Ist (band)

ist are a musical group based in Leicester, UK. Their name is meant to denote a lack of prejudice. [http://www.the-mag.me.uk/?ArticleId=605] They are currently signed to Leicester label Pink Box Records. They are broadly speaking, a pop/rock group, but with a penchant for genre-jumping that has seen ska, jazz, blues and classical influences find their way on to their albums.

History

ist was formed in March 2001, the original line-up consisting of Kenton Hall, Jack Bomb, Detroit Robbins and Mark "Flash" Haynes. According to Hall they formed, "from a desire to find musicians who were, like me, sick of the bland, meaningless music being thrust down our throats". [http://kentonist.journalspace.com]

The original line-up toured extensively throughout the UK following the releases of "The Adult Tree EP" in 2001 and the album "Freudian Corduroy" in 2003.

The year 2004 saw setbacks for ist. Lead guitarist and contributing lyricist Jack Bomb left the band to form Vitriol I.D. in August, and in October bassist Detroit Robbins died. The remaining members chose to move forward adding bassist John McCourt. More recently Brett Richardson (guitars and bassoon) and Paul Swannell (keyboards, violin and melodica) joined ist. [http://www.istianity.co.uk/band.htm]

ist's most recent album, "King Martha", was released in August 2005. It features Kenton Hall, Mark "Flash" Haynes, John McCourt, with Brett Richardson and Paul Swannell, as well as a group of contributing artists including Kevin Hewick, The Have Nots, The Swinging Laurels, and former member Jack Bomb. The album features a wide array of horns, as well as string sections and a bassoon in addition to traditional rock instruments such as guitar, bass and drums.

In 2006, ist put out a single "The Wreck of the Eddie Fitzpatrick/I am Jesus (And You're Not)" in direct response to a conversation with performer, songwriter and presenter Tom Robinson [http://www.prweb.com/releases/ist/xmas_number_one/prweb491079.htm] .

Public response

ist have received a positive reaction from independent media [http://www.leftoffthedial.com/Ist_King.htm] , [http://yanga.ru/music/review/?id=99] , [http://www.skidmark.org/index.htm?Features/CDreviews/ist/KingMartha1005/KingMartha_Review.htm~mainFrame] , [http://www.music-dash.co.uk/releases/archiverelease.asp?item=2712] , [http://www.the-mag.me.uk/?ArticleId=803] , [http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:byeb97lgkrdt] but mainstream coverage has been shortcoming.

In 2005 songwriter Kenton Hall received a nomination for MOJO Magazine/Bavaria's Music of Substance Award in 2005, alongside fellow Leicester songwriter, Kevin Hewick [http://s2.excoboard.com/exco/thread.php?forumid=2074&threadid=619527]

The group's sound has been compared to artists such as Elvis Costello, Squeeze, Nick Cave,The E Street Band, Ray Davies, Television and The Beatles. [http://www.leftoffthedial.com/Ist_King.htm] , [http://yanga.ru/music/review/?id=99] , [http://www.skidmark.org/index.htm?Features/CDreviews/ist/KingMartha1005/KingMartha_Review.htm~mainFrame] , [http://www.music-dash.co.uk/releases/archiverelease.asp?item=2712] , [http://www.the-mag.me.uk/?ArticleId=803] , [http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:byeb97lgkrdt] , [http://64.233.183.104/search?q=cache:JZyj_wOFCAAJ:maxwelledison.blogspot.com/2004/05/uk-based-quartet-formed-three-years.html+%22LOGO+Magazine%22,+%22ist%22,+%22Freudian+Corduroy%22&hl=en&gl=uk&ct=clnk&cd=68] . Fans include the novelist Neil Gaiman. [http://www.neilgaiman.com/journal/2005/08/any-stick-to-beat-dog-with.asp] ist have received positive respsonse in Russian where the album "King Martha" reached no. 1 on the Russian legal music download site http://www.yanga.ru in June of 2006, with debut album Freudian Corduroy occupying the number two spot. [http://hypebot.typepad.com/hypebot/2006/07/exclusive_inter_1.html]

Discography

*2001 The Adult Tree EP (Pink Box Records)
*2003 Freudian Corduroy (Pink Box Records/The Orchard)
*2005 King Martha (Pink Box Records/The Orchard)
*2006 The Wreck of the Eddie Fitzpatrick/I am Jesus (And You're Not) (Pink Box Records)
*2008 Toothpick Bridge (announced)

External links

* [http://www.istianity.co.uk/home.htm Official website]
* [http://www.myspace.com/ist Myspace profile]
* [http://www.leftoffthedial.com/Ist_King.htm Review of album King Martha]
* [http://www.pinkboxrecords.com/index1.html Pink Box Records]
* [http://www.flashdrummer.co.uk/index1.html Flash's drum website]

=References= [1] [http://www.the-mag.me.uk/?ArticleId=605 Interview with Kenton Hall] [3] , [5] , [10] [6] [http://www.istianity.co.uk/band.htm Official History] , [7] [http://www.skidmark.org/index.htm?Features/CDreviews/ist/KingMartha1005/KingMartha_Review.htm Review in Skidmark Magazine] , [8] [http://www/prweb.com/releases/ist/xmas_number_one/prweb491079.htm 2006 Press Release] , [11] A report on the MOJO/Bavaria Awards from Kevin Hewick's Official Website. The original link - http://www.mojo4music.com/html/bavaria_comp.shtml appears to have expired. [20] [http://hypebot.typepad.com/hypebot/2006/07/exclusive_inter_1.html Interview with Orchard CEO regarding Yanga and Audiofind, with reference to ist's Russian success]