A Genuine Freakshow
Encyclopedia
A Genuine Freakshow are a baroque pop
band originating from Reading
in the United Kingdom
. They were formed in 2005, settling on their current 7-piece permanent line-up in 2008. After several EP
and single
releases from 2007 to 2009 the band released their full length debut album
Oftentimes in November 2010 on their Peartree Records label.
during an unplugged
night. In late 2004 Natalie Sharp joined on violin
, bringing along her friend Melanie Dickson (cello
), after the Evans and Sutcliffe had seen her card in a music store. Late in 2005, “EP” was recorded live in one night in Beaconsfield
with new bassist
Matthew Taylor (now of Dry The River) and drummer
Dominic Bell.
2006 saw a change in musical direction for AGF: moving away from the acoustic/folk
act they were, they embraced a more Post-Rock
sound; they also had a drastic shift in personnel. Natalie left, Dominic was replaced with Jon Burgess on drums, whilst Evans and Sutcliffe relocated from High Wycombe to Reading. By the beginning of 2007 the EP “0.008%” was recorded with the help of Mike Siddell (Hope Of The States
, The Leisure Society
, Lightspeed Champion
) on violin and trumpet
player John Dunstan of Cats and Cats and Cats, whom the band had met supporting them on tour. After continued involvement with AGF's live performances, Dunstan formally joined the band in 2008.
The group's first single "We are the Undercurrents" was released in March 2008, with second single "Holding Hearts" following in July. Both of these singles featured new and current bassist John Szmidt, and a guest appearance by Will Harvey (also now of Dry The River) on violin, as no permanent replacement for Natalie had been found. By October 2008, Marianne Casey Canning was recruited to fill the role, and Jack Bryant arrived late in preparation for an impending tour to become the band's full-time drummer.
Throughout 2009 the band continued to tour and began recording new material; the debut album Oftentimes was finished in April 2010, and was released in November 2010. The band played at several major UK festivals in the summer preceding the release of Oftentimes, including Bestival
, Summer Sundae
and Two Thousand Trees Festival
.
The second single from Oftentimes, 'Hopscotch Machine Gun Madness', was released on 14 March 2011 via Peartree Records/PIAS. The b-side is a remix of 'Our Bodies' by Bright Light Bright Light, with 'Luckmore Drive (Live)' available exclusively from iTunes
.
In July 2011, A Genuine Freakshow were chosen by BBC Introducing
to play the BBC Introducing Stage at Reading and Leeds festivals
.
, trumpet
and violin
, as well as more traditional rock instruments. On top of this, Timothy Sutcliffe's falsetto
vocals
are interwoven with orchestra
l arrangements, the like of which are more commonly seen in post-rock acts such as Godspeed You! Black Emperor
. In later releases, however -- in particular the debut album Oftentimes -- the band's sound has become more pop
orientated. Mark Ellen
of The Word describes the band as "A thrilling Reading-based seven-piece... String section, sheets of Pink Floyd
and Sigur Rós
fed through the Radiohead
filter"
The band cites the following as artists they are inspired by: The National
, Elbow
, Radiohead
, Mew
, Sigur Rós
, Bob Dylan
, Tom Waits
, Pink Floyd
and The Beatles
.
Oftentimes was produced by Jordan Fish (Worship), Michael Hunter (Marillion
, Mew
, Echo & The Bunnymen
, Mansun
, The Coral
, Alfie
) as well as the band themselves, recorded in procuder Jordan Fish's Studio 91, and mixed at The Racket Club. The album was released on 8 November 2010 on Peartree Records in a variety of formats: a standard CD
edition, MP3
edition, and a Deluxe CD package that features the bonus album Pastimes.
Four of the tracks on Oftentimes are re-recordings of tracks previously featured on the band's various EPs. Oftentimes was made available for pre-order on 16 August 2010 exclusively from the band's official website, and "I Can Feel His Heartbeats" and "Hopscotch Machine Gun Madness" are to be released as singles.
s and several remix
es. Pastimes essentially acts as a condensed history, allowing new listeners to hear songs from EPs that are now long out of print. The original recordings of the four tracks that were previously released as singles and on EPs are also featured on Pastimes, enabling the listener to hear how the songs have evolved.
Baroque pop
Baroque pop, Baroque rock, or English baroque, often used interchangeably with chamber pop/rock, is a pop and rock music subgenre which originated in the mid-1960s in the United Kingdom and United States...
band originating from 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....
in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
. They were formed in 2005, settling on their current 7-piece permanent line-up in 2008. After several 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...
and 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...
releases from 2007 to 2009 the band released their full length debut 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...
Oftentimes in November 2010 on their Peartree Records label.
History
The origins of A Genuine Freakshow can be traced back to September 2003. At this time both Simon Evans and Tim Sutcliffe were studying at the Buckinghamshire New University. Their first show was at The Roundhouse pub in High WycombeHigh Wycombe
High Wycombe , commonly known as Wycombe and formally called Chepping Wycombe or Chipping Wycombe until 1946,is a large town in Buckinghamshire, England. It is west-north-west of Charing Cross in London; this figure is engraved on the Corn Market building in the centre of the town...
during an unplugged
Acoustic music
Acoustic music comprises music that solely or primarily uses instruments which produce sound through entirely acoustic means, as opposed to electric or electronic means...
night. In late 2004 Natalie Sharp joined on violin
Violin
The violin is a string instrument, usually with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is the smallest, highest-pitched member of the violin family of string instruments, which includes the viola and cello....
, bringing along her friend Melanie Dickson (cello
Cello
The cello is a bowed string instrument with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is a member of the violin family of musical instruments, which also includes the violin, viola, and double bass. Old forms of the instrument in the Baroque era are baryton and viol .A person who plays a cello is...
), after the Evans and Sutcliffe had seen her card in a music store. Late in 2005, “EP” was recorded live in one night in Beaconsfield
Beaconsfield
Beaconsfield is a market town and civil parish operating as a town council within the South Bucks district in Buckinghamshire, England. It lies northwest of Charing Cross in Central London, and south-east of the county town of Aylesbury...
with new bassist
Bassist
A bass player, or bassist is a musician who plays a bass instrument such as a double bass, bass guitar, keyboard bass or a low brass instrument such as a tuba or sousaphone. Different musical genres tend to be associated with one or more of these instruments...
Matthew Taylor (now of Dry The River) and drummer
Drummer
A drummer is a musician who is capable of playing drums, which includes but is not limited to a drum kit and accessory based hardware which includes an assortment of pedals and standing support mechanisms, marching percussion and/or any musical instrument that is struck within the context of a...
Dominic Bell.
2006 saw a change in musical direction for AGF: moving away from the acoustic/folk
Folk music
Folk music is an English term encompassing both traditional folk music and contemporary folk music. The term originated in the 19th century. Traditional folk music has been defined in several ways: as music transmitted by mouth, as music of the lower classes, and as music with unknown composers....
act they were, they embraced a more Post-Rock
Post-rock
Post-rock is a subgenre of rock music characterized by the influence and use of instruments commonly associated with rock, but using rhythms and "guitars as facilitators of timbre and textures" not traditionally found in rock...
sound; they also had a drastic shift in personnel. Natalie left, Dominic was replaced with Jon Burgess on drums, whilst Evans and Sutcliffe relocated from High Wycombe to Reading. By the beginning of 2007 the EP “0.008%” was recorded with the help of Mike Siddell (Hope Of The States
Hope of the States
Hope of the States were an English post rock-influenced indie band from Chichester.-Members:* Sam Herlihy - vocals, guitar, piano, music boxes, glockenspiels, mellotron, sampler, celeste, harmonium* Michael Hibbert - guitar, harmonica, backing vocals...
, The Leisure Society
The Leisure Society
The Leisure Society is a band formed by Nick Hemming, formerly of early 1990s indie band She Talks To Angels which included actor Paddy Considine, film director Shane Meadows and bassist Richard Eaton. Hemming wrote and performed music for the films A Room for Romeo Brass and Dead Man's Shoes...
, Lightspeed Champion
Lightspeed Champion
Devonté Hynes , better known as Lightspeed Champion or Blood Orange, is a British composer, songwriter, producer and author, who has written for artists such as Florence and the Machine, Diana Vickers and The Chemical Brothers on their 2007 Grammy award winning album We Are The Night...
) on violin and 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...
player John Dunstan of Cats and Cats and Cats, whom the band had met supporting them on tour. After continued involvement with AGF's live performances, Dunstan formally joined the band in 2008.
The group's first single "We are the Undercurrents" was released in March 2008, with second single "Holding Hearts" following in July. Both of these singles featured new and current bassist John Szmidt, and a guest appearance by Will Harvey (also now of Dry The River) on violin, as no permanent replacement for Natalie had been found. By October 2008, Marianne Casey Canning was recruited to fill the role, and Jack Bryant arrived late in preparation for an impending tour to become the band's full-time drummer.
Throughout 2009 the band continued to tour and began recording new material; the debut album Oftentimes was finished in April 2010, and was released in November 2010. The band played at several major UK festivals in the summer preceding the release of Oftentimes, including Bestival
Bestival
Bestival is a four-day music festival held at the Robin Hill country park on the Isle of Wight, England. It has been held annually in late summer since 2004. The event is organized by DJ and record producer Rob da Bank and is an off-shoot of his Sunday Best record label and club nights. The initial...
, Summer Sundae
Summer Sundae
Summer Sundae is an annual music festival held in Leicester, England which focuses on indie, alternative, and local music...
and Two Thousand Trees Festival
Two Thousand Trees Festival
The 2000trees festival is an award-winning independent music festival dedicated to bringing together the best new and underground British music for one weekend every July, held at Upcote Farm, Withington, near Cheltenham in Gloucestershire. It offers a diverse selection of more than 80 acts on four...
.
The second single from Oftentimes, 'Hopscotch Machine Gun Madness', was released on 14 March 2011 via Peartree Records/PIAS. The b-side is a remix of 'Our Bodies' by Bright Light Bright Light, with 'Luckmore Drive (Live)' available exclusively from iTunes
ITunes Store
The iTunes Store is a software-based online digital media store operated by Apple. Opening as the iTunes Music Store on April 28, 2003, with over 200,000 items to purchase, it is, as of April 2008, the number-one music vendor in the United States...
.
In July 2011, A Genuine Freakshow were chosen by BBC Introducing
BBC Introducing
BBC Introducing is the brand for new music programmes across the BBC radio stations, showcasing unsigned, self signed and other emerging musical talent primarily from the UK. Launched in 2007 the Introducing brand brings programming from across the BBC under a unified brand with each show retaining...
to play the BBC Introducing Stage at Reading and Leeds festivals
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...
.
Musical style
The focal point of the band's musical style has been a self described "pop-infused post-rock cannonade", utilising the rich sounds of the celloCello
The cello is a bowed string instrument with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is a member of the violin family of musical instruments, which also includes the violin, viola, and double bass. Old forms of the instrument in the Baroque era are baryton and viol .A person who plays a cello is...
, 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 violin
Violin
The violin is a string instrument, usually with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is the smallest, highest-pitched member of the violin family of string instruments, which includes the viola and cello....
, as well as more traditional rock instruments. On top of this, Timothy Sutcliffe's falsetto
Falsetto
Falsetto is the vocal register occupying the frequency range just above the modal voice register and overlapping with it by approximately one octave. It is produced by the vibration of the ligamentous edges of the vocal folds, in whole or in part...
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...
are interwoven with orchestra
Orchestra
An orchestra is a sizable instrumental ensemble that contains sections of string, brass, woodwind, and percussion instruments. The term orchestra derives from the Greek ορχήστρα, the name for the area in front of an ancient Greek stage reserved for the Greek chorus...
l arrangements, the like of which are more commonly seen in post-rock acts such as Godspeed You! Black Emperor
Godspeed You! Black Emperor
Godspeed You! Black Emperor is a Canadian post-rock band which originated from Montreal, Quebec in 1994...
. In later releases, however -- in particular the debut album Oftentimes -- the band's sound has become more 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...
orientated. Mark Ellen
Mark Ellen
Mark Ellen is an award winning magazine editor, journalist and broadcaster who lives in West London.Whilst at Oxford University in the 1970s, he briefly played bass in the band Ugly Rumours alongside Tony Blair...
of The Word describes the band as "A thrilling Reading-based seven-piece... String section, sheets of 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...
and Sigur Rós
Sigur Rós
Sigur Rós is an Icelandic post-rock band with classicaland minimalist elements. The band is known for its ethereal sound, and frontman Jónsi Birgisson's falsetto vocals and use of bowed guitar. In January 2010, the band announced that they will be on hiatus. Since then, it has since been announced...
fed through the Radiohead
Radiohead
Radiohead are an English rock band from Abingdon, Oxfordshire, formed in 1985. The band consists of Thom Yorke , Jonny Greenwood , Ed O'Brien , Colin Greenwood and Phil Selway .Radiohead released their debut single "Creep" in 1992...
filter"
The band cites the following as artists they are inspired by: The National
The National (band)
The National is an indie rock band formed in Cincinnati, Ohio in 1999 and currently based in Brooklyn, New York. The band's lyrics are written and sung by Matt Berninger, a baritone...
, Elbow
Elbow (band)
Elbow are an English rock band. They have played together since 1990 and recorded five studio albums, the most recent of which is Build a Rocket Boys!, released in March 2011...
, Radiohead
Radiohead
Radiohead are an English rock band from Abingdon, Oxfordshire, formed in 1985. The band consists of Thom Yorke , Jonny Greenwood , Ed O'Brien , Colin Greenwood and Phil Selway .Radiohead released their debut single "Creep" in 1992...
, Mew
Mew (band)
Mew is a Danish alternative music band consisting of Jonas Bjerre, Bo Madsen, and Silas Utke Graae Jørgensen. Bassist Johan Wohlert was also a founding member of the band, but left in 2006...
, Sigur Rós
Sigur Rós
Sigur Rós is an Icelandic post-rock band with classicaland minimalist elements. The band is known for its ethereal sound, and frontman Jónsi Birgisson's falsetto vocals and use of bowed guitar. In January 2010, the band announced that they will be on hiatus. Since then, it has since been announced...
, Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan is an American singer-songwriter, musician, poet, film director and painter. He has been a major and profoundly influential figure in popular music and culture for five decades. Much of his most celebrated work dates from the 1960s when he was an informal chronicler and a seemingly...
, Tom Waits
Tom Waits
Thomas Alan "Tom" Waits is an American singer-songwriter, composer, and actor. Waits has a distinctive voice, described by critic Daniel Durchholz as sounding "like it was soaked in a vat of bourbon, left hanging in the smokehouse for a few months, and then taken outside and run over with a car."...
, 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...
and The Beatles
The Beatles
The Beatles were an English rock band, active throughout the 1960s and one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music. Formed in Liverpool, by 1962 the group consisted of John Lennon , Paul McCartney , George Harrison and Ringo Starr...
.
Debut Album: Oftentimes (2010)
A Genuine Freakshow's debut studio albumStudio album
A studio album is an album made up of tracks recorded in the controlled environment of a recording studio. A studio album contains newly written and recorded or previously unreleased or remixed material, distinguishing itself from a compilation or reissue album of previously recorded material, or...
Oftentimes was produced by Jordan Fish (Worship), Michael Hunter (Marillion
Marillion
Marillion are a British rock band, formed in Aylesbury, England in 1979. Their recorded studio output comprises sixteen albums generally regarded in two distinct eras, delineated by the departure of original vocalist & frontman Fish in late 1988, and the subsequent arrival of replacement Steve...
, Mew
Mew (band)
Mew is a Danish alternative music band consisting of Jonas Bjerre, Bo Madsen, and Silas Utke Graae Jørgensen. Bassist Johan Wohlert was also a founding member of the band, but left in 2006...
, Echo & The Bunnymen
Echo & the Bunnymen
Echo & the Bunnymen are an English post-punk band, formed in Liverpool in 1978. The original line-up consisted of vocalist Ian McCulloch, guitarist Will Sergeant and bass player Les Pattinson, supplemented by a drum machine. By 1980, Pete de Freitas had joined as the band's drummer, and their debut...
, Mansun
Mansun
Mansun were an English alternative rock band formed in Chester in 1995. The band comprised vocalist/rhythm guitarist Paul Draper, bassist Stove King, lead guitarist/backing vocalist Dominic Chad, and drummer Andie Rathbone. The band broke up in May 2003....
, The Coral
The Coral
The Coral are an English band formed in 1996 in Hoylake on the Wirral Peninsula in England. The band first emerged during the early 2000s and found success with their debut album The Coral and follow up Magic and Medicine...
, Alfie
Alfie (band)
Alfie were an English indie rock band from Manchester. They were originally signed to Twisted Nerve Records before moving to EMI sub-label Regal Zonophone Records.-Twisted Nerve years :...
) as well as the band themselves, recorded in procuder Jordan Fish's Studio 91, and mixed at The Racket Club. The album was released on 8 November 2010 on Peartree Records in a variety of formats: a standard CD
Compact Disc
The Compact Disc is an optical disc used to store digital data. It was originally developed to store and playback sound recordings exclusively, but later expanded to encompass data storage , write-once audio and data storage , rewritable media , Video Compact Discs , Super Video Compact Discs ,...
edition, MP3
MP3
MPEG-1 or MPEG-2 Audio Layer III, more commonly referred to as MP3, is a patented digital audio encoding format using a form of lossy data compression...
edition, and a Deluxe CD package that features the bonus album Pastimes.
Oftentimes
- "We Are The Undercurrents"
- "I Can Feel His Heartbeats"
- "Hopscotch Machine Gun Madness"
- "New Houses"
- "She's Got A Shooter" (Part 1)
- "You Cut Me Out"
- "Our Bodies"
- "Holding Hearts"
- "Warning Shot"
Four of the tracks on Oftentimes are re-recordings of tracks previously featured on the band's various EPs. Oftentimes was made available for pre-order on 16 August 2010 exclusively from the band's official website, and "I Can Feel His Heartbeats" and "Hopscotch Machine Gun Madness" are to be released as singles.
Pastimes
Pastimes is a bonus album that was given away exclusively to customers that pre-ordered the Oftentimes deluxe edition. The CD features a mixture of past singles, former EP tracks, radio editRadio edit
In music, a radio edit is a modification to make a song more suitable for airplay, whether it be adjusted for length, profanity, subject matter, instrumentation, or form...
s and several 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 ....
es. Pastimes essentially acts as a condensed history, allowing new listeners to hear songs from EPs that are now long out of print. The original recordings of the four tracks that were previously released as singles and on EPs are also featured on Pastimes, enabling the listener to hear how the songs have evolved.
Albums
- Pastimes (Peartree Records - October 2010)
- Oftentimes (Peartree Records - November 2010)
Singles
- "We Are The Undercurrents" (Dead Pilot Records - March 2008)
- "Holding Hearts" (Peartree Records - July 2008)
- "I Can Feel His Heartbeats" (Peartree Records - October 2010)
- "Hopscotch Machine Gun Madness" (Peartree Records - March 2011)
- "Our Bodies" (Peartree Records - October 2011)
Current members
- Jack Bryant - Drums, Backing Vocals
- Marianne Casey Canning - ViolinViolinThe violin is a string instrument, usually with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is the smallest, highest-pitched member of the violin family of string instruments, which includes the viola and cello....
- Melanie Dickson - CelloCelloThe cello is a bowed string instrument with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is a member of the violin family of musical instruments, which also includes the violin, viola, and double bass. Old forms of the instrument in the Baroque era are baryton and viol .A person who plays a cello is...
- John Dunstan - TrumpetTrumpetThe 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...
, 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...
, Additional PercussionPercussion instrumentA 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... - Simon Evans - 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...
, PianoPianoThe piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
, Glockenspiel, Backing Vocals - Timothy Sutcliffe - Vocals, Guitar, Piano, Backing Vocals
- John Szmidt - Bass GuitarBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
Former members
- Matthew Taylor - Bass
- Dominic Bell - Drums
- Jon Burgess - Drums
- Dan Peters - Bass
- Natalie Sharp - Violin
- Will Harvey - Violin (Guest Appearances)
- Mike Siddell - Violin (Guest Appearances)
- Hatty Taylor - Vocals (Guest Appearance)