Simian Mobile Disco

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Simian Mobile Disco
Simian Mobile Disco-TDK Cross Central 2006.jpg
Simian Mobile Disco performing at TDK Cross Central 2006 in London. From left: Jas Shaw, James Ford
Background information
Origin London, England
Genres Electronic, house, tech house, electro house, nu-disco
Years active 2005–present
Labels Kitsuné, Wichita
Associated acts Simian
Website www.simianmobiledisco.co.uk
Members James Ford
Jas Shaw

Simian Mobile Disco are an English electronic music duo and production team from London, formed in 2005 by James Ford and Jas Shaw of the band Simian. Musically, they are known for their analogue production. In addition to his work with Simian Mobile Disco, Ford is a producer and has worked with artists such as Florence and the Machine, Peaches, Arctic Monkeys and Klaxons.

Contents

History[edit]

Early history[edit]

Simian Mobile Disco originally formed as a DJ duo, on the side of their early four-piece band Simian.[1] They released a number of early tastemaker singles, such as "The Mighty Atom / Boatrace / Upside Down" on I'm a Cliché and "The Count", on Kitsuné, but gained more fame for their remixes of artists such as Muse, Klaxons, The Go! Team, Air and others. In 2006, Kitsuné released the duo's underground hit "Hustler", which features guest vocals from New York singer Char Johnson.

2007: Attack Decay Sustain Release[edit]

The band's debut album, Attack Decay Sustain Release was released on 18 June 2007 on Wichita Recordings. Among the tracks included on it are "Sleep Deprivation", "Hustler", "Tits and Acid", "I Believe", "Hot Dog" and lead single "It's the Beat", which features Ninja from UK indie band The Go! Team on vocals. The album contains five new tracks, and the European version includes a bonus disc. The album was preceded by mix compilations in April for the "Bugged Out" series.

SMD supported Klaxons at the Brixton Academy on 5 December 2007, The Chemical Brothers at Aintree Pavilion on 9 December 2007 and Brighton Centre on 12 December 2007. SMD made a mix for Mixmag that came free with the January 2008 issue of Mixmag.

2008–09: Temporary Pleasure[edit]

While working on their second studio album, they released a collection of remixed SMD originals entitled Sample and Hold, which contains eleven tracks and was released in the UK on 28 July 2008.

In January 2009, they announced on their Myspace page that a new album would be released in 2009. They released a new track, "Synthesise", on 12 February, through a music video (directed by Kate Moross and Alex Sushon) that "features live visual accompaniment" for the track.[2] Two days later, a new song was broadcast on BBC Radio 1 named "10,000 Horses Can't Be Wrong", soon followed by the release on 6 March of the official music video on their YouTube channel.

Their sophomore studio album Temporary Pleasure was finally announced on 6 May, featuring many guests including Gruff Rhys of Super Furry Animals, Alexis Taylor of Hot Chip, Beth Ditto of Gossip, and Chris Keating of Yeasayer.[3][4]

On New Year's Eve 2009 Simian Mobile Disco headlined "Get Loaded in the Dark" at the Brixton Academy, alongside Annie Mac (BBC Radio 1), Chase & Status, Herve and Sub Focus.

2010–11: Delicatessen and Delicacies[edit]

During the introduction of their Essential Mix made for Radio 1, broadcast on 9 January 2010, they gave hints on what would be a "techno-based album" expected for later in 2010.[5] Since then, the duo has also established what will be a quarterly residency to JDH and Dave P's Fixed nights, in NYC.[6]

In March 2010 the duo announced their new club-night project, Delicatessen, curated by the duo and accompanied by what they say to be "a brand new imprint" titled Delicacies. The first single on Delicacies was set to be released in late May, both physically and then digitally. The first two tracks are entitled "Aspic" and "Nerve Salad". Simian Mobile Disco announced that every track will "take the name of an exotic, and often bizarre, delicacy from around the world".[7]

Simian Mobile Disco played the Together Winter Music Festival at the Alexandra Palace in London on 26 November 2011.

2012–present: Unpatterns[edit]

In February 2012, Simian Mobile Disco announced the follow-up to Delicacies, Unpatterns, which was released on 14 May 2012. "Seraphim" was released as the album's lead single on 9 April.[8] On 2 October 2012 they released their fourth EP A Form of Change, whose four tracks included on the release were taken from Unpatterns recording sessions. [9]

Discography[edit]

Studio albums[edit]

Year Album details Peak chart positions
UK
[10]
AUS
[11]
BEL
[12]
SWI
[13]
FRA
[14]
US dance
[15]
2007 Attack Decay Sustain Release 59 191 11
2009 Temporary Pleasure
  • Released: 15 August 2009
  • Label: Wichita Recordings
39 42 49 89 138 25
2012 Unpatterns
  • Released: 14 May 2012
  • Label: Wichita Recordings
74 100

Live albums[edit]

Year Album details
2008 Live in Japan (Japan only)
2013 Live
  • Released: 25 February 2013
  • Label: Wichita Recordings/Delicacies (Simian Mobile Disco's Record Label)

Remix albums[edit]

Year Album details
2008 Sample and Hold

Compilation albums[edit]

Year Album details
2010 Delicacies
  • Released: 29 November 2010
  • Label: Delicatessen

Mix compilations[edit]

  • Mobile Disco 2003 (Disc 2 of The Cornerstone Player Volume 039) (2003)
  • Bugged Out! Presents: Suck My Deck (April 2007)
  • Mixmag presents: 2007 End Of Year Rave-Up (January 2008)
  • I'm a Cliche/The Tokyo Tapes (2008)
  • FabricLive.41: Simian Mobile Disco (August 2008)
  • Is Fixed (October 2010)

EPs[edit]

Singles[edit]

  • "The Mighty Atom / Boatrace / Upside Down" (2004, I'm a Cliche)
  • "Piggy in the Middle" (2005, Cassette Records) (backed with "I Freak" by Christine)
  • "Pulse" (2005, Click Click Bang)
  • "The Count" (2005, Kitsune Music) (backed with "Morse Code From The Cold War" by Dieter Schmidt)
  • "Hustler" (2006, Wichita Recordings)
  • "Tits & Acid / Animal House" (2006, White Label)
  • "It's the Beat" (March 2007, Wichita Recordings) (with remixes by Graham Massey, Luke Vibert, Riton and Siriusmo)
  • "I Believe" (July 2007, Wichita Recordings) (backed with "System" and remixes by Switch and Prins Thomas)
  • "Run: Nike+ Sport Music" (Sept 2008, Nike, Inc.) (27:37 long running-oriented song released on iTunes, with an edited version as a b-side)
  • "Run" (Oct 2008, White Label) (four edited versions of "Run: Nike+ Sport Music")
  • "Synthesise" (Feb 2009) (with visual accompaniment, released exclusively via Beatport)
  • "10,000 Horses Can't Be Wrong" (March 2009) (music video directed by Kate Moross & Alex Sushon, released exclusively via Beatport)
  • "Audacity of Huge" featuring Chris Keating from Yeasayer (August 2009) with remixes by Dusty Kid, Dekker & Johan, Maxime Dangles and Naum Gabo - UK #60[18]
  • "Cruel Intentions" featuring Beth Ditto from Gossip (January 2010) with remixes by Joker, Greg Wilson, Maurice Fulton and Heartbreaks
  • "First Delicacies" containing the tracks "Aspic" and "Nerve Salad" (April 23, 2010)
  • "Casu Marzu", containing "Casu Marzu" and "1000 Year Egg" (September 6, 2010)
  • "Seraphim" (April 12, 2012)

Remixes[edit]

These songs have been remixed by Simian Mobile Disco.

Year Title Artist
2003 "Take Me I'm Yours" The Droyds
"La Breeze" Simian
"Never Be Alone" Simian
"Cymbalon" Max Waters
2004 "Cherry Blossom Girl" Air
"Tape 23" Fans of Kate
2005 "Favorite Friend" Diefenbach
"Before the Light Goes" The Fallout Trust
"Ladyflash" The Go! Team
"State of You" Hardkandy
"Hold That Gun" Keith
"Love Is a Deserter" The Kills
"Morse Code from the Cold War" Dieter Schmidt
"Here Comes" Tahiti 80
2006 "Mona Lisa's Child" Keith
"Magick" Klaxons
"Downtown" Peaches
"Are You the One?" The Presets
"Walking Machine" Revl9n
2007 "Je t'aime" Armand Van Helden
"Innocence" Björk
"Hands Off My Gold" Celebration
"Let's Make Love and Listen to Death From Above" Cansei de Ser Sexy
"International Dateline" Ladytron
"Knights of Cydonia" Muse
"Whoo! Alright-Yeah... Uh Huh" The Rapture
2008 "Octet" Deerhunter
"No Sale No I.D." The Emperor Machine
"Big Fun" Kevin Saunderson & Inner City
"Pro Nails" Kid Sister featuring Kanye West
2009 "Surrender" Performance
"Hold That Gun (Remix by James Ford)" Keith
"U Can Dance" DJ Hell

References[edit]

  1. ^ May interview Uh Oh Disco! blog http://uhohdisco.com/2009/05/03/simian-mobile-disco-exclusive-interview-part-1/
  2. ^ [1][dead link]
  3. ^ SMD Ready Guest-Crazed Sophomore Album http://pitchfork.com/news/35263-simian-mobile-disco-ready-guest-crazed-sophomore-album/
  4. ^ Interview: Simian Mobile Disco's Jas Shaw on Temporary Pleasure, Guest Vocalists, and Synthesizers http://blogs.villagevoice.com/music/archives/2009/08/interview_simia.php?page=2
  5. ^ 03:00 (2010-01-09). "Radio 1 Programmes - BBC Radio 1's Essential Mix, Simian Mobile Disco". BBC. Retrieved 2012-04-09. 
  6. ^ "Jas Shaw and James Ford rock your earbuds with a bumping set." http://newyork.timeout.com/articles/clubs/83583/simian-mobile-disco-dj-mix
  7. ^ Simian Mobile Disco: Delicacies http://www.facebook.com/notes/simian-mobile-disco/delicacies/416947242728
  8. ^ Battan, Carrie (22 February 2012). "Simian Mobile Disco Announce New Album, Tour". Pitchfork Media. Retrieved 22 February 2012. 
  9. ^ Fitzmaurice, Larry (8 August 2012). "Simian Mobile Disco: "A Form of Change"". Pitchfork Media. 
  10. ^ "Simian Mobile Disco | Artist". Official Charts. Retrieved 2012-04-09. 
  11. ^ Steffen Hung. "Discography Simian Mobile Disco". australian-charts.com. Retrieved 2012-04-09. 
  12. ^ "Discografie Simian Mobile Disco". ultratop.be. Retrieved 2012-04-09. 
  13. ^ Steffen Hung. "Discography Simian Mobile Disco". swisscharts.com. Retrieved 2012-04-09. 
  14. ^ Steffen Hung. "Discographie Simian Mobile Disco". lescharts.com. Retrieved 2012-04-09. 
  15. ^ http://www.billboard.com/artist/279361/simian+mobile+disco/chart?f=322
  16. ^ "Extra Temporary [Wichita Recordings". Beatport. Retrieved 2012-04-09. 
  17. ^ Larry Fitzmaurice. "Simian Mobile Disco: A Form of Change". Retrieved October 12, 2012. 
  18. ^ "UK Singles & Albums Chart Archive - Simian Mobile Disco - Audacity Of Huge". Chart Stats. Retrieved 2012-06-10. 

External links[edit]