- Chapel Club
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Chapel Club 
Background information Origin London, England Genres Indie/Alternative/Post-Punk/Shoegaze/New Wave Labels Loog/Universal Members Lewis Bowman
Michael Hibbert
Liam Arklie
Alex Parry
Rich MitchellChapel Club are an English indie/alternative rock band from London.[1] The band are currently signed to Loog/Universal (worldwide).
Contents
Formation
Founder member and guitarist Michael Hibbert formed the first incarnation of Chapel Club in late 2007. Hibbert had moved to London following the split of his former band and began writing new songs without a definite idea of when or if they would be heard. During this time, Hibbert met bassist Liam Arklie, aged seventeen, and arrived in London from Swindon with the intention of starting a band. The two became friends and Hibbert decided to enlist Arklie as a member of his planned group.
Shortly afterwards, the pair was introduced to Lewis Bowman by a mutual friend. They had been told that Bowman could sing and asked if he wanted to try writing lyrics for the band. Bowman was given several instrumental demos and asked to come up with vocal melodies and lyrics. When he recorded the fruits of his efforts at Hibbert's flat a week later, the latter was impressed enough that he immediately asked Bowman to join the band.
The band's line-up was complet by the summer of 2008, by which time guitarist Alex Parry, Arklie's childhood best friend, and drummer Rich Mitchell, had joined the group.
Career
The five-piece began to rehearse together and played a few early shows under the names Palace and, later, Golden Age. Soon, however, they decided to stop gigging and focus on writing and rehearsing instead. They also decided to change the band's name once again, as other groups were already using the 'Palace' and 'Golden Age' monikers.
In August 2009, the band recorded their first single, 'Surfacing', with US producer Chris Zane at London's Strongrooms studio. The single was slated for release in October through London indie label East City Records, but despite significant radio play on stations including BBC Radio 1, BBC Radio 2, BBC 6Music, XFM and NME Radio - and despite being named BBC Radio 1 DJ Zane Lowe's 'Hottest Record in the World' - the song was never released. The chorus used lyrics from the standard "Dream a Little Dream of Me" and, as a result, copyright issues obstructed the release. Bowman has since stated in interviews that the copyright wrangle has been resolved and that the original song's publisher has agreed to allow Chapel Club to release the song in the future.
This period also saw the band choose the name 'Chapel Club', inspired by Bowman's interest in religion and religious imagery and by the proximity of the band's rehearsal space to St. Luke's Church on London's Old Street.
The autumn and winter of 2009 saw Chapel Club's first gigs under their new name, as they hosted their own residency at the Shacklewell Arms pub in Dalston. This series of self-promoted gigs attracted a significant amount of media attention that led to interest from all the major record labels as well as several independents. In November 2009, the band signed with Universal Records imprint Loog, former home to The Horrors and The Duke Spirit and current label of The Courteeners. The band denied press reports that they had signed for large amounts of cash, saying that their deal favoured creative control and long-term commitment over financial reward.
In November 2009 the band recorded their first single proper, 'O Maybe I', at New York City's Atomic Heart Studios. The song was recorded and produced in a day and a half by producer Claudius Mittendorfer.
In December 2009, the band were listed as one the most exciting new prospects for 2010 in the NME.
'O Maybe I' was released in February 2010 on limited edition vinyl and digitally via the band's own website. The single was named Zane Lowe's 'Hottest Record in the World' as well as 'Record of the Week' on DJ Steve Harris' XFM show.
In the same month, and having tried out several producers, the band began work on their debut album with producer Paul Epworth at South London studio The Pool. The album sessions would produce a further eight tracks to add to the previous singles, including their next release, 'Five Trees'. The song was released in May 2010. It was released on limited edition vinyl and digitally, entering the NME chart at number six.
In May 2010, the band played a sold-out show for 600 fans at East London venue The Village Underground. They then spent the summer playing a host of British and European festivals including Glastonbury, Reading and Leeds, Oxford Truck Festival, Middlesbrough Music Live, Sheffield Tramlines, Jersey Live, Belgium's Pukkelpop, Germany's Haldern-pop and Sweden's Way Out West. They also headlined the second stage at London's Field Day festival.
In August 2010, the band gave away a free track via download from their website and Facebook page. 'The Shore' was named 'Hottest Record in the World' by Zane Lowe, who played the full six minute-plus version of the song on his show. The NME named the song their 'Track of the Week', saying 'these still waters run deep, rise high and rock hard'.
In September 2010, the band embarked on the NME Emerge Radar Tour, playing alongside The Joy Formidable and with support from Flats and Wilder. They also announced the forthcoming release of their next single, 'All The Eastern Girls'. The single was released digitally and on limited edition vinyl on October 10.
Also in September 2010, the band announced that they would be supporting Two Door Cinema Club on the latter band's European tour in November/December 2010.
On October 12, 2010, Chapel Club appeared on the BBC music programme 'Later with Jools Holland' and performed their song 'Surfacing' live. The extended version of the show, screened later the same week, also featured a pre-recorded version of 'All the Eastern Girls'.[2] Later in the same month the band also played a Barclaycard Mercury Music Prize Recommends show at the Hospital Club in London, and filmed an acoustic performance of recent single All the Eastern Girls for MTV Rocks show Gonzo with Alexa Chung.
They performed at the Summer Well festival at Stirbey Domain in Buftea, Romania on the 13th August 2011.
Palace
Chapel Club's debut album, "Palace" was released on the 31st January 2011.
Wintering EP
In September 2010, Chapel Club added a new song, 'Bodies', to their MySpace page, revealing a sparser sound and what Bowman has called an 'Imagist' lyric.[3] In interviews and at live shows the band have stated that this song will not be on their debut album; instead it is part of a secret project, the nature of which was revealed in the November 17, 2010 edition of the NME. Singer Lewis Bowman said that the band will be releasing a limited edition EP of non-album tracks in December 2010. Available only on 12 inch vinyl and sold only at their December 9, 2010 gig at St Philip's Church in Salford, Manchester, the record - called the 'Wintering EP' - features four brand new Chapel Club songs.
The Wintering EP was also included with the special edition 12" vinyl version of their Debut album "Palace".
Songs from the Dark River Archive
In early November 2010, Chapel Club announced via their blog that they would from time to time be giving away free mp3s under the name 'Songs from the Dark River Archive'. The project, described as 'not quite Chapel Club', will include demos, 'sketches', home recordings and experiments that, in the band's own words, might otherwise never have made it out of the bandmembers' bedrooms. The first three songs were made available at midnight on Friday 12 November 2010, and included a cover of the Morrissey song 'Why Don't You Find Out For Yourself'.
Discography
Studio albums
List of albums, showing year released and chart placement Year Album details Peak chart positions UK 2011 Palace - Released: 31 January 2011[4]
- Label: Interscope Records
- Formats: CD, Digital Download, Vinyl
31 Singles
List of singles, showing year released and album name Year Single Peak chart positions Album UK
[5]2010 "O Maybe I" (Vinyl only) — Palace "Five Trees" — "All the Eastern Girls" 148 2011 "Surfacing" — "Blind" — Promotional singles
List of single, showing year and album name Year Single Album 2010 "Don't Look Down" (Vinyl only) [A] "The Shore" [B] Palace Notes:
- A - The single was released in April as part of Record Store Day and as such was limited in copies.
- B - The single was released as a free download from their website to promote the release of Palace.
Influences
The band cite influences as diverse as My Bloody Valentine, New Order, Deerhunter, Scott Walker, Neil Young, Sonic Youth and Arthur Russell, though Bowman has stated that the group has never made specific plans pertaining to their songwriting. "[Because] everything has moved so quickly, our only real aim has just been to capture the first clutch of songs and get them out into the world. Then maybe we can take a few breaths and start to plan how to progress in future."[6]
Chapel Club's music has been described as 'moody, majestic and magnificent',[1] while Bowman's lyrics often use imagery drawn from the natural world to explore themes such as love, loss and existential confusion. Global Editor of Billboard Magazine Mark Sutherland described the band's sound as "amazing… shoegaze but with songs and balls", while The Guardian described the band as "big rock meets perversion".[7]
References
- ^ a b http://vonpipmusicalexpress.wordpress.com/2010/06/08/chapel-club-interview/
- ^ http://www.bbc.co.uk/later/photos/37/5/
- ^ http://www.chapelclub.com/blog.php?id=249
- ^ Chapel Club - Palace - Tracklisting, Retrieved 2011-01-14.
- ^ Chapel Club - All The Eastern Girls - Chart Placement, Retrieved 2011-01-15.
- ^ http://www.addictmusic.co.uk/features/emerging-artists-7-chapel-club/
- ^ http://www.guardian.co.uk/culture/2010/jan/21/first-sight-chapel-club
External links
Categories:- English indie rock groups
- Musical groups from London
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