Lamb (band)

Infobox musical artist
Name = Lamb


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Origin = Manchester, England
Genre = Electronica Breakbeat Drum & Bass Trip hop
Years_active = 1996–2004
Label = Mercury Records, Koch Records
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URL = http://www.lamb.tv/
Current_members =
Past_members = Andy Barlow Louise Rhodes

Lamb were an electronic music duo from Manchester, England, known for their Trip hop and drum and bass influenced sound. The duo comprised producer Andy Barlow, also known as the "Hipoptimist", and singer-songwriter Lou Rhodes. They received acclaim throughout Europe (particularly the United Kingdom and Portugal), Australia and the Americas, especially for their hit singles "Gorecki" and "Gabriel".

Biography

Lamb's core members were Barlow and Rhodes, although the band subsequently expanded to include bassist Jon Thorne, Icelandic guitarist Oddur Mar Runnarson, and Danish drummer Nikolaj Bjerre. London-based string trio Chi 2 Strings and trumpet player Kevin Davy were frequent guest musicians.

They released their first album, the self-titled "Lamb" in September 1996, and followed this up with another three albums and a cache of singles over the next eight years, culminating in the release of a greatest hits album, "", in June 2004. Lamb performed what was billed as their final live appearance at the Paradiso in Amsterdam in September 2004. This performance was filmed for a planned live DVD release; its release was expected in 2005, but as of March 2007 it has not appeared. The release has now been planned for early 2008. [ [http://www.side-line.com/news_comments.php?id=25995_0_2_0_C Lamb live DVD to be released] ] While the band members have not ruled out the return of Lamb at some point in the future, both have been working on a variety of solo projects. Rhodes released her debut solo album "Beloved One" on her own label Infinite Bloom in 2006, while Barlow has been working on a project called Hoof (together with Oddur Runasson, among others, who also appeared on Rhodes' solo debut), which has performed live a number of times but so far not released an album. Barlow has also been working on another project called "Luna Seeds" with vocalist/songwriter Carrie Tree, and has recently produced the Fink album "Distance and Time".

Although getting their start in Manchester, Lamb are more commonly associated with the Bristol-based trip hop sound that was popular during the nineties. Aside from trip hop, their musical style is a distinctive mixture of jazz, dub, breaks and drum and bass, with a strong vocal element and, in their later works especially, some acoustic influences. While they were a hit phenomenon in the UK, they found limited success in other parts of the world, despite securing distribution. Portugal was an exception, however; the band achieved crossover success in the country, including one major number one hit with "Gabriel," the lead single from 2001's "What Sound".

The band are known for the experimental work they produce, a distinctive production style, Lou's passionate lyrical style, and their artistic videos, which draw on influences ranging from Cyberpunk through George Lucas' "THX 1138" to Zen Buddhism. The 2004 DVD "The Fall & Rise of the Fools Ark", a roadmovie by Dutch duo Dadara and Jesse for which Lamb and the Hipoptimist provided the music, is an animated roadmovie in the style of Monty Python and "Yellow Submarine".

By far, their best-known track to date is "Gorecki", from their eponymous debut album. The song is inspired by Henryk Górecki's Third Symphony, the Symphony of Sorrowful Songs. Part of the lyrics to Gorecki were used by Baz Luhrmann for some of Satine's final lines in Moulin Rouge!, and the track is rumoured to have been covered by Nicole Kidman. It has also been used in an advertisement for Guinness.

Discography

DVDs

* 2004 "The Fall & Rise of the Fools Ark" (with Dadara and Jesse)

Albums

* 1996 "Lamb" (Fontana Records) (highest UK chart position: 109)
* 1999 "Fear of Fours" (Polygram Records; peaked at #35 on the Billboard Heatseekers chart) (highest UK chart position: 37)
* 2001 "What Sound" (Koch Records) (highest UK chart position: 54)
* 2003 "Between Darkness and Wonder" (Koch Records) (highest UK chart position: 96)
* 2004 "Back To Mine - Lamb - The Voodoo Collection" (DMC Records)
* 2004 "" (Universal Records) (highest UK chart position: 111)
* 2005 "Lamb Remixed" (Mercury / Universal Records)

Singles

* 1996 "Cotton Wool" (highest UK chart position: 76)
* 1996 "Gold" (highest UK chart position: 132)
* 1996 "God Bless" (highest UK chart position: 92)
* 1997 "Gorecki" (highest UK chart position: 30)
* 1999 "B Line" (highest UK chart position: 52)
* 1999 "All in Your Hands" (highest UK chart position: 71)
* 1999 "Softly"
* 2001 "Gabriel" (limited edition)
* 2003 "Sweet"
* 2003 "Gabriel" (remix; promo)
* 2004 "Wonder" (highest UK chart position: 81)

See also

* Back to Mine

References

External links

* [http://www.lamb.tv/ Lamb (official site)]
* [http://www.gorecki.co.uk/ Gorecki: The UK Lamb Site]
* [http://www.vh1.com/artists/az/lamb/bio.jhtml Lamb Biography (VH1.com)] (same content found at [http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=11:plq67uu070jw~T1 allmusic.com] )
* [http://www.myspace.com/hoofmusic Andy Barlow's new project Hoof @ MySpace]
* [http://www.myspace.com/lunaseeds Andy Barlow's new project Luna Seeds @ MySpace]