Art Brut

Art Brut are an English indie rock band. Their debut album, Bang Bang Rock and Roll, was released on May 30, 2005, with its follow up, It's a Bit Complicated, released on June 25th 2007.

Biography

The band was formed in 2003 and played its first gig in May of that year. The band recorded Brutlegs later in 2003 containing the first versions of "Formed a Band", "Modern Art" and "Moving to LA" and made it available. Angular Recording Corporation put out a compilation featuring "Formed a Band". A journalist heard the song and sent an MP3 to Rough Trade and the label offered Art Brut a deal to release it as a single.

"Formed a Band" was released in the UK as a single in May 2004 reaching #52 on the charts. It also appeared on the soundtrack to FIFA Street 2 - a game for the PlayStation 2, Xbox, Gamecube and Playstation Portable. Blender described them as the best unsigned band in the UK. During the rest of 2004, they played gigs throughout the UK with The Fades including a first anniversary gig at the Tate Britain.

Another bootleg EP Brutlegs 04 was recorded featuring "Good Weekend", "Bang Bang Rock and Roll", and an acoustic version of "Moving to LA". A double A-side was released in December 2004 on Fierce Panda reaching #49 on the charts. The album Bang Bang Rock and Roll was released in May 2005 with "Emily Kane" as the first single. The latter missed the UK Top 40 by two sales, yet remains the highest-charting single on Fierce Panda. Bang Bang Rock and Roll was produced by John Fortis, who has also worked with artists such as Razorlight, Maxim Reality, The Pipettes, Neneh Cherry and Assembly Now.

Art Brut have a quite widespread following of "franchises", whose names range from AB0 (the original Art Brut) to AB3.14/Pi, AB² or even to AB17. The band We Are Scientists are also an Art Brut franchise, AB47. These franchises often record and play Art Brut songs during performances.

Chris Chinchilla amicably left the band for personal reasons in September 2005 forming new band Macaca Mulatta. He was replaced by Jasper Future, guitarist from Eddie Argos' old band, The Art Goblins. The band appeared on the cover of the German edition of Rolling Stone magazine in September 2005.

Art Brut performed at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival, on April 30, 2006, at Pitchfork Music Festival in June 2006, and at the Festival Internacional de Benicàssim and the Dour Festival in Belgium, in July 2006. Art Brut also released a split 7" with We Are Scientists, which was only released in America. On this single Art Brut recorded a cover of 'The Great Escape' by We Are Scientists. We Are Scientists returned the idea and covered Art Brut's song 'Bang Bang Rock and Roll' on the single. Their version of "Bang Bang Rock and Roll" is also available on their b-sides album Crap Attack.

The band released their second album, It's a Bit Complicated, on Mute Records. It's a Bit Complicated was produced by Dan Swift , who has also worked with artists such as Help She Can't Swim, Untitled Musical Project, Victorian English Gentlemens Club, Kasabian and Snow Patrol. The first single to be taken from the album, "Nag Nag Nag Nag", was released on 20th November 2006, featuring the b-side "I Found This Song in the Road" and 5 live tracks from the Eurockéennes de Belfort Festival 2006. The song made Single of the Week in The Guardian's "The Guide" section. In 2007 they played on the American NME Rock and Roll Riot tour with The Hold Steady.

Members

• Eddie Argos (lead vocals)
• Ian Catskilkin (lead guitar)
• Freddy Feedback (bass guitar)
• Jasper Future (guitar, backing vocals)
• Mikey Breyer (drums)

Discography

Albums

• Bang Bang Rock and Roll · May 30th 2005 UK #116
• It's a Bit Complicated · June 25th 2007 US Heatseakers 14, UK #123

Singles

• "Formed a Band" (March 2004) 52
• "Modern Art/My Little Brother" (December 2004) 49
• "Emily Kane" (May 2005) 41
• "Good Weekend" (September 2005) 56 (Featured in 2007 film I Want Candy)
• "Nag Nag Nag Nag" (November 20th 2006) (Chart Ineligible)
• "Direct Hit" (Download available from June 11th 2007 - CD & 7" June 18th 2007) 194

Trivia

• The track "Formed a Band" was used in the pilot episode of the ITV's Inspector Morse spin-off, Lewis, which aired January 29, 2006. The song is heard issuing from character Danny Griffon's rooms in his Oxford college as DI Lewis and DS Hathaway dash up the staircase to interview him.
• John Moore previously of the Jesus and Mary Chain and Black Box Recorder plays the bowed saw on both of their albums, notably on the second album's first single 'Direct Hit'.
• Ian Wilson (stage name Ian Catskilkin) is the cousin of Ray Wilson, who was the lead singer in Stiltskin before joining prog rockers Genesis as the singer in 1997. In the July 7th 2007 issue of indie weekly, the NME, Jasper Future remarked that Ian was embarrassed about his apparent relationship to "rock royalty".
• Direct Hit is on the soundtrack to the game FIFA 08 but some lines have to be edited out for age limit reasons

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