The Leisure Society - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

The Leisure Society is a band formed by Nick Hemming

Nick Hemming

Nicholas 'Nick' Hemming is a British musician and guitarist, formerly of early 1990s indie band She Talks To Angels with actor Paddy Considine, film director Shane Meadows and bassist Richard Eaton....

, formerly of early 1990s indie band She Talks To Angels which included actor Paddy Considine

Paddy Considine

Patrick George "Paddy" Considine is an English actor, filmmaker, screenwriter, musician and frequent collaborator with Shane Meadows. Best known to audiences for his portrayals of dark, troubled, morally or mentally ambiguous characters...

, film director Shane Meadows

Shane Meadows

Shane Meadows is an English film director, screenwriter, occasional actor and BAFTA winner.-Background:Meadows grew up in the Westlands Road area of Uttoxeter, Staffordshire. His father was a long distance lorry driver and his mother worked in a fish and chip shop...

and bassist Richard Eaton. Hemming wrote and performed music for the films A Room for Romeo Brass

A Room for Romeo Brass

A Room for Romeo Brass is a 1999 comedy drama film directed and written by Shane Meadows. It was co-written by frequent Meadows collaborator Paul Fraser....

and Dead Man's Shoes. He was also a member of The Telescopes

The Telescopes

The Telescopes were formed in 1987 by Stephen Lawrie and could best be described as a noise/space rock band - the Jesus and Mary Chain, My Bloody Valentine and Spacemen 3 being influences and contemporaries.-History:...

.

In 2006 Hemming moved to London to work with multi-instrumentalist and producer Christian Hardy

Christian Hardy

Christian Hardy is a British singer, multi-instrumentalist and producer. He performs in The Leisure Society and is a member of Brighton's Willkommen Collective...

; the pair have subsequently built a live band drawn from members of Brighton

Brighton

Brighton is the major part of the city of Brighton and Hove in East Sussex, England on the south coast of Great Britain...

's Willkommen Collective

Willkommen Collective

The Willkommen Collective is a Brighton based community of musicians, promoters and artists. The collective includes the bands Sons of Noel and Adrian, The Leisure Society, The Climbers, The Miserable Rich, Shoreline and many more. They also run a record label, Willkommen Records, and put on...

and further afield, notably Mike Siddell who previously played violin with 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...

and currently performs with The Miserable Rich

The Miserable Rich

The Miserable Rich are a chamber pop band, formed in 2007 and based in Brighton, England. The band is known for its distinctive, chamber orchestra sound, created using cello and violin as the primary lead instruments, augmented by double bass, acoustic guitar and occasionally piano...

, 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...

and Troubles

Troubles (band)

Troubles is a UK-based ambient post-rock instrumental band formed in 2005. The members of the band are Joel Clifford, Sam Herlihy, Michael Hibbert, Simon Jones, Mike Siddell and Jon Winter.-History:...

. Other members of the band play with The Miserable Rich

The Miserable Rich

, Sons of Noel and Adrian

Sons of Noel and Adrian

Sons of Noel and Adrian is a twelve piece experimental folk band based in Brighton, England. It features Nick Hemming from The Leisure Society, Mike Siddell from Hope of the States and Lightspeed Champion, Will Calderbank from The Miserable Rich and many other musicians from the Willkommen...

and more.

The Leisure Society have been recipients of considerable critical acclaim since the release of their first single (see Discography), being dubbed the English answer to popular U.S acts such as Grizzly Bear

Grizzly Bear

The grizzly bear , also known as the silvertip bear, the grizzly, or the North American brown bear, is a subspecies of brown bear that generally lives in the uplands of western North America...

, Department of Eagles

Department of Eagles

Department of Eagles is a band formed in 2000 by friends and New York University roommates Daniel Rossen and Fred Nicolaus...

and Fleet Foxes

Fleet Foxes

Fleet Foxes are a folk rock band which formed in Seattle, Washington. They are signed to the Sub Pop and Bella Union record labels. The band came to prominence in 2008 with the release of their second EP, Sun Giant, and their debut full length album Fleet Foxes...

.

The band's debut single 'The Last Of The Melting Snow' was honoured with a 2009 Ivor Novello

Ivor Novello Awards

The Ivor Novello Awards, named after the Cardiff born entertainer Ivor Novello, are awards for songwriting and composing. They are presented annually in London by the British Academy of Songwriters, Composers and Authors and were first introduced in 1955.Nicknamed The Ivors, the awards take place...

nomination for 'Best Song Musically & Lyrically'.

In July 2009 the band signed with UK label 'Full Time Hobby' prompting the re-release of 'The Sleeper' with a bonus EP entitled 'A Product Of The Ego Drain' (the name originally intended for the debut album until a last minute change of heart). The record has subsequently generated considerable fanfare across mainland Europe in print and on radio & TV.

In September 2009 Brian Eno

Brian Eno

Brian Peter George St. John le Baptiste de la Salle Eno , commonly known as Brian Eno or simply as Eno , is an English musician, composer, record producer, singer and visual artist, known as one of the principal innovators of ambient music.Eno studied at Colchester Institute art school in Essex,...

cited the band as "The only other thing I've been listening to lately with enthusiasm", calling it "Such a beautiful album." This prompted a meeting between Nick Hemming, Christian Hardy and Brian Eno at his London studio.

In September 2009 the band recorded a cover of 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...

song 'Something' for the music magazine Mojo.

The third single from The Sleeper, 'Save It For Someone Who Cares', was also nominated for the Ivor Novello in the same category as the previous year, making the band one of very few consecutive nominees.

In interviews on their recent European tours Nick Hemming & Christian Hardy have alluded to a darker, more expansive second record which they began recording in January 2010.

The band recently covered Children's classic "Inchworm" from Hans Christian Andersen for American Laundromat Records

American Laundromat Records

American Laundromat Records is an indie label based in Mystic, CT.The label has produced several tribute albums, including Dig For Fire - a tribute to PIXIES, Cinnamon Girl - Women Artists Cover Neil Young, and High School Reunion - A Tribute to Those Great 80's Films...

charity CD "Sing Me To Sleep - Indie Lullabies" which releases worldwide on May 18, 2010.

Nick Hemming

Nick Hemming

and Christian Hardy

Christian Hardy

Christian Hardy is a British singer, multi-instrumentalist and producer. He performs in The Leisure Society and is a member of Brighton's Willkommen Collective...

also play with childhood friend Tim West in The Climbers

The Climbers

The Climbers is a band formed by Nick Hemming and Christian Hardy of The Leisure Society with their childhood friend, Tim West. West actually introduced Hemming and Hardy to one another and for a period the three lived together in South London....

, whose debut album was released in May 2010.

Touring

The Leisure Society's debut headline show at London's Bush Hall in January 2009 prompted a 5 star review from The Independent.

Over the Summer of 2009 the band performed across the UK and Europe, including acclaimed slots at The Big Chill, The Green Man Festival and The End Of The Road Festival.

The band finished 2009 with a tour of Europe and the UK, culminating in a sold out performance at St Giles' Church, London and a session for Radio 2's Janice Long.

In January 2010 The Leisure Society toured The Netherlands, France, Spain, Italy, Switzerland, Germany & Ireland, going on to play various festivals over the Summer including Glastonbury, The Big Chill, Summer Sundae & Vintage at Goodwood.

Discography

The Sleeper
The Sleeper
The Sleeper is the first studio album by English indie folk band The Leisure Society.Their self-produced debut album 'The Sleeper' was initially released on 30 March 2009 on Willkommen Records...

(2009)
Into The Murky Water
Into The Murky Water
Into The Murky Water is the second full length studio album from band The Leisure Society, released on the 2nd of May 2011 by independent record label Full Time Hobby.-Track listing:...

(2011) (UK chart peak #75)

External links

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Touring

Discography

See also

External links