Birds of Tokyo
Birds of Tokyo |
|---|
Birds of Tokyo are a four-piece alternative rock band from Perth, Western Australia. Their debut album Day One, gained them domestic success with it reaching No. 3 on the AIR Independent Album charts, spending a total of 36 consecutive weeks in the top 10. In 2008, the band released Universes, which made it to No. 3 on the Australian ARIA Albums Chart. In 2010 the band released its highest charting album to date, Birds of Tokyo, which reached No. 2 on the ARIA Albums Chart.
History
Early Years
Birds of Tokyo formed in 2004 from a collaboration between members of another Perth act Karnivool, from which Ian Kenny came.
In 2005, Birds of Tokyo released two EPs. The first was released in January as a demo and the songs received airplay on Triple J, 96fm, RTRFM, Base FM, FBi and PBS. The second, a double A side single recorded in Melbourne with acclaimed producer Forrester Savell (Helmet, Full Scale, Karnivool).
Day One (2006-2007)
2006 saw the band touring regional WA on a three week tour in January, before returning to Melbourne to finish working on their debut album, Day One. The album was released on 3 February 2007 and debuted at #88 on the ARIA album charts and No. 3 on the AIR album charts.
Directly following the release, the band embarked on extensive touring, starting with their "Day One" tour, playing in five capital cities around Australia. Birds of Tokyo also performed at the Perth leg of the 2007 Big Day Out and the at Blackjack 2007 (the relocated Rock-It festival).
Birds of Tokyo were nominated for two awards in the 2007 AIR Awards (Australian Independent Record Association) for 'Best Performing Independent Album'[1] and 'Most Outstanding New Independent Artist'.[2] "Wayside" was voted in at #61 in Triple J's Hottest 100 of 2007.[3]
They were also recognized in Rolling Stone magazine as 'Artists to Watch' in 2007.[4]
Universes (2008-2009)
The band recorded their second album Universes in Margaret River, Western Australia, which was mixed in Los Angeles, California by Tim Palmer (Pearl Jam). The debut single from the album, "Silhouettic", was released as a free download on 14 April 2008. The album was released 5 July 2008 and debuted at No. 3 on the ARIA album charts[5] and at No. 1 on the AIR album charts.[6] The album reached gold status in Australia in January 2009.
The band played all Australian shows at the Big Day Out in 2009. "Broken Bones", "Silhouettic" and "Wild Eyed Boy" were voted in at No. 20, No. 22 and No. 51 respectively in the Hottest 100 of 2008.[7]
In late 2009 the band embarked on the 'Broken Strings' tour, which featured acoustic interpretations of a selection of their work to date, accompanied by a string quartet and grand piano. The supporting artist was Glenn Richards (lead singer of Augie March). A CD and DVD featuring recordings from the tour was available to preorder at the shows, and was released in early 2010. Birds of Tokyo were nominated for the 2009 Channel V Oz Artist of the Year.
Self-Titled album (2010-present)
In early 2010 the band returned to the studio to commence work on their third album. In March 2010 the band released "The Saddest Thing I Know" and announced an Australian tour by the same name. They are touring with the New Zealand-based band Midnight Youth. The second single "Plans" was premiered on Richard Kingsmill's '2010' show on triple j on Sunday 20 June. The self-titled album was released on 23 July 2010. They tour with Silversun Pickups in September and October 2010. Birds of Tokyo received six 2010 ARIA Music Awards nominations.[8] The band is also named to play at Big Day Out in 2011 for their third time. "Wild At Heart" was announced as the album's third single. "Plans" was voted at No.4 in the Hottest 100 of 2010, while "Wild at Heart" and "The Saddest Thing I Know" also appeared at No.47 and No.87, respectively.
In March 2011 the band announced, via their facebook page, that bass player, Jackson, was leaving the band. Whilst no replacement was announced speculation is that Ian Berney (Sugar Army) will fill the position.[9][10]
In April 2011 they played alongside Art vs Science, The Jezabels and local Joshy Willo at the Triple J One Night Stand at Tumby Bay, South Australia.
Members
- Ian Kenny — vocals
- Adam Spark — guitar
- Adam Weston — drums
- Glenn Sarangapany — keys
- Ian Berney — bass (2011)
Former Members
- Anthony Jackson — bass (2004-2011)
Discography
| Birds of Tokyo discography | |
|---|---|
| Studio albums | 3 |
| Live albums | 1 |
| Video albums | 1 |
| EPs | 1 |
| Singles | 12 |
Studio albums
| Year | Album details | Peak chart positions AUS[11] |
Certifications (sales thresholds) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | Day One
|
88 | — |
| 2008 | Universes
|
3 | |
| 2010 | Birds of Tokyo
|
2 |
Live albums
| Year | Album details | Peak chart positions AUS[11] |
Certifications (sales thresholds) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | The Broken Strings Tour
|
11 | — |
EPs
| Year | Album details |
|---|---|
| 2005 | Birds of Tokyo
|
Singles
| Year | Title | Peak chart positions | End Of Year Charts |
Certifications[13] | Album
| |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AUS [15] |
AUS Artists [16] |
NZ [17] |
Triple J Hottest 100[18] |
ARIA Singles Chart [19] | ||||
| 2005 | "One Way/Stay" | — | — | — | — | — | Non-Album Single | |
| 2006 | "Off Kilter" | — | — | — | — | — | Day One | |
| 2007 | "Black Sheets" | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| "Wayside" | — | — | — | 61 | — | |||
| 2008 | "Silhouettic" | — | — | — | 22 | — | Universes | |
| "Broken Bones" | 89 | — | — | 20 | — | |||
| "Wild Eyed Boy" | — | — | — | 51 | — | |||
| 2009 | "Head in My Hands" | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2010 | "The Saddest Thing I Know" | 64 | — | — | 87 | — | Birds of Tokyo | |
| "Plans" | 11 | 1 | 32 | 4 | 47 |
| ||
| "Wild At Heart" | 50 | 4 | — | 47 | — |
| ||
| 2011 | "Circles" | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart. | ||||||||
DVDs
| Year | Album details | Peak chart positions AUS |
Certifications (sales thresholds) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | The Broken Strings Tour
|
3 | — |
Awards and nominations
| Year | Type | Award | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | WAMi Award | Rock Song of the Year – "Stay" | Won |
| 2007 | WAMi Award | Favourite Newcomer | Won |
| Best Male Vocalist – Ian Kenny | Won | ||
| 2008 | WAMi Award | Most Popular Album – Day One [20] | Won |
| 2008 WAMi Award – Best Rock Act [20] | Won | ||
| Best Guitarist – Adam Spark [20] | Nominated | ||
| Best Male Vocalist – Ian Kenny [20] | Nominated | ||
| Best Drummer – Adam Weston [20] | Nominated | ||
| Best Instrumentalist – Glenn Sarangapany [20] | Nominated | ||
| AIR Awards | Best Rock Act | Nominated | |
| Best Independent Artist | Nominated | ||
| J Award | Best Album - Universes | Nominated | |
| 2009 | WAMi Award | Most Popular Act[21] | Won |
| Most Popular Album - Universes[21] | Won | ||
| Most Popular Live Act[21] | Won | ||
| Best Male Vocalist - Ian Kenny[21] | Won | ||
| Best Rock Act[21] | Won | ||
| 2010 | ARIA Music Awards | "Best Rock Album" - Birds Of Tokyo[8] | Won |
| "Album of the Year" - Birds Of Tokyo[8] | Nominated | ||
| "Single of the Year" - "Plans"[8] | Nominated | ||
| "Best Group"[8] | Nominated | ||
| "Best Music DVD" - The Broken Strings Tour DVD[8] | Nominated | ||
| "Most Popular Australian Artist"[8] | Nominated |
References
- ^ "Best Performing Independent Album (2007 nominees)". AIR. Retrieved 2008-08-11.
- ^ "Most Outstanding New Independent Artist (2007 nominees)". AIR. Retrieved 2008-08-11.
- ^ "hottest 100 2007". Triple J. Retrieved 16 July 2009.
- ^ Hanna, Jay (2007-05-12). "Driven to succeed". PerthNow.com. Retrieved 2008-08-11.
- ^ "Universes - Birds of Tokyo". Australian-charts.com. Retrieved 2008-08-11.
- ^ "AIR Charts". Australian Music Office. Retrieved 2008-08-11.
- ^ McCabe, Kathy (26 January 2009). "Kings of Leon win Triple J Hottest 100 with Sex on Fire". Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 16 July 2009.
- ^ a b c d e f g 2010 ARIA Nominations Announced Take40 Australia (mcm entertainment). Retrieved 2010-09-29.
- ^ "Birds of Tokyo bassist flys the coop". Triple J. 21 March 2011. Retrieved 23 March 2011.
- ^ Smith, Barnaby (21 March 2011). "Birds of Tokyo split with bassist". Music Feeds. Retrieved 23 March 2011.
- ^ a b Birds of Tokyo albums chart peaks australian-charts.com - Hung Medien. Retrieved 2010-09-30.
- ^ ARIA Charts - Accreditations - 2009 Albums Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA). Retrieved 2010-09-30.
- ^ a b ARIA Charts - Accreditations - 2010 Albums Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA). Retrieved 2010-09-30. Cite error: The named reference "2010 albums cert" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
- ^ BOT GO PLATINUM - WATCH NEW VID HERE Access All Areas.net.au. Retrieved 2010-11-16.
- ^ http://australian-charts.com/showperson.asp?name=Birds+Of+Tokyo
- ^ //www.ariacharts.com.au/pages/charts_home.htm
- ^ "Discography Birds Of Tokyo". Hung Medien. Retrieved 2010-09-11.
- ^ http://www.abc.net.au/triplej/hottest100/10/default.htm
- ^ http://www.aria.com.au/pages/aria-charts-end-of-year-charts-top-100-singles-2010.htm
- ^ a b c d e f [1]
- ^ a b c d e 2009 WAMi Awards Retrieved 2010-09-29.