Sparkadia

Wikipedia:

Sparkadia is the project of alternative pop musician Alexander Burnett. Originally a band, Sparkadia formed in Sydney, Australia, in 2004. It became Burnett's solo project in 2009.

History

The band formed in Sydney in 2004 and were originally known as The Spark. The brainchild of Alexander Burnett (vocals, guitar) and Dave Hall (drums), Sparkadia became a reality with the addition of Nick Rabone (bass) and Josephine Ayling (keyboards, guitar, vocals) in 2006.

They first came into prominence in Australia with their debut EP titled Things Behind the Sun. The EP was released in Australia on 20 February 2007; with the lead single "Morning Light" being the #1 most downloaded track off Australian national broadcasters Triple J's website with 32,000 downloads in two months. This was followed by extensive Australian touring and led to signing with UK label Ark Recordings.

With a line-up change in 2008 with Tiffany Preece replacing Josephine Ayling, Sparkadia released their debut studio album Postcards on 31 May 2008. The album was recorded with producer Ben Hillier (Blur, Depeche Mode, Doves, Elbow etc.) at Miloco Studios, London. The album peaked at #23 on the ARIA albums chart.

The debut single off the album Animals was The Guardian's single of the week and received rotation on BBC Radio One. This was followed by the release of the singles "Too Much to Do", "Jealousy" and "Morning Light".

Subsequent single "Too Much to Do" was B listed by Radio 2, played by everyone from Colin Murray to Terry Wogan, and earned accolades from Mojo, Q4 Music and The Guardian. All four singles received airplay on Australian radio station Triple J. In January 2009 Sparkadia's hit Jealousy was number 79 in the Triple J Hottest 100 of 2008.

The singles "Talking Like I'm Falling Down Stairs" (10 September 2010) and "China" (27 January 2011) were released in Australia and "Mary" (14 February 2011) was released in the UK ahead of the album The Great Impression (18 March 2011).

Touring

The band has toured across Australia, UK and Europe several times over the past few years with large fan bases in Britain and Germany outside of the native Australia. Over the years the band has performed with many diverse artists such as:

In 2007 Sparkadia supported Elbow on their tour of Australia following the release of their EP Things Behind the Sun. This was followed by a tour of the UK which included supporting Irish band The Thrills, whom they were to support again the following year in Australia.

In 2008 after returning to Australia for Pyramid Rock Festival over NYE, Sparkadia travelled back overseas to tour with Jimmy Eat World. This was followed by shows with Vampire Weekend, as well as their own headline shows across the UK and Europe. Festivals appearances at that time include Glastonbury, T in the Park, V Festival and Oxegen Festival.

Returning to Australia, Sparkadia supported Faker on their Are You Magnetic? tour across Australia, before heading out on their own headline tour.

In 2009 Sparkadia toured Australia as part of the Big Day Out, before embarking on a string of sold out shows across Australia before amicably parting ways as a four piece.

After travelling around the US and Europe, Alexander Burnett finished working on the second album in London with Mark Tieku (Florence and the Machine); playing multiple instruments on the recording. The came out in out early 2011, with the first single off the album "Talking Like I'm Falling Down Stairs" released in September 2010, coinciding with the Little Red Midnight Remember tour which Sparkadia opened for.

Current members

Alexander Burnett - Lead vocals, guitar, keyboards

Touring band

Edwin "Eddie" Montgomery – Keyboards, backing vocals Henry Eastham – Lead guitar, backing vocals Dave Hall – Drums Bluey May – Bass, chimes, backing vocals

Departed members

In 2008, Josephine Ayling moved overseas and was replaced with Tiffany Preece. Josephine is now based in Madrid and performs in the 3-piece band Boat Beam.

Following the national 2009 Big Day Out tour, it was announced that Tiffany Preece was leaving the band to have a baby. Later that year after the band's 'Auf Wiedersehen' in April 2009, founding member David Hall left the band to pursue other interests. Rabone also left the band that year to concentrate on his work with the Brutal Poodles, but still plays live for some Australian shows.

Festival performances