as Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath, 10cc, Dream Theater, The Mars Volta, Muse, The Cranberries, and Biffy Clyro.-Biography:...
whose work has graced albums by Pink Floyd
Pink Floyd
Pink Floyd were an English rock band that achieved worldwide success with their progressive and psychedelic rock music. Their work is marked by the use of philosophical lyrics, sonic experimentation, innovative album art, and elaborate live shows. Pink Floyd are one of the most commercially...
, Alan Parsons
Alan Parsons
Alan Parsons is a British audio engineer, musician, and record producer. He was involved with the production of several significant albums, including The Beatles' Abbey Road and Let It Be, as well as Pink Floyd's The Dark Side of the Moon for which Pink Floyd credit him as an important contributor...
, and Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin were an English rock band, active in the late 1960s and throughout the 1970s. Formed in 1968, they consisted of guitarist Jimmy Page, singer Robert Plant, bassist/keyboardist John Paul Jones, and drummer John Bonham...
, among many others) release in 2007 narrowly missed a nomination for the 2008 Mercury Music Prize and received masses of positive press. They also returned to play shows with the "Younger Brother Live" band in Boulder and Denver, Colorado and in California, which included Marc Brownstein
Marc Brownstein
Marc "Brownie" Brownstein is the founder and bassist of Philadelphia-based jamtronica band, The Disco Biscuits. He is also a co-founder and co-chair of voter registration group, HeadCount, as well as the host of weekly radio show, "Jamtronica," on Sirius Satellite Radio's jamband channel, Jam...
(The Disco Biscuits, Electron) on bass, Tom Hamilton (Brothers Past
Brothers Past
Brothers Past are an indie-electronic band from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania that has been called "one of the most talked about independent acts in the nation." Since forming in 2000, the band has released three records and one EP, including the critically acclaimed This Feeling's Called Goodbye in...
, The American Babies, Electron) on guitar, and Joe Russo
Joe Russo (musician)
Joe Russo is an American drummer and half of the Benevento/Russo Duo. He plays with a number of other bands, including A Big Yes and a Small No, Fat Mama, Robert Walter's 20th Congress, Danjaboots, Bustle In Your Hedgerow, Electron , Younger Brother, Shpongle, Tom Hamilton's American Babies, the...
(The Benevento/Russo Duo, Furthur, Bustle In Your Hedgerow, The American Babies, Electron) on drums in Japan, the US and played a sell out show to 3,000 people at the Brixton Academy, London.
2009 saw Younger Brother produce “Phoenix on a Diamond Sky” for British cult film Heartless
Heartless (2009 film)
Heartless is a 2009 British horror film directed by Philip Ridley and starring Jim Sturgess, Noel Clarke, Clémence Poésy and Eddie Marsan.-Plot:Jamie Morgan is a troubled photographer with a heart-shaped birthmark on his face...
, directed by Philip Ridley
Philip Ridley
Philip Ridley is a British artist working with various media.- Biography :Ridley was born in Bethnal Green, in the East End of London, where he still lives and works. He studied painting at St. Martin’s School of Art and his work has been exhibited throughout Europe and Japan...
and due for release in 2010. A successful US tour took place in July, which included a headline set at the Camp Bisco Festival and saw them play to 8,000 people.
Their third album Vaccine, recorded with its U.S. band lineup (Marc Brownstein
Marc Brownstein
Marc "Brownie" Brownstein is the founder and bassist of Philadelphia-based jamtronica band, The Disco Biscuits. He is also a co-founder and co-chair of voter registration group, HeadCount, as well as the host of weekly radio show, "Jamtronica," on Sirius Satellite Radio's jamband channel, Jam...
- the Disco Biscuits, Joe Russo (musician)
Joe Russo (musician)
Joe Russo is an American drummer and half of the Benevento/Russo Duo. He plays with a number of other bands, including A Big Yes and a Small No, Fat Mama, Robert Walter's 20th Congress, Danjaboots, Bustle In Your Hedgerow, Electron , Younger Brother, Shpongle, Tom Hamilton's American Babies, the...
- Benevento/Russo Duo
Benevento/Russo Duo
The Benevento/Russo Duo is an alternative jazz/rock band from New York City, featuring Marco Benevento on keyboard instruments and Joe Russo on drums.-History:Benevento and Russo met while in junior high school in New Jersey...
/Furthur (band)
Furthur (band)
Furthur is a rock band founded in 2009 by former Grateful Dead members Bob Weir and Phil Lesh. The original lineup also included John Kadlecik of the Dark Star Orchestra on lead guitar, Jeff Chimenti of RatDog on keyboards, Jay Lane of RatDog on percussion, and Joe Russo of the Benevento/Russo Duo...
& Tom Hamilton - Brothers Past
Brothers Past
Brothers Past are an indie-electronic band from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania that has been called "one of the most talked about independent acts in the nation." Since forming in 2000, the band has released three records and one EP, including the critically acclaimed This Feeling's Called Goodbye in...
), became available via iTunes
ITunes
iTunes is a media player computer program, used for playing, downloading, and organizing digital music and video files on desktop computers. It can also manage contents on iPod, iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad....
on April 4, 2011 and is available streaming from My Old Kentucky Blog.
The band's name is taken from a Kogi
Koguis
The Kogi or Cogui or Kaggabba, translated "jaguar" in the Kogi language are a Native American ethnic group that lives in the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta in Colombia. They are one of the few surviving Pre-Columbian civilizations of South America...
prophecy, the Kogi regarded themselves as the Older Brother and say that the destruction of the Earth and environment would be by Westerners called Younger Brother. Simon Posford and Benji Vaughan describe this in the Twisted DVD from 2007 during an interview. Fragments from this prophecy are found in the song "Evil and Harm".
Discography
- A Flock of Bleeps (Twisted RecordsTwisted Records (UK)Twisted Records is a UK-based record label specialising in Electronica and psychedelic downtempo music for worldwide release, Film, TV and Web. The label was founded by Simon Posford a.k.a. Hallucinogen and Simon Holtom.-Musical Artists:* Hallucinogen...
2003) - This is Younger Brother's first release as a side project of two prominent psytrance artists. - The Last Days of GravityThe Last Days of GravityThe Last Days of Gravity is Younger Brother's second album. It is a collaborative downtempo psychedelic project between English psytrance Producers Simon Posford and Benji Vaughan ....
(Twisted Records, October 15, 2007) - All I Want (Remixes) (Twisted Records, 2008)
- Night Lead Me Astray (EPExtended playAn 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...
) (Twisted Records, 2010) - Vaccine (Twisted Records/SCI Fidelity Records, 2011)
External links
- MySpace.com: Younger Brother - New Younger Brother sound samples from the upcoming album can be found here.
- Psyreviews.net review of The Last Days Of Gravity
- Video - Live at Brixton Academy
- Younger Brother Facebook- Official Facebook Page
- Younger Brother Last FM- Last FM page