The Middle East | |
|---|---|
| Origin | Townsville, Queensland, Australia |
| Genres | |
| Years active |
|
| Labels | Spunk! Records |
| Past members |
|
The Middle East were an Australianindie folk band that formed inTownsville,Queensland in 2005. The group garnered attention initially by playing small shows in their home town and quickly grew to national and international fame due to their rising popularity on music blogs and websites. In early 2008, the band released their home recorded first album calledThe Recordings of The Middle East. The band split up before reconvening in 2009 and signing to Australian indie label Spunk Records who re-issuedThe Recordings Of The Middle East.
The Middle East's first studio album,I Want That You Are Always Happy was released in Australia and New Zealand on 8 April 2011. The band then played what was intended to be its last show on 31 July 2011, at theSplendour in the Grass festival in Woodford, Queensland.[1] The group have, however, reunited twice since then: once in 2019, and again in 2023.
The band was formed by vocalist and guitarist Rohin Jones circa 2005, intended initially as a way to spend the summer of 2005-2006 making music with friends. The band's name was initially of no significance and was coined for a show poster of the then temporary project. The name was then kept and grew to significance as a reference to their geographical location on the east coast of their native state of Queensland. The lack of stylistically similar bands in Townsville meant the group frequently opened for local punk and hardcore bands at house shows, skating rinks, and DIY underage concerts, including opening for hardcore bandParkway Drive atJames Cook University.[2][3] The band separated in 2008 after guitarist Jordan Ireland relocated to Europe, and reconvened in 2009 after his return to supportBill Callahan at Melbourne's Thornbury Theatre.
By early 2009, global interest surrounding the band started to escalate through word of mouth and theblogosphere, with indie blogI Guess I'm Floating introducing the band stateside in May 2009.[4] Thereafter, The Middle East had over one hundred blog entries from around the world writing about the band.[5][6] The most popular song on the EP, "Blood", written in 2006 by Jordan Ireland about three generations of his family, came to be the band'ssignature song. It went on to be featured in the filmsIt's Kind of a Funny Story (2010),Crazy, Stupid, Love (2011),Accidents Happen (2009),Jeff, Who Lives at Home (2011) andA Perfect Pairing (2022). With the release ofThe Recordings of the Middle East,Pitchfork offered a free download of the song "The Darkest Side" as a part of its weekly "Forkcast".[7]
After signing with Australian Indie label Spunk! Records in early 2009, the band toured Australia extensively with fellow Spunk artistEmma Russack whilst continuing to write new music and undergoing several line-up changes.
2009 also saw The Middle East receive national airplay onTriple J and win the Australian radio station's Unearthed Artist of the Year Award.[8] The band also went on to play several major Australian festivals such asSplendour in the Grass,[9]Big Day Out,[10] Big Sound,[11]Homebake, Laneway, Meredith, Falls Festival and theWoodford Folk Festival.[12][13][14] and received interest in the United States, whereThe Recordings of The Middle East was released.
Throughout 2010 the band toured extensively in the USA and Europe withBeach House, andLaura Marling as well as opening forPavement. They also played slots on several major festivals such asCoachella,Fuji Rock,Bonnaroo,Sasquatch Music Festival, andEurockéennes.
The band self-recorded the majority of their albumI Want That You Are Always Happy in various houses and studios across the USA during downtime between shows with the majority being recorded inDenton, Texas. After returning home in 2010 the band also toured locally in Australia withCat Power, and British groupDoves.
Band members announced atSplendour in the Grass festival in August 2011 that their set that night would be their "last show ever." They released a statement to fans, explaining why the band had broken up by saying: "we don't feel like playing together any more for a whole lot of reasons that I won't list here and I'm afraid if we continue any longer it would just be a money grab."[15] FasterLouder reported that the band thanked all in attendance, saying "it makes it special for us."[16]Triple J presenterDom Alessio reacted to the news onTwitter, adding that it was "an amazing band cutting it short before their time."[1]
In March 2019, it was confirmed that the band would return for two nights only to perform at theSydney Opera House as a part of Vivid Live to celebrate the 20th anniversary of Spunk Records. The band were joined byJack Ladder,Holly Throsby,Machine Translations,The Ocean Party (playing their final show) and Emma Russack.[17]
In August 2023, it was announced that the band would be opening for some of the dates onZach Bryan's 2024 U.S. tour. These marked the first shows that the band had performed outside of Australia in 14 years.[18] The band also again performed two shows at the Sydney Opera House in May 2024 for the final Spunk Records shows, alongsideExplosions in the Sky andAldous Harding.[19]
The Middle East has been described as playing within "a multitude of genres and styles".[20] Elements ofcountry,blues,punk,rock,folk,[20]chamber pop,psych folk,[21]post-rock andambience can be found throughout its music.Allmusic describes the band's sound as "lush, orchestralindie pop that blends the epic atmospherics ofmodern rock outfits likeMúm andSigur Rós with the earthy simplicity of modernindie folk".[22] Instruments used includeguitar—bothelectric andacoustic,drums,hand percussion,piano,glockenspiel,banjo andtrumpet. Another distinguishing feature of the band's music is the use ofvocal harmony—in particularclose harmony performed at times by several members.Pitchfork described some The Middle East songs as being " simple, finger-pluckedacoustic affair with alternating and harmonizing vocals that lend the hushed track a sense of beleaguered hope".[7]
The band, however, has always been critical of itself and its style, believing as an entity it had yet to do anything unique and was too easy topigeonhole.[20]
| Title | Details | Peak chart positions |
|---|---|---|
| AUS [23] | ||
| I Want That You Are Always Happy |
| 11 |
| Title | Details |
|---|---|
| Songs of The Middle East |
|
| Title | Details |
|---|---|
| The Recordings of the Middle East |
|
| Title | Year | Album |
|---|---|---|
| "The Darkest Side" | 2009 | The Recordings of the Middle East |
| "Jesus Came to My Birthday Party" | 2010 | I Want That You Are Always Happy |
| "Hunger Song" | 2011 |
TheAPRA Awards are presented annually from 1982 by theAustralasian Performing Right Association (APRA), "honouring composers and songwriters". They commenced in 1982.[24]
| Year | Nominee / work | Award | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | "Blood" (Jordan Ireland, Rohin Jones) | Song of the Year | Shortlisted | [25] |
TheARIA Music Awards is an annual awards ceremony that recognises excellence, innovation, and achievement across all genres ofAustralian music.[26]
| Year | Nominee / work | Award | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | I Want That You Are Always Happy | Breakthrough Artist - Album | Nominated |
TheAustralian Music Prize (the AMP) is an annual award of $30,000 given to an Australian band or solo artist in recognition of the merit of an album released during the year of award. It commenced in 2005.
| Year | Nominee / work | Award | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2011[27] | I Want That You Are Always Happy | Australian Music Prize | Won |
TheJ Awards are an annual series of Australian music awards that were established by theAustralian Broadcasting Corporation's youth-focused radio stationTriple J. They commenced in 2005.
| Year | Nominee / work | Award | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | themselves | Unearthed Artist of the Year | Won |
| 2011 | I Want That You Are Always Happy | Australian Album of the Year | Nominated |
TheQueensland Music Awards (previously known as Q Song Awards) are annual awards celebratingQueensland, Australia's brightest emerging artists and established legends. They commenced in 2006.[28]
| Year | Nominee / work | Award | Result(wins only) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2011[29][30] | I Want That You Are Always Happy | Album of the Year | Won |
"This is our last show." The Middle East call it quits at Splendour in the Grass. An amazing band cutting it short before their time.
Echoes of country, blues, folk, rock and punk reverberate throughout the record, and the touchstones the pair mention – Silver Jews, Bob Dylan, Tom Waits – offer an insight into the musical diversity that makes their album so spectacular and challenging. Yet Jones and Ireland still feel the occasional pang of creative limitation too, just like the rest of us.
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Artists | |
