Dragonette

All Music Guide:

Formed by singer/songwriter Martina Sorbara and her husband, bassist Dan Kurtz, Canadian electro-poppers Dragonette have drawn comparisons to the Scissor Sisters, No Doubt, and the Killers, thanks to the new wave sheen that dominated their early sound. However, as later albums like Bodyparts and the group's international hit "Hello," a collaboration with producer Martin Solveig proved, the group had a confident identity of their own. Prior to the formation of Dragonette, singer and lyricist Martina Sorbara (the daughter of a member of Ontario's provincial government, Finance Minister Greg Sorbara) had maintained a moderately successful solo career as an AOR/ adult alternative solo artist in the style of Sarah McLachlan or other delicate neo-folkies; Sorbara's debut solo album, The Cure for Bad Deeds, was released in 2002. She has since disparaged her former Lilith Fair-style musical efforts with the pungent phrase "tampon music"; just as notoriously, her father dismissed Dragonette in a quote to the Scottish newspaper The Daily Record as a "market-driven" phase that was "part of the raciness of current popular culture."

Sorbara founded Dragonette in 2005 with Kurtz (formerly of the jazz and electronica-influenced Toronto-based jam band the New Deal), guitarist Simon Craig, and drummer Joel Stouffer. A self-released and self-titled demo that year attracted the attention of the U.K. office of Mercury Records, which offered the group a recording contract the following year. Moving their base of operations from Toronto to London (and losing Craig in the process, replaced by British guitarist Will Stapleton), Dragonette released their first single, "I Get Around," in April 2007. Three more singles followed, "Take It Like a Man," "Competition," and a gender-reversal cover of Calvin Harris' hit "The Girls" called "The Boys." Dragonette's debut album, Galore, was released in late summer 2007. The same year, Sorbara sang the lead vocals on the hit Basement Jaxx single "Take Me Back to Your House." Galore was released in the U.S. in 2008 via I Surrender Records.

The band's second album, Fixin' to Thrill, a more focused and polished effort that charted in Canada's Top Ten, arrived in 2009. The following year, Dragonette released the Mixin' to Thrill remix album and collaborated with several dance producers on singles such as Kaskade's "Fire in Your New Shoes," Don Diablo's "Animale," and, most notably, Martin Solveig's "Hello." The single, which appeared on Solveig's 2011 album Smash, became a world-wide hit, topping the charts in five countries, reaching the Top Ten in ten other countries, and topping Billboard's Hot Dance Club chart in the U.S. early in 2011 (the song ultimately earned the group a Juno for Dance Recording of the Year in 2012). In 2011, Dragonette co-wrote and produced the song "Lucky Day" for Girls Aloud member Nicola Roberts' solo album Cinderella's Eyes, and returned to the studio to work on their third album. Released in 2012, Bodyparts was the first Dragonette album to be produced by the band, as well as the first to be released in Canada and the U.S. at the same time.

Wikipedia:

Dragonette is a Canadian electronic music band from Toronto, Ontario, formed in 2005. The band consists of singer-songwriter Martina Sorbara, bassist and producer Dan Kurtz (also in The New Deal) and drummer Joel Stouffer.

Dragonette released a self-titled EP before being signed to Mercury Records and relocating to London, where they recorded and released their debut album Galore to moderate critical appreciation. A second studio album, Fixin to Thrill, was released in 2009. The group's third studio album, Bodyparts, was released on September 22, 2012.

History [edit]

Sorbara and Kurtz met at a Canadian music festival and formed a duo named The Fuzz, making music together in their basement recording studio for fun. The duo formed Dragonette after these initial recordings, and supported New Order on only their second live performance. In 2005, the band released Dragonette EP, prior to signing a record deal with UK record label Mercury Records.

Dragonette relocated to London to record their debut album Galore, released on September 25, 2007, and toured the UK supporting local acts, including Basement Jaxx (with whom Sorbara also recorded the track "Take Me Back to Your House") and Sugababes and played headline gigs in small venues across the UK and Canada. British musician Will Stapleton replaced Simon Craig on guitar following the relocation. Dragonette filmed two music videos, one for "Jesus Doesn't Love Me" and another for "I Get Around". The former video leaked onto the internet, while the other served as promotion for their first single release. Despite the promotion from the band, "I Get Around" reached number ninety-two on the UK Singles Chart. A further single release, "Take It Like a Man" fared no better, not even reaching the top 100 on the UK Singles Chart. Dragonette did however receive some airplay with a cover of Calvin Harris' hit single "The Girls", which was retitled "The Boys". "I Get Around" was released in the band's home country of Canada where it outperformed the UK release, peaking at number fifty-seven on Billboard's Canadian Hot 100. When Galore failed to sell as expected, Dragonette parted ways with Mercury Records.

In 2008, Dragonette received a Juno Award nomination for Best New Group, while Kurtz and Sorbara wrote and produced the song "Grab a Hold" with Cyndi Lauper for her 2008 album Bring Ya to the Brink. That same year Will James Stapleton left the band, to be replaced by Chris Hugget. Dragonette's second studio album Fixin to Thrill was released on September 29, 2009.

Dragonette have collaborated with several house DJs for releases, to varying degrees of success. Although Basement Jaxx's 2006 song "Take Me Back to Your House" only featured Sorbara on vocals, it was promoted by the band as a Dragonette collaborative. The band have since recorded several tracks with French DJ Martin Solveig, including "Boys & Girls" in 2009, "Hello" in 2010, and "Can't Stop" and "Big in Japan" in 2011; all of these tracks appear on Solveig's 2011 album Smash. Dragonette would go to win the Juno Award for Dance Recording of the Year for "Hello" in April 2012. In 2010, the band also collaborated with Kaskade on "Fire in Your New Shoes" and with Don Diablo on "Animale".

A double A-side single containing the songs "Our Summer" and "Volcano" was made available digitally on July 27, 2010. Dragonette released the Mixin to Thrill compilation album digitally and a limited edition CD was sold via the band's online store as of August 3, 2010. The compilation also contains three new songs, including "Volcano", "Our Summer" and several remixes from the previous year.

In 2011, Dragonette worked with Girls Aloud member Nicola Roberts, co-writing and producing the single "Lucky Day" for her debut solo album Cinderella's Eyes.

On June 21, 2012, Dragonette announced the title of their upcoming third studio album, Bodyparts, which was released on September 22, 2012. The album's lead single "Let It Go" was released on April 2, 2012. "Rocket Ship", a track from the album, was made available as a free download on the band's official SoundCloud page. The album's second single, "Live in This City", was released on August 7, 2012.