Hooverphonic | |
|---|---|
 Hooverphonic in 2019 | |
| Background information | |
| Also known as | Hoover |
| Origin | Sint-Niklaas, Belgium |
| Genres | |
| Years active | 1995–present |
| Labels | PIAS Epic Records |
| Members | Alex Callier Raymond Geerts Geike Arnaert |
| Past members |
|
| Website | hooverphonic |
Hooverphonic is a Belgianelectronic band that was formed in October 1995. Though originally categorized as atrip hop group, they quickly expanded their sound to the point where it could no longer be described as a belonging to a single genre, but rather as encompassingalternative,electronica,electropop,rock, and a mixture of others. The band was originally namedHoover, but was later renamed Hooverphonic to avoid confusion with bands already using the Hoover name, and a possible legal copyright problem with thevacuum cleaner company.
Since their formation, Hooverphonic's lineup consisted of bassistAlex Callier, guitarist Raymond Geerts, and various lead singers. Prominent ones includedLiesje Sadonius (1996–1997),Geike Arnaert (1997–2008, 2020–present),Noémie Wolfs (2010–2015), and Luka Cruysberghs (2018–2020).
The band were set to representBelgium at theEurovision Song Contest 2020 inRotterdam with their song "Release Me".[1] However, on March 18, 2020, the event was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. They instead represented Belgium in theEurovision Song Contest 2021 with the song "The Wrong Place".
The original members of the group were vocalist Esther Lybeert, keyboardist Frank Duchêne, bassistAlex Callier, and guitarist Raymond Geerts. Lybeert recorded several demos with the group; however, she backed out of the band on the day they were to sign their contract with Sony Music.[2] The band then brought inLiesje Sadonius to record the album. Sadonius left Hooverphonic on amicable terms shortly after the release ofA New Stereophonic Sound Spectacular. Kyoko Baertsoen, singer for fellow Belgian trip hop bandLunascape, filled in for Sadonius for three months of a European tour in 1997 beforeGeike Arnaert was made the permanent singer later that year.[2]
The band achieved international recognition through the inclusion of theStereophonic track "2Wicky" on the soundtrack toBernardo Bertolucci's 1996 filmStealing Beauty. "2Wicky" also appeared on the soundtracks ofI Know What You Did Last Summer andHeights. The track's main riff issampled fromIsaac Hayes' recording of the 1960s hit "Walk On By".
Additional session musicians forStereophonic include Eric Bosteels, a session drummer with Hooverphonic from 1997 to 1998 (replaced by Mario Goossens until 2005) and David Poltrock, a keyboard player with the group on and off from 1998 until 2005. In 1998, Hooverphonic also contributed to theDepeche Mode tribute albumFor the Masses with their cover of "Shake the Disease".
After an extensive European tour with artists such asMassive Attack,Morcheeba, andApollo 440, and a tour opening forFiona Apple in the United States in 1997, the band releasedBlue Wonder Power Milk in 1998 with 18-year-old Arnaert on vocals. A marked departure from their debut, the album is driven less by breakbeats and samples, and more by organic string elements and traditional song structures.
The single "Club Montepulciano" was a hit in native Belgium and a minor college hit in the U.S., while "Renaissance Affair" was featured in the North American commercial campaign for thenew Volkswagen Vapor Beetle.[citation needed] "This Strange Effect" and "Eden" were both featured in American cell phone commercials: "This Strange Effect" for theMotorola SLVR, and in 2006, "Eden" for theCingular 8525. "Eden" was also used in the 1998 slasher filmI Still Know What You Did Last Summer. At the time of their release, both songs were also featured in two separate third-season episodes ofLa Femme Nikita. Shortly afterwards,Sarah Brightman recorded a cover of "Eden" on her 1998 albumEden.Yoko Kanno samples the opening track "Battersea" in "Cyberbird", on theGhost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex O.S.T. 2.
At this point, Frank Duchêne decided to quit the band: "Having made two successful albums for Sony Music with his band Hooverphonic, and after extensive touring as support for Fiona Apple,Moloko & Massive Attack, he was unhappy with the project and near the end of 1998, decided to leave"[3]
The band followed upBlue Wonder Power Milk with 2000'sThe Magnificent Tree, which expands on the sound ofMilk with a warmer, more approachable sound. Highlights from the album are the string-laden "Out of Sight", "Mad About You", and the title track.
The same year, Hooverphonic was asked to write a song specifically for the opening ceremony of the2000 European Football Championship, which took place inBrussels, Belgium. The result — a 12-minute-long track called "Visions," Hooverphonic's performance at the opening ceremony was heard/seen by more than 1 billion people.
On the heels ofTree's success, the band became the first Belgian outfit to headline the BelgianRock Werchter musical festival in 2001.
2002 saw the group shifting gears again, this time releasing theconcept albumHooverphonic Presents Jackie Cane. The album tells the story of the fictional title character, a celebrity and singer catapulted into stardom at the expense of her relationship with her twin sister. Driven to the brink of insanity by the pressures of fame, Jackie quits show business and returns home to attempt reconciliation, where her sister kills them both with a poisoned last supper.
Jackie Cane retains the dreamy elements of Hooverphonic's previous works, most notably on songs "Nirvana Blue" and "Human Interest" (which contains references to "Echoes" byPink Floyd), but tracks like "The World Is Mine" (the first single) and "Day After Day" have a clearBroadway influence and quality to them.[citation needed] The album went platinum in Belgium and won the groupZAMU’s Best Pop/Rock Band and Best Album awards in 2002.
In 2003, the band released an album performed live in a studio with an orchestra entitledSit Down and Listen to Hooverphonic, featuring a selection of songs from the band’s body of work, as well as the new songs "Antarctica" and "The Last Thing I Need Is You", and a cover ofLee Hazlewood's "My Autumn’s Done Come". The band launched into an extended European tour in September 2003, performing in over 100 concert halls.
The band's fifth studio album, a double CD entitledNo More Sweet Music/More Sweet Music, was released in December 2005. Both CDs include the same 11 tracks, however, they are all different versions.
In 2006 the band left Sony/BMG, complaining of lack of label support forNo More Sweet Music. Agreatest hits album (Singles '96–'06) was released to end the relation with Sony/BMG. The band went on to work without a label.
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In an interview for the Spanish TV programNosolomusica, Alex Callier gave some hints of a new, more psychedelic orientation for the band's forthcoming music. During a show in Moscow (October 2007), the band revealed the first single of the new album, "Expedition Impossible".[4]
The President of the LSD Golf Club was released in October 2007 in Belgium and the Netherlands. The album was released in Europe in March 2008. Following the release, the lead singer of the band, Geike Arnaert, announced on 10 October 2008 she would be leaving the band to pursue a solo career.[5] Arnaert had been working on solo material for a few months.[5] The last concert Hooverphonic did with Geike was on 13 December 2008 in Tele-Club,Ekaterinburg,Russia. It was filmed by the local MTV station and was shown on Russian TV in 2009.
On 4 November 2010, the new lead singerNoémie Wolfs was announced onDe Laatste Show at theVRT, the Flemish public broadcasting organization.
On 29 October 2010, Hooverphonic announced a new single on their website. The videoclip showcased fourteen possible singers but only one of them,Noémie Wolfs,[6] proved to be the real successor to Geike Arnaert. The single "The Night Before" introduced the new singer and was followed on November 26 by the release of the full-length albumThe Night Before. The album went platinum in Belgium soon after its release.[7]
On 9 November 2011 they announced the re-release of their first album,A New Stereophonic Sound Spectacular.[8]
Three more albums were released in the following years featuring Wolfs as main vocalist: the orchestral albumWith Orchestra and the live albumWith Orchestra Live in 2012, and the studio albumReflection in 2013.With Orchestra Live features orchestral renditions of songs spanning the Hooverphonic entire career performed live at theKoningin Elisabethzaal inAntwerp. The performance was also released on DVD.[9] In 2016, all the songs from the concert were uploaded on the band's official YouTube channel in high definition. With more than 100 million views, the "Mad About You" performance is the most watched video of Hooverphonic.[10]
On 26 March 2015, Hooverphonic announced that Wolfs would be leaving the band "in mutual agreement". The band's ninth studio album,In Wonderland (2016), featured vocals from Janie Price, Emilie Satt, Litlo Tinz, Christa Jérôme, Tjeerd Bomhof andFelix Howard. Anton Marin, of the design agency Power & Glory, who had been the band's official house illustrator and designer since their debut, released a special comic strip based on the lyrics of Hooverphonic's hit singleBadaboum.[11]
In April 2018, Hooverphonic introduced their new singer Luka Cruysberghs. Cruysberghs provided vocals for the band's tenth studio albumLooking For Stars, anticipated by the single "Romantic".
Hooverphonic were supposed to representBelgium at theEurovision Song Contest 2020 inRotterdam with their song "Release Me".[1] The event was cancelled because of theCOVID-19 pandemic. Hooverphonic was the only Eurovision entrant for 2020 who refused to take part in the "Love Shine a Light" performance,[12] where entrants each contributed sections of the song, although a photograph of Cruysberghs was included with the other participants making a hand heart at the end.
On 9 November 2020, Cruysberghs was fired from the band to make way for the return of Geike Arnaert.[13][14] Also on the same day, they released a new version of "Mad About You" for the song's 20th anniversary.
They participated at theEurovision Song Contest 2021 with the song "The Wrong Place".[15] They finished the contest in 19th place with 74 points.
In May 2021, the band released their eleventh studio album overall and sixth to feature Arnaert as vocalist,Hidden Stories. The album featured the singlesThe Wrong Place,Thinking About You,Lift Me Up andBelgium In The Rain. LikeThe Wrong Place, the album went to #1 in the charts.
On March 21, 2024 Hooverphonic released the albumFake Is The New Dope, preceded by the singlesDon't Think (2023),Por Favor (2023),Then I Found You (2023), the title track (2024) andThe Best Day Of Our Life (2024). Belgian newspaper De Standaard headlined: Hooverphonic surprises with introspective new album.[16] It went to #4 in the album charts. The album was listed on entertainment websiteCulture Fix as one of their best albums of 2024, highlighting the album "skilfully blends enigmatic pop hooks with trippier experimental sound."[17]
Current members
| Former members
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Hooverphonic's music has also appeared in a number of commercials and other TV series:
In fact the demos were done by Esther. She also did all the showcases and on the day we had to sign our record contract at Sony Music she said: "I don't think I can do this..."
| Preceded by | Belgium in the Eurovision Song Contest 2020(cancelled) | Succeeded by Themselves with "The Wrong Place" |
| Preceded by Themselves with "Release Me" | Belgium in the Eurovision Song Contest 2021 | Succeeded by |
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