Simian Mobile Disco

All Music Guide:

Producers/remixers James Ford and James Shaw formed Simian Mobile Disco in 2005, following their departure from the experimental electronic rock band Simian. The two had originally formed Simian with singer Simon Lord and Alex MacNaughton in the late '90s. Not content with their roles in the band and wishing to indulge their longtime interest in electronic dance music, the two latched onto DJ gigs while touring with the band. Eventually, the duo split from Simian and dubbed themselves Simian Mobile Disco. Looking to prevent their own electronic dance tracks from sounding too polished and programmed, SMD exclusively used analog equipment. The result was Attack Decay Sustain Release, which appeared in June 2007 through the Wichita label. Meanwhile, Ford also devoted some time to several production gigs, which saw him helming music for the likes of Mystery Jets, Klaxons, and the Arctic Monkeys. Simian Mobile Disco toured sporadically throughout 2007 and began working on a new album the following year. A remix album, Sample and Hold, was released in 2008 to placate their audience. The proper sophomore album, Temporary Pleasure, appeared in 2009, featuring vocal collaborations from the likes of Super Furry Animals' Gruff Rhys, the Gossip's Beth Ditto, and Jamie Lidell. The following year, SMD put together the first volume in a series of mix albums for the New York club night Fixed, and at the end of the year, issued a very club-centric studio album, Delicacies. Their third studio album, Unpatterns, followed in early 2012.

Wikipedia:

Simian Mobile Disco are an English electronic music duo and production team from London, formed in 2005 by James Ford and Jas Shaw of the band Simian. Musically, they are known for their analogue production. In addition to his work with Simian Mobile Disco, Ford is a producer and has worked with artists such as Florence and the Machine, Peaches, Arctic Monkeys and Klaxons.

History [edit]

Early history [edit]

Simian Mobile Disco originally formed as a DJ duo, on the side of their early four-piece band Simian. They released a number of early tastemaker singles, such as "The Mighty Atom / Boatrace / Upside Down" on I'm a Cliché and "The Count", on Kitsuné, but gained more fame for their remixes of artists such as Muse, Klaxons, The Go! Team, Air and others. In 2006, Kitsuné released the duo's underground hit "Hustler", which features guest vocals from New York singer Char Johnson.

2007: Attack Decay Sustain Release [edit]

The band's debut album, Attack Decay Sustain Release was released on 18 June 2007 on Wichita Recordings. Among the tracks included on it are "Sleep Deprivation", "Hustler", "Tits and Acid", "I Believe", "Hot Dog" and lead single "It's the Beat", which features Ninja from UK indie band The Go! Team on vocals. The album contains five new tracks, and the European version includes a bonus disc. The album was preceded by mix compilations in April for the "Bugged Out" series.

SMD supported Klaxons at the Brixton Academy on 5 December 2007, The Chemical Brothers at Aintree Pavilion on 9 December 2007 and Brighton Centre on 12 December 2007. SMD made a mix for Mixmag that came free with the January 2008 issue of Mixmag.

2008–09: Temporary Pleasure [edit]

While working on their second studio album, they released a collection of remixed SMD originals entitled Sample and Hold, which contains eleven tracks and was released in the UK on 28 July 2008.

In January 2009, they announced on their Myspace page that a new album would be released in 2009. They released a new track, "Synthesise", on 12 February, through a music video (directed by Kate Moross and Alex Sushon) that "features live visual accompaniment" for the track. Two days later, a new song was broadcast on BBC Radio 1 named "10,000 Horses Can't Be Wrong", soon followed by the release on 6 March of the official music video on their YouTube channel.

Their sophomore studio album Temporary Pleasure was finally announced on 6 May, featuring many guests including Gruff Rhys of Super Furry Animals, Alexis Taylor of Hot Chip, Beth Ditto of Gossip, and Chris Keating of Yeasayer.

On New Year's Eve 2009 Simian Mobile Disco headlined "Get Loaded in the Dark" at the Brixton Academy, alongside Annie Mac (BBC Radio 1), Chase & Status, Herve and Sub Focus.

2010–11: Delicatessen and Delicacies [edit]

During the introduction of their Essential Mix made for Radio 1, broadcast on 9 January 2010, they gave hints on what would be a "techno-based album" expected for later in 2010. Since then, the duo has also established what will be a quarterly residency to JDH and Dave P's Fixed nights, in NYC.

In March 2010 the duo announced their new club-night project, Delicatessen, curated by the duo and accompanied by what they say to be "a brand new imprint" titled Delicacies. The first single on Delicacies was set to be released in late May, both physically and then digitally. The first two tracks are entitled "Aspic" and "Nerve Salad". Simian Mobile Disco announced that every track will "take the name of an exotic, and often bizarre, delicacy from around the world".

Simian Mobile Disco played the Together Winter Music Festival at the Alexandra Palace in London on 26 November 2011.

2012–present: Unpatterns [edit]

In February 2012, Simian Mobile Disco announced the follow-up to Delicacies, Unpatterns, which was released on 14 May 2012. "Seraphim" was released as the album's lead single on 9 April. On 2 October 2012 they released their fourth EP A Form of Change, whose four tracks included on the release were taken from Unpatterns recording sessions.