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gay against you
OriginGlasgow, Scotland
Genreselectronic, experimental, pop
Years active2005 (2005)–2009 (2009)
LabelsAdaadat
Upset The Rhythm
Past membersJoe Howe
Lachlann Rattray

gay against you (stylised in lower case;[1] sometimes abbreviated GVsY) were a Scottish electronic music duo from Glasgow, Scotland, made up of high school friends Joseph Howe (aka Oats Soda;[2] b. 1983, Perth, Scotland) and Lachlann Rattray (aka Mr. Big Softie;[2] b. 1983, Natal, South Africa).

Biography

The band formed in 2005 after Howe and Rattray moved into a shared flat,[3] having previously played together in various other bands.[4] They self-released a mini-album,[5] also named gay against you, in 2005. It became one of the most frequently downloaded records from the last.fm website.[6] The following year their debut full-length album, Muscle Milk, was released by the Adaadat label.[7]

The popularity of the band's first record on last.fm led to the group being asked to perform live at the Old Blue Last venue in Shoreditch for a last.fm/Presents event, which was recorded and released as a free downloadable album on the site.[8] Their second full-length album, Righteous Signals, Sour Dudes, was released on CD in 2009 by Adaadat,[1] with a vinyl version released by the Upset the Rhythm! label.[9]

gay against you toured the United Kingdom several times, also touring Scandinavia[10] and elsewhere in Europe.[11] They played gigs with the likes of Lightning Bolt, Dan Deacon, Shitdisco, No Age, Cutting Pink With Knives, The Blow and Eats Tapes.[6] They recorded radio sessions for Tom Ravenscroft's Channel 4 Radio show[12] and for Vic Galloway's "BBC Introducing in Scotland" show on BBC Radio 1.[13] They were also played by Radio 1's Rob da Bank and Steve Lamacq, and on Resonance FM.[6]

A rumour spread in the Norwegian press that the NME had called gay against you "the new shit",[14] leading to reporters unexpectedly attending their Norwegian shows requesting interviews; no-one knows where this rumour originated.

The band broke up in 2009 following the release of Righteous Signals, Sour Dudes. They issued a further EP posthumously, I Play Gay, consisting of covers of the band's songs by Dananananaykroyd, Dolby Anol, Agaskodo Teliverek and House Mouse.[15]

Both members continued to perform separately and released solo records. Howe used the name Germlin[1] for his solo work and has more recently performed and released skweee-influenced music as Ben Butler and Mousepad,[16] sometimes accompanied by drummer Bastian Hagedorn. Rattray has also performed and released as Yoko, Oh No!,[1][5][17] as well as playing in the band Neighbourhood Gout.[3]

Style

The band gained attention for their flamboyant[3] and chaotic live shows[10] (often played with Howe and Rattray dressed in PE kits[9][18] and on the venue's dancefloor rather than the stage[19][20]), prominent visual style,[3][9] offbeat subject matter (with songs about unicorns,[21] lactose intolerance,[22] Lawrence of Arabia, breakfast cereal,[1] Magic Eye puzzles,[8] Jurassic Park and physicist Niels Bohr[11]) and their diverse and experimental musical style. Their early work was noted as combining accessible pop melodies with unconventional, rapidly changing song structures[2] and disorientating bursts of synthesizer or electric guitar.[1] Later material was described as "slightly more... mature", with lush analogue-sounding synth and even psychedelic influences.[9]

Stated influences included Magma, Minutemen,[11] Devo, Cardiacs and BBC Radio 4.[1] The band garnered comparisons to artists such as The Locust, Melt-Banana, Animal Collective,[9] The Faint, Nintendo soundtrack music, Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, Atari Teenage Riot,[2] The Mae Shi, Lightning Bolt[17] and The Pastels.[22] They were described by Terrorizer magazine as "[e]ither a council estate Butthole Surfers or just Japanese mimicry... odd and wrong",[23] and by Drowned in Sound as "a chiptune-gabba aerobics class soundtrack".[9] The Wire called them "prog, of a sort... though with manic impatience in place of pomposity",[24] while Fused Magazine described them as "[t]wo subterranean creatures dressed in primary school P.E. kits, complete with charcoal-stained eyes and badly-concealed erections, howl[ing] unintelligibly over spaz-core electronics". The Daily Telegraph said they were "absurdly-named".[25]

In an interview with Dazed & Confused magazine, the band characterised their own music as "filter pop", and "pop music with all the shit bits taken out: mostly no repetition, no wastage, and no fat".[3]

Personnel

  • Joe Howe – vocals, programming, synthesizer
  • Lachlann Rattray – vocals, MIDI, electric guitar

Discography

Albums

  • gay against you (self-released/Megapixxels, 2005)[26]
  • Muscle Milk (Adaadat, 2006)[7]
  • Live at last.fm/Presents (last.fm, 2007)[8]
  • Righteous Signals, Sour Dudes (ADAADAT/Upset the Rhythm!, 2009)

EPs

  • Bogus Totem Summer (CD + DVD, self-released, 2006)
  • gay against you/House Mouse Summer Tour Split (self-released, 2007)
  • I Play Gay (self-released, 2009)

Singles

  • The Vichy Government/Gay Against You split 7" (Filthy Little Angels, 2007)[27]
  • O.I.B Records Split Series Volume 1 7" (One Inch Badge, 2007)[28]

Compilation appearances

  • "Greased Lightning" on Down to Grease on Holiday (Filthy Little Angels, 2006)[29]
  • "Fun Meal, Satabic" on Exercise for Exorcisms, vol. 1 (Unnecessary Friction, 2006)[30]
  • "Magic Eye" on Two Thousand and Ace (Brainlove, 2008)
  • "Let's Build a Chinatown pt. II" on Stench of Muscle (Stench of Muscle, 2008)

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g Davidson, Euan L (17 October 2009). "Gay Against You: Fair to MIDI (Interview by Euan L Davidson)". Is this music?.
  2. ^ a b c d Davies, James. "Gay Against You – 'Muscle Milk' (ADAADAT) Released 07/08/06". Gigwise.com. Archived from the original on 14 August 2011. Retrieved 24 June 2011.
  3. ^ a b c d e Purba, Narinder. "Gay Against You Sends Out Righteous Signals". Dazed & Confused. Retrieved 24 June 2011.
  4. ^ "Gay Just for You". Attitude. Vitality Publishing. Retrieved 25 June 2011.
  5. ^ a b Keil, Morag. "Picasso Kids Innocence;". Artrocker. Archived from the original on 21 June 2011. Retrieved 25 June 2011.
  6. ^ a b c "thesixtyone – a music adventure". thesixtyone. Retrieved 25 June 2011.
  7. ^ a b "Muscle Milk – Gay Against You". AllMusic. All Media Guide. Retrieved 24 June 2011.
  8. ^ a b c "Live at Last.fm/Presents – gay against you". last.fm. Retrieved 24 June 2011.
  9. ^ a b c d e f Gardner, Noel (5 August 2009). "Gay Against You – Righteous Signals, Sour Dudes". Drowned in Sound.
  10. ^ a b "London – Old Blue Last Is Back". Vice. Retrieved 24 June 2011.
  11. ^ a b c "UPSET THE RHYTHM – Artists – Gay Against You". Upset the Rhythm. Retrieved 25 June 2011.
  12. ^ "Thomas Ravenscroft, and why not?". I Love Music. 28 September 2006.
  13. ^ "BBC – Radio 1 – Vic Galloway – Tracklisting". BBC. 14 February 2008.
  14. ^ "Indiegranskauen presenterer Gay Against You (UK)". Fredag. 25 January 2008. (Norwegian)
  15. ^ "I Play Gay – Gay Against You". Bandcamp. Retrieved 25 June 2011.
  16. ^ Ensall, Jonny (5 February 2009). "Exposure: Ben Butler and Mousepad". The List. Robin Hodge.
  17. ^ a b Taylor, George (August 2006). "Gay Against You – Musclemilk". Plan B, p. 75, Issue 13.
  18. ^ Balkind, Emma (10 January 2008). "MY BOYFRIEND IS GAY (Against You)". Vice. Archived from the original on 5 February 2013. Retrieved 24 June 2011.
  19. ^ Slater, Karen (27 June 2007). "An adventurous night out". BBC Tees.
  20. ^ Kenn Taylor and Lucy Johnston (28 March 2008). "Gay Against You, aPatT and The Stig Noise Soundsystem". Drowned in Sound. Archived from the original on 27 April 2012.
  21. ^ AMP, Miss (March 2007). "The Void: gay against you". Plan B. Frances Morgan.
  22. ^ a b Pattison, Louis. "gay against you: Muscle Milk". Uncut. IPC Media. Retrieved 25 June 2011.
  23. ^ "Gay Against You – 'Muscle Milk'". Terrorizer. Dark Arts Ltd. Retrieved 25 June 2011.
  24. ^ Richardson, Nick. "Gay Against You – Sour Dudes (sic)". The Wire. The Wire Magazine Ltd. Retrieved 25 June 2011.
  25. ^ Grandon, Marisol (17 August 2006). "Replace Dad? That would be hateful". The Daily Telegraph.
  26. ^ "Gay Against You discography at Discogs". Discogs. Retrieved 24 June 2011.
  27. ^ "FILTHY007 – The Vichy Government / Gay Against You 7". Filthy Little Angels. Retrieved 24 June 2011.
  28. ^ "Various – O.I.B Records Split Series Volume 1 (Vinyl) at Discogs". Discogs. Retrieved 24 June 2011.
  29. ^ "Little 006 – Various Artists "Down To GREASE on Holiday"". Filthy Little Angels. Retrieved 24 June 2011.
  30. ^ "Gay Against You discography at Discogs (compilation appearances)". Discogs. Retrieved 24 June 2011.
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