Faded Paper Figures
Encyclopedia
Faded Paper Figures is an American Indie Pop
Electronica
band from Los Angeles
, California
. FPF is known for their electro-organic sound sometimes compared to bands and artists like Weevil
, The Postal Service
, Belle and Sebastian, Owl City
, Lights and Morrissey
. The band consists of three members, R. John Williams (guitar and vocals) (brother of Becky Jean Williams, lead singer and lyricist for Late Night Alumni
), Kael Alden (bass, guitar, drums, etc...), and Heather Alden (vocals). The band formed in February 2007 and released their debut album Dynamo in 2008. Their second album New Medium, was released on May 25, 2010.
described their first album as "a balance of upbeat and soothing electronics," but their recent music has taken on a more energetic tone, with live drums sounds mixing with electro-beats. The Band is also currently recording new music and preparing a music video.
. But they continue to write, compose and record bi-coastally. The group's second album, New Medium, was released May 25, 2010. During their summer 2010 west coast tour, two more people joined the band to translate their studio sound live: Kurt Deninger (drums) and Sebastian Hackett (additional keys and guitars).
Indie pop
Indie pop is a genre of alternative rock music that originated in the United Kingdom in the mid 1980s, with its roots in the Scottish post-punk bands on the Postcard Records label in the early '80s, such as Orange Juice, Josef K and Aztec Camera, and the dominant UK independent band of the mid...
Electronica
Electronica
Electronica includes a wide range of contemporary electronic music designed for a wide range of uses, including foreground listening, some forms of dancing, and background music for other activities; however, unlike electronic dance music, it is not specifically made for dancing...
band from Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
. FPF is known for their electro-organic sound sometimes compared to bands and artists like Weevil
Weevil
A weevil is any beetle from the Curculionoidea superfamily. They are usually small, less than , and herbivorous. There are over 60,000 species in several families, mostly in the family Curculionidae...
, The Postal Service
The Postal Service
The Postal Service is an American electronic indie pop band composed of vocalist Ben Gibbard of Death Cab for Cutie and producer Jimmy Tamborello of Dntel and Headset.-Background:...
, Belle and Sebastian, Owl City
Owl City
Owl City is an American electronica musical project by singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Adam Young formed in 2007 in Owatonna, Minnesota. Young created the project while experimenting with music in his parents' basement...
, Lights and Morrissey
Morrissey
Steven Patrick Morrissey , known as Morrissey, is an English singer and lyricist. He rose to prominence in the 1980s as the lyricist and vocalist of the alternative rock band The Smiths. The band was highly successful in the United Kingdom but broke up in 1987, and Morrissey began a solo career,...
. The band consists of three members, R. John Williams (guitar and vocals) (brother of Becky Jean Williams, lead singer and lyricist for Late Night Alumni
Late Night Alumni
Late Night Alumni is a US house group composed of Ryan Raddon , Finn Bjarnson, John Hancock, and vocalist Becky Jean Williams. They are primarily known for mixing dance music with strings and soft trance-like vocals from lead singer Becky Jean Williams.-Biography:Finn Bjarnson stumbled upon Becky...
), Kael Alden (bass, guitar, drums, etc...), and Heather Alden (vocals). The band formed in February 2007 and released their debut album Dynamo in 2008. Their second album New Medium, was released on May 25, 2010.
History
Faded Paper Figures met in early 2007. The genesis was at a party in Irvine, California, where John Williams and Kael Alden were discussing music. Kael was composing music for TV and film with his older brother's company, Robot Repair . John already had some experience as a musician and songwriter. Both full of ideas for a new sound, they decided to record some material together. After a few days the music they were able to create surpassed their own expectations. Over the next few months they wrote and composed a number of songs, experimenting with blending traditional guitar with electronica. The songs went up first on a new MySpace page under the name of Machine Discourse. Heather Alden joined in as a harmony vocalist, rounding out and softening the band's sound. Not long after the band's name changed to Faded Paper Figures, and with a growing song list and a mounting audience, the band's sound solidified. NPRNPR
NPR, formerly National Public Radio, is a privately and publicly funded non-profit membership media organization that serves as a national syndicator to a network of 900 public radio stations in the United States. NPR was created in 1970, following congressional passage of the Public Broadcasting...
described their first album as "a balance of upbeat and soothing electronics," but their recent music has taken on a more energetic tone, with live drums sounds mixing with electro-beats. The Band is also currently recording new music and preparing a music video.
Dynamo
Faded Paper Figures released their first album, Dynamo, on July 11, 2008. The track "Being There" won Best Song of the Year in the UC Irvine Songwriting Contest. A music video of "Metropolis" came out and the band began to play live concerts. They were chosen Best Electronic live band by the OC Music Awards in 2009, and were declared one of the New York Post's "must have" new music of 2009.New Medium
Various developments changed the band recently, with Heather beginning medical school at UCLA, and John moving to New Haven, Connecticut with a job as a Professor in English and Media Studies at Yale UniversityYale University
Yale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States...
. But they continue to write, compose and record bi-coastally. The group's second album, New Medium, was released May 25, 2010. During their summer 2010 west coast tour, two more people joined the band to translate their studio sound live: Kurt Deninger (drums) and Sebastian Hackett (additional keys and guitars).
Song appearances
- "Polaroid Solution" was played on Grey's AnatomyGrey's AnatomyGrey's Anatomy is an American medical drama television series created by Shonda Rhimes. The series premiered on March 27, 2005 on ABC; since then, seven seasons have aired. The series follows the lives of interns, residents and their mentors in the fictional Seattle Grace Mercy West Hospital in...
, episode "I Saw What I Saw" on October 22, 2009. - "North By North" was played on Grey's AnatomyGrey's AnatomyGrey's Anatomy is an American medical drama television series created by Shonda Rhimes. The series premiered on March 27, 2005 on ABC; since then, seven seasons have aired. The series follows the lives of interns, residents and their mentors in the fictional Seattle Grace Mercy West Hospital in...
, episode "Invest In Love" on November 5, 2009, and was also featured as a KEXPKEXPKEXP-FM is a public radio station based in Seattle, Washington, that specializes in alternative and indie rock programmed by its disc jockeys. Its broadcasting license is owned by the University of Washington, which operates the station in a partnership with Paul Allen's Experience Music Project...
song of the day on Dec. 31, 2008, and on NPRNPRNPR, formerly National Public Radio, is a privately and publicly funded non-profit membership media organization that serves as a national syndicator to a network of 900 public radio stations in the United States. NPR was created in 1970, following congressional passage of the Public Broadcasting...
's "Second Stage" on November 25, 2008. - "Metropolis" was played on Grey's AnatomyGrey's AnatomyGrey's Anatomy is an American medical drama television series created by Shonda Rhimes. The series premiered on March 27, 2005 on ABC; since then, seven seasons have aired. The series follows the lives of interns, residents and their mentors in the fictional Seattle Grace Mercy West Hospital in...
, episode "Time Warp" on February 18, 2010. - "I Fell Off My Name" was on the soundtrack to the season premier of MTVMTVMTV, 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....
's The Real WorldThe Real WorldThe Real World is a reality television program on MTV originally produced by Mary-Ellis Bunim and Jonathan Murray. First broadcast in 1992, the show, which was inspired by the 1973 PBS documentary series An American Family, is the longest-running program in MTV history and one of the...
, October 2009. - "Red State," "One More Crash," and "I Fell Off My Name," have all appeared on the soundtrack to MTVMTVMTV, 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....
's My Life as LizMy Life as LizMy Life as Liz is a mockumentary style American television series that centers on the life of Liz Lee, a misfit high-school senior living in small town Texas...
, Winter 2011. - "Small Talk" was used in the Isenseven snowboard film "Don't Panic" in 2010.
- "New Medium" was used in the Isenseven snowboard film "Let's Go, Get Lost" in 2010.
- "North By North" was used in the Isenseven snowboard film "Teenage Love Graffiti" in 2008.