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Turin Brakes
Turin Brakes in concert, 2024
Background information
Origin	Balham, London, England
Genres	Folk rock,Indie rock
Years active	1999–present
Labels	Source Cooking Vinyl
Members	Olly Knights Gale Paridjanian Rob Allum Eddie Myer
Past members	Phil Marten
Website	Official site

Turin Brakes are an English band, comprising original duo of Olly Knights and Gale Paridjanian, and long-term collaborators Rob Allum and Eddie Myer. They had a UK top 5 hit in 2003 with their song "Painkiller (Summer Rain)". Since starting out in 1999, the band have sold around one million records worldwide.^[1] They are currently signed toCooking Vinyl.

The band was started by long-time friends Knights and Paridjanian. The two met at a young age and spent much of their childhood together, both receiving guitars as Christmas presents at the age of 10.^[2] Although they split after Knights went to film school and Paridjanian formed 100 Moments, a London based experimental rock band with Canadian born guitarist and songwriter Michael Brennan. Later moving to Canada and attempting to form a band inToronto, Ontario, Canada, they soon reunited and collaborated on what would later become their firstEP,The Door, which was eventually released through Anvil Records in 1999 as a limited vinyl release. This led to the band attracting the attention of larger record labels. Source Records would eventually release two more EPs,The State of Things EP andFight or Flight, promptingNME to proclaim "Turin Brakes inhabit a space which is entirely their own, fully formed and brutally emotive... give them the devotion they deserve."^[3]

Source reissued the song "The Door" before releasing their first album,The Optimist LP, in 2001. The album, which was released in the United States byAstralwerks, was greeted with critical praise, spawned several modestly successful UK singles, "Underdog (Save Me)" (reaching no. 39 in theUK Singles Charts^[4] ),Mind Over Money (reaching no. 31^[5] ) and "Emergency 72", and received a nomination for theMercury Music Prize. In August 2001, the album was certified Gold by theBritish Phonographic Industry. A planned tour of the United States opening for theStereophonics andMatthew Jay, was cancelled due to theSeptember 11 terrorist attacks. Still, the band played at over 80 venues in Europe and the United States^[6] that year.

Early 2002, the band started work on their second album. After demo sessions in Rye, United Kingdom, the band flew to Los Angeles, California to record with producerTony Hoffer in the Summer of 2002. In October 2002, this resulted in singleLong Distance (reaching no. 31^[7] ) and an arena tour supportingDavid Gray.

In February 2002, the band embarked on their biggest headline tour to date, covering 24 UK venues in a month, including two sold-out shows atBrixton Academy, a venue they frequently visited when growing up.^[8] On 1 March 2003, their single "Pain Killer" became their biggest hit to date, reaching the top 5 of the singles chart.^[9]

Turin Brakes' second album,Ether Song, was released on 3 March 2003. The album was a departure from the acoustic sound that had brought them success with their first album. The album was popular enough to reach number 4 in theUK Albums Chart upon its release^[10] and to be certified Gold by the British Phonographic Industry four days after the release, on 7 March 2003.

After the successful release, the record company sought to replicate the commercial success by releasing a third single from the album,Average Man. However, UK radio stations didn't embrace the single as they had with previous releases and the chart performance (no. 35^[11]) was seen as disappointment by fans and the record label.

The album's commercial performance created some tension between the band and their label. In fact, between tours in the United States (their own headline tour and supporting David Gray) in the Summer of 2003, the band recorded a new single for a re-release ofEther Song with Tony Hoffer. The first re-release ofEther Song, featuring an orange version of the cover and single5 Mile was released on 6 October 2003.5 Mile charted higher thanAverage Man (no. 31^[12]) but was largely overlooked by UK radio stations. Overall, the album was re-released four times during its lifespan,^[13] and received various bonus discs between regions and versions. The band was on record as being unhappy with the way the record company was treating them and the fans regarding the release.

Following the success and stress ofEther Song, the band took a short break, but not before touring Australia and New Zealand and releasing aDJ mix album forAzuli Records'Late Night Tales series in February 2004. Themix album (2004) was a collection of some of their favourite songs and main influences, and also containedThe Rolling Stones song "Moonlight Mile" as a cover. The band have done some DJ sets in the London area over the years.

The band spent the first half of 2004 writing and recording new material in their own studio, which they built inBrixton, London. That summer, they played a successful set atSomerset House, playing a selection of old and new material, including future singlesFishing For A Dream andOver And Over. Later that year, they found themselves part of theBand Aid 20 cast for the revamped Noughties take onDo They Know It’s Christmas, alongsidePaul McCartney,Radiohead andRobbie Williams, giving them to date their only chart topper in the process.

Their third album,Jackinabox, was released to critical acclaim in early June 2005. Preceded by the single "Fishing for a Dream," which did not do as well as the band hoped (charting at 32).^[10] Despite the lack of airplay or a hit singleJackInABox still sold quite well, entering the Top 10 of the UK Albums Chart in its first week and certified Silver by the BPI on 10 June 2005. The album was supported by the group's first full-band tour of the United States, as well as the single "Over and Over," which was serviced to U.S. radio.

Following the success ofJackinabox and its subsequent tour, a download-only album,Live at the Palladium, recorded in London was released in November 2005. Released one day after the concert took place in London, it was available on the band's website. Later it also got a release oniTunes and did well in the download charts. In the October / November 2005 tour, the band also sold theRed Moon EP. This acoustic EP featured a new (acoustic) version of "Red Moon", two new songs (live favouriteJet Trail andLove Is All You Deserve) and theRed Hot Chili Peppers cover "Breaking The Girl" (recorded atKCRW).

The band spent the first half of 2006 writing new songs, occasionally performing both new and old work at small gigs across the UK. The band did an intimate tour in November 2006 to try out new material. In January 2007 the band entered a recording studio in London to record their fourth album with producerEthan Johns. After three weeks the band took a break (on 29 January Paridjanian's wife gave birth to a daughter), but the sessions were resumed several weeks later in a bigger studio (also in London). On the last day of March 2007 the band announced that they had finished the recording sessions, and recorded 17 songs.

The new album,Dark on Fire, was released in the UK in September 2007, preceded by a download-only single. "Stalker". On 14 January 2008 another download-only single was released: "Something In My Eye". Theb-side was acover version ofCat Stevens' "Here Comes My Baby". Both singles failed to make an impact on the singles charts, butDark on Fire did chart at no. 36 in the top 40.^[14]

In spring 2008, the band were special guests on theHotel Cafe Tour hosted byTom McRae. Also, the band did an acoustic tour in Germany. During that summer, the band played various summer festivals. As of November 2008, the band are back in the studio recording new material.^[15] Also, the band have been working with and writing forTake That, resulting in the bonus-track "Here" on 2008'sThe Circus. They also worked with Pete Lawrie, Andy Steele,Dido andLisa Mitchell.^[16]

In March 2009, the band announced they would make their live return later in the year with two acoustic shows atFolk in the Barn inCanterbury in May. In June 2009, it was announced that the band would be releasing a 'Best Of' album, to mark the tenth anniversary of their debut single "The Door", along with a festival slot atLatitude in late-July and a headline performance at LondonTheatre Royal, Drury Lane the following September.^[17] This album,Bottled at Source – The Best of the Source Years, was also their last album for the Source record label.

During the performance at Theatre Royal on 13 September, the band played brand-new songs off the untitled forthcoming album, which they hinted would come out in February 2010.

Their fifth album,Outbursts, was eventually released on 1 March 2010 on their new label,Cooking Vinyl. Its release was followed by a European tour^[18] and a US and Canada tour. The download single released from this album was Sea Change. Throughout the summer of 2010 the band played several festivals in the United Kingdom and Italy, includingGlastonbury 2010 and Summer Sundae.

In November 2011, the band toured the United Kingdom to celebrate the tenth anniversary of their debut albumThe Optimist LP. The band played the complete debut album in the correct order, apart from hidden trackThree Days Old and a second set of more recent work, including new songRescue Squad and their re-working ofMary Poppins songChim Chim Cher-ee, which they released as a digital single to raise money for homeless charities. A live recording of their show atKoko in London on 11 November 2011 was released as a live album.

Throughout 2012, the band wrote new material and played intimate venues in the United Kingdom. In October 2012, Olly Knights released a solo albumIf Not Now When on Turin Brakes' own record label, The Complete ATOMIC.^[19] In November 2012, the band returned to their studio to record material for their sixth studio album.

The band premiered a new song, calledSleeper, in Naples, Italy. Recording of their sixth album,We Were Here, started on Monday 11 March 2013 atRockfield Studios with producer Ali Staton and was released 30 September 2013 on the Cooking Vinyl label. The album was trailed by lead single 'Time and Money' and followed by second single 'Guess You Heard' in April 2014. The album reached number 46 in the UK album charts.^[20] After the release of the album, the band played their biggest UK tour in over a decade.^{[citation needed]}

In 2014, the band played theSouth by Southwest festival in Austin, Texas and toured the United Kingdom, Italy, Ireland and the Netherlands. In 2015, the band started work on their seventh studio album.

On 2 November 2015 the band announced its seventh albumLost Property, recorded atRockfield Studios with producer Ali Staton, would be released on 29 January 2016 and released the video for the track '96'.^[21] A song from the album, "Save You", appeared in the closing moments of the second episode, "First Day", of the ABC dramaDesignated Survivor on 28 September 2016.

On 26 January 2018 the band released their eighth albumInvisible Storm, recorded atRockfield Studios with producer Ali Staton, well received by the fans and critics,^[22] the album featured a more commercial sound than some of their previous work. Singles released included, "Wait", "Life Forms" and "Lost In The Woods".

Turin Brakes have often been compared to many of the new acoustic movement bands spawned in the late 1990s such asElbow,Starsailor, and the Norwegian bandKings of Convenience, whose 2001 album entitledQuiet Is the New Loud is a helpful indicator of the band's first album.^{[citation needed]} With each record, Turin Brakes try to change their sound. While the first album features a lot of acoustic guitar,Ether Song featured more electric guitar and was, in total, a lot darker. The third album,Jackinabox, can be seen as a combination of the first two albums, with some funk influences.^{[citation needed]}. WhileDark on Fire featured a bigger sound produced byEthan Johns, 2010'sOutbursts can be seen as a return to the sound ofThe Optimist LP. Turin Brakes formerly performed live as a five-piece outfit to achieve a full band sound, and were joined on stage (and often also in the studio) by Rob Allum (drums), Phil Marten (keyboards) and Eddie Myer (bass). Following Marten's departure, they now perform as a four-piece band, with Gale's guitar playing being more prominent and more richly contributing to the live sound.

On 6 September 2012, all four Turin Brakes members played at a "Spirit of Talk Talk" evening at229 Great Portland Street where they joined some former members ofTalk Talk to play a few hits includingIt's My Life, with the band then playing a set of their own afterwards. Before playing the song "Painkiller" Gale announced to the audience that although it wouldn't be obvious to most people the song was heavily influenced by Talk Talk and by the work they did with producerPhill Brown in the Kent countryside some years ago.

• Live at the Palladium (Source/Astralwerks, 2005)
• The Optimist Live (2011)

• Bottled at Source – The Best of the Source Years (Source/Astralwerks, 2009)

• Late Night Tales: Turin Brakes (Source/Azuli Records, 2004)

• The Door EP (Anvil, 1999) – 7"/CD
• The State of Things EP (Source, 2000) – 7"/CD
• Fight or Flight (Source, 2000) – 7"/CD
• NapsterLive (Napster, 2005) – Digital download
• The Red Moon EP (Source, 2005) – 7"/CD
• Something Out of Nothing EP (Source, 2007) – CD
• Everybody Knows Everyday's A Black Wicked Game (The Complete Atomic, 2010) – covers EP
• Xerox (The Complete Atomic, 2011) – covers EP with one original track
• We Were Here (Cooking Vinyl, 2013) – Spotify four-song release

Turin Brakes tracks have appeared on the following compilation CDs:

• Official website

• Astralwerks artists
• English rock music groups
• Indie rock groups from London
• Cooking Vinyl artists
• Rock music groups from the London Borough of Wandsworth

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