Alt-J | |
|---|---|
 Alt-J performing at the 2018 Bonnaroo Music And Arts Festival | |
| Background information | |
| Also known as | ∆ |
| Origin | Leeds,West Yorkshire, England |
| Genres | |
| Years active | 2007–present |
| Labels |
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| Members |
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| Past members | Gwil Sainsbury |
| Website | altjband |
Alt-J (stylised asalt-J, real nameΔ)[5][6][7] are an Englishindie rock band formed in 2007 inLeeds. Their lineup includes Joe Newman (guitar/bass/lead vocals),Thom Sonny Green (drums), Gus Unger-Hamilton (keyboards/vocals), and formerly Gwil Sainsbury (guitar/bass).
Their debut albumAn Awesome Wave was released in May 2012 in Europe, and in September 2012 in the United States, and won the 2012 BritishMercury Prize.[8] Sainsbury left the band in early 2014. Their second album,This Is All Yours, was released on 22 September 2014 and went straight to number one in the United Kingdom.[9] In June 2017 the band released their third studio albumRelaxer, followed in February 2022 by their fourth studio albumThe Dream.[10]
Alt-J started with the name "Daljit Dhaliwal", after the BBC newsreader and television presenter, who the band grew up watching in the 90s.[11] The band then renamed itself to "FILMS",[12] but were later forced to change their name because an American band called "The Films" already existed.[13]
The band's "actual" name is thetriangle-shaped symbol ∆, thecapital Greek letter delta which is used in mathematics to mean "change".[5] OnMac computers, that symbol can be typed by pressing the keysAlt-J, hence the name Alt-J.[6]
Then-member Gwil Sainsbury explained this by relating the meaning of "change" to the renaming happening "at a turning point in their lives."[14]
The band often makes references to triangles[15][16] (for example, the song "Tesselate" mentions "triangles are my favourite shape",[17] and they make triangle symbols with their fingers during concerts[18]), which they say is just due to it being a visually appealing shape.[17]
The cover art of the band's debut albumAn Awesome Wave shows an overhead view of theGanges Delta, in reference to the Alt-J's "delta" name.
Alt-J (∆) were formed when Gwilym (Gwil) Sainsbury (guitar/bass), Joe Newman (guitar/lead vocals), Augustus (Gus) Unger-Hamilton[19] (keyboards/vocals) and Thomas Stuart (Thom Sonny) Green[19] (drums) met atUniversity of Leeds in 2007.[20] Unger-Hamilton (younger brother of Ferdy, head of A&R forPolydor Records) studiedEnglish, the other threeFine Art. According to Newman, "I basically went to art school to start a band."[21]
In their second year of studies, Newman showed Sainsbury some of his own songs and the pair began recording onGarageBand in their hall rooms with Sainsbury acting as producer.[22] The band's sound arose in part from living in student accommodation, where noise had to be kept to a minimum, as well as limited access to instruments. At the time, Green used a very limited drum kit, Unger-Hamilton a cheap keyboard, and Newman an acoustic guitar.[23][24]
After graduating, the band moved toCambridge where they spent several months working on their music before signing a deal withInfectious Music in December 2011.[22][25] Their self-titled 4-track demo EP,∆, was recorded with producerCharlie Andrew inLondon and featured the tracks "Breezeblocks", "Hand-Made", "Matilda", and "Tessellate".[26] A 7" single containing "Bloodflood" and "Tessellate" was released byLoud and Quiet in October 2011.[27] Their first 2012 release forInfectious Music was the triangle-shaped 10" "Matilda" / "Fitzpleasure".[28] It was followed by "Breezeblocks" which preceded their first album.[29]An Awesome Wave was also produced byCharlie Andrew and compiled at Iguana Studios,Brixton, where the band recorded tracks during the studio's spare time.[30]
Andrew said that the band's sound was heavily influenced by unusual instrument choices, including drummer Thom Green's decision not to use cymbals. Andrew toldSound on Sound, "The only slightly cymbal-like thing he uses is the back end of a saucepan, which he uses for the hi-hat". The album's drums were recorded first, followed by bass guitar and other instruments. Green's drumming was always recorded to aclick track because Andrew wanted it to have the precision of electronic drums.[24]
Their debut album was released on 28 May 2012 in the UK, Europe, and Australia, and on 18 September 2012 inNorth America via Canvasback Music.[31] The album received some favourable reviews and was described as a "captivating blend of insatiable grooves and profound poignancy".[32]
Alt-J supportedWild Beasts in April 2012 and played a minor headlining tour around theUnited Kingdom andIreland in October of that year.[33] The band have featured regularly on summer festivals, includingLatitude,Bestival,Reading and Leeds,T in the Park,Green Man,Pukkelpop, andLowlands.[32] They also did concert tour in the United States in December 2012 and performed at the Laneway Festival tour in Australia.[34][35] In November 2012 the band were announced as the winners of the Mercury Prize for their album.[36] Besides the prize-money, the band saw an increase in their profile resulting inAn Awesome Wave reaching number 13 on theUK Albums Chart.[9] The band would later describe the event as "life-changing, there was a sense of [being] imposters, that the band had somehow got this far without not being a real band, we're just guys from Leeds who muddled through it and magicked a Mercury award".[37]
The title "An Awesome Wave" was taken from the 1991Bret Easton Ellis novelAmerican Psycho.
On 11 January 2014, the band announced that Sainsbury had decided to leave the group, and that they remained friends.[38] In early June 2014, Alt-J announced a 2014 tour to take place in North America over October and November.[39] The 23-day tour started in Vancouver, B.C., on 14 October and ended in Washington, D.C., on 19 November.[40] On 9 June 2014, they announced their second albumThis Is All Yours, that was released on 22 September 2014. This Is All Yours went straight to number 1 on the UK's Official Albums Chart.[41] Alt-J headlined the September 2015 edition of Boston Calling Music Festival.[42][43] As a replacement for Sainsbury, Cameron Knight became a supporting member for Alt-J's live shows.
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On 3 March 2017 Alt-J began teasing their third studio album on their social media accounts with an audio clip captioned "00110011 01110111 01110111" (Binary code for "3ww").[44]Stereogum reported later that day that the band's third album would be titledRelaxer and was scheduled for release on 2 June 2017.[45] On 6 March 2017 Alt-J released "3WW", which features lead singerEllie Rowsell ofWolf Alice, as a digital single and announced dates for theRelaxer Tour in support of the album. Three weeks later, on 29 March, they released "In Cold Blood", the second single fromRelaxer.[46] In anticipation of their third album, the band released an online video game,[47] whose soundtrack was their single "3WW,"[48] as well as announcing in May 2017 that they would be playing a five-date UK tour at seaside venues, starting on 4 September 2017.[49][50]
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On 24 May 2017 Alt-J released "Adeline", the third single fromRelaxer.[51] The album was released shortly afterwards, on 2 June 2017. "Deadcrush", the fourth single from the album, was released on 12 July and was featured as a soundtrack in theFIFA 18 game.[52][53] Fifth single "Pleader" arrived on 15 September 2017. Several tracks fromRelaxer have since been remixed by a diverse array of artists.
Relaxer was nominated for the 2017Mercury Prize.[citation needed]
On 28 September 2018 an alternative version ofRelaxer was released. The album, titledReduxer, is a "rap heavy do-over" of the previous year's record.[54]
On 16 September 2021, the band announced their first single since 2018, titled "U&ME", would be released 22 September 2021.[55] The single's release coincided with the announcement of their fourth album,The Dream, which was released 11 February 2022.[56]
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Alt-J performed "Buffalo" along withMountain Man for the 2011 filmSilver Linings Playbook.[57]
In February 2013 the band announced they would be composing the soundtrack forToby Jones' new filmLeave to Remain.[58]
On 7 August 2008, "Fitzpleasure" was featured in the closing credits ofWeeds, episode 6, season 8.
Their song "Every Other Freckle" was featured on the Netflix showLovesick, in the season 1 episode "Cressida", in 2014.
In 2014, their song "Tessellate" was featured onSons of Anarchy, episode 5, season 6.
The song "Hunger of the Pine" is used to begin and end the first season ofUnreal released in 2015.
"Fitzpleasure" was featured in the background of the 2015 filmSisters and in the main trailer for the video gameBattleborn released in 2016.
In 2015, their song "Something Good" was featured in the second episode ofLife Is Strange.[59]
In 2016, their song "Left Hand Free" was featured in theMarvel Cinematic Universe filmCaptain America: Civil War.[60]
In 2018, their songs "Tessellate" and "In Cold Blood" are the opening and ending respectively of the animeIngress, based on the AR game created forNiantic:Ingress.
In 2019, their songs "Breezeblocks" and "In Cold Blood" were featured on the Netflix seriesDaybreak, episodes 5 and 10 respectively.
In 2020, their song "Left Hand Free" was featured in the Netflix seriesOuter Banks.
Also in 2020, "In Cold Blood" was in the Netflix film,Extraction.[61]
In 2022, their song "Breezeblocks" was featured in the pilot episode, "Lightning Strikes", ofHulu seriesTell Me Lies.[62]
In 2023, a portion of their song "Hunger of the Pine" was featured in the announcement trailer forHello Games's video gameLight No Fire.[63]
In December 2023, an instrumental version of their song "Adeline" was featured in the trailer for the Netflix filmSociety of the Snow.[64]
Alt-J has been noted for theirpost-modernlyrics in their songs that highlight historic events and pop-culture subjects.[65] The song "Taro" is written in reference toGerda Taro and her role as awar photographer during theSpanish Civil War as well as her relationship toRobert Capa. The song describes the details of Capa's death ("A violent wrench grips mass / Rips light, tears limbs like rags") and imagines Taro's complementary emotions. The visuals in a fan made music video by YouTube user David Dean Burkhart are taken from Godfrey Reggio's experimental filmPowaqqatsi.
"Matilda" is a reference toNatalie Portman's character in the filmLéon: The Professional.[66] "Fitzpleasure" is the retelling ofHubert Selby Jr.'s short story "Tralala", published inLast Exit to Brooklyn. The story follows aprostitute named Tralala who dies after beinggang-raped and raped with a broom, as in the lyrics "dead in the middle / of a c-o-double-m-o-n" and "in your snatch fits pleasure / broom shaped pleasure."
In 2012, Alt-J's debut album won the British Mercury Prize.[67] Alt-J were also nominated for three Brit Awards (British Breakthrough Act, BritishAlbum of the Year and British Group of the Year).[68]An Awesome Wave was announced asBBC Radio 6 MusicAlbum of the Year 2012. Three of the tracks from this album gained entry into the Australian 2012Triple J Hottest 100, with "Something Good" at number 81, "Tessellate" at number 64, and "Breezeblocks" coming third overall.[69] In 2013,An Awesome Wave won Album of the year at theIvor Novello Awards.This Is All Yours received aGrammy Award nomination forBest Alternative Music Album at the57th Annual Grammy Awards, and forIMPALA'sEuropean Independent Album of the Year Award.[70]
Current
| Touring
Past
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Studio albums
The band's name is actually the mathematical symbol delta, which resembles a triangle.
The symbol has a deeper meaning for the band, as guitarist/bassist Gwil Sainsbury notes, "in mathematical equations it's used to show change," and the band's relatively new name came at a turning point in their lives.
Really, the triangle is just visually quite nice. We referenced it in the song "Tesselate" as a favorite shape, but it really doesn't mean a lot to us. It just looks really cool. That's why we use it.
at they end, they make their little triangle symbol with their fingers
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