Len (band)

Infobox musical artist
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Origin = Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Genre = Pop
Rock
Hip Hop
Techno
Years_active = 1991 – present
Label = Linus Universal
(2006-present)
Venus EMI
(2004-2006)
Dreamworks Records
(2002-2004)
Epic Sony
(2001)
Work Columbia Sony
(1999-2000)
Funtrip Records/No Records
(1991-1998)
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Current_members = Marc Costanzo
Sharon Costanzo
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Len is a Canadian pop music group from Toronto, Ontario, where they moved in 1991. They are known internationally as a one-hit wonder for their song "Steal My Sunshine" in 1999. The band consists of Marc Costanzo (vocals, guitar) and Sharon Costanzo (vocals, bass).

History

Len's early material was reminiscent of artists such as My Bloody Valentine, Mystery Machine and the Descendents. When they were dubbed as a "hip-hop Human League", Marc and Shar were flattered and admitted to being "weaned" on the Human League. The band has been together since 1991; the members are siblings and have an unusually strong bond with each other.

As an indie band, Len released an EP, and two albums, "Superstar" and "Get Your Legs Broke," first on the Halifax, Nova Scotia based No Records label, then on their own imprint, Funtrip. These albums eventually sold around 10,000 to 15,000 each. The duo eventually brought D Rock, DJ Moves and Planet Pea into the Len crew. The additional personnel changed the sound of their music from alternative punk/pop to a more hip-hop sound. They released "You Can't Stop the Bum Rush" in 1999, featuring the hit song "Steal My Sunshine", which reached #9 on the Hot 100 in the US and #8 on the UK Singles Chart while topping the Canadian chart, and was part of the "Go" soundtrack. The track featured a raspy sounding Marc complemented by the sweet sounding voice of Sharon, backed by a sampled beat from the instrumental break of "More, More, More" by The Andrea True Connection.

In 2002 Len released an advance copy of "We Be Who We Be" (2002) only in the United States and Canada. The album was originally slated for Q2 2002, but after years of delays the band decided to leave the struggling label for Canadian-based Venus Corp (EMI). On February 15, 2005, Venus Corp released a completely different Len album, "Diary of the Madmen", in Canadian stores only. However, some stores decided not to sell it due to its explicit language.

2007

Len is now working on their new album, the follow-up to "Diary Of The Madmen", which was supposed to be finished in the summer of 2007. The record will contain ten songs and will feature guests such as Stubbs, Junior Sanchez, and Chin. The album will also feature one Ozzy Osbourne cover from a similarly named album. Marc and Shar's voices may not be featured on every song; this is not unusual.

According to a blog entry December 18, 2006, by Marc on Len's MySpace page - "Goin to the UK in Jan to do last vocs with shasha. The album will be out for the summer (2007)."

2008

After months of waiting Marc finally posted a blog on September 24th, 2008 that read "Soooo.... after all this time and all the thousands emails askin....it looks like were not gonna make another len record. Just couldn't get it ( and everyone ) together . There may be still one hope but i'll know at the end of this week. On a brighter note....Me and Sharon will be making our own record and will keep you updated on a page we will make soon! So i'm still fuckin excited and if me and sha start this...it should be done in months, not years! hahaha...."

Discography

Albums

*"Superstar" (1994)
*"Get Your Legs Broke" (1996)
*"You Can't Stop the Bum Rush" (1999)US #46, RIAA: Gold.
*"We Be Who We Be" (2003)
*"The Diary of the Madmen" (2005)
*"Untitled Len Album" (2008)

EPs and singles

*"Self-titled" Cassette EP (1992)

uperstar

*"Slacker" (1994)
*"Candy Pop" (1995)
*"Showoff" (1995)

Get Your Legs Broke

*"Smarty Pants" (1996)
*"She's Not" (1997)
*"Trillion Daze" (1997)

You Can't Stop the Bum Rush

* Steal My Sunshine (1999) #9 U.S., #8 UK, #3 AUS, #1 CA
*"Feeling Alright" (2000) #28 UK, #26 CA
*"Cryptik Souls Crew" (2000)

Digimon the Movie Soundtrack

*"Kids in America" (2000)

We Be Who We Be

*"Bobby" (2003)

The Diary of the Madmen

*"It's a Brother Sister Thing" (2003)

Tours

#"Edmonton" (1997)
#"Edgefest" (1999)
#"Stampede" (2000)
#"Four Ways to Rock Road Trip" (2003)

Awards

External links

* [http://www.myspace.com/len Official MySpace profile]