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Chvrches

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Chvrches
Chvrches live at Sasquatch 2013
Chvrches live at Sasquatch 2013
Background information
OriginGlasgow, Scotland, United Kingdom
GenresElectronic, synthpop
Years active2011–present
LabelsGoodbye/Virgin, Glassnote, Hostess
MembersLauren Mayberry
Iain Cook
Martin Doherty
Websitechvrch.es

Chvrches (pronounced as "churches", sometimes stylized as CHVRCHES or CHVRCHΞS) are a Scottish synthpop band from Glasgow, formed in 2011. The group consists of Lauren Mayberry (lead vocals, additional synthesizers and samplers), Iain Cook (synthesizers, guitar, bass, vocals), and Martin Doherty (synthesizers, samplers, vocals).[1]

Chvrches came fifth on the BBC's Sound of 2013 list of the most promising new music talent.[2] In March 2013 they released Recover EP. Their debut studio album The Bones of What You Believe was released on 20 September 2013.

History

Beginnings (2011-2012)

Before Chvrches, Iain Cook was a member of Aereogramme and The Unwinding Hours. He also wrote music for film and TV.[2] Martin Doherty was a live member of The Twilight Sad.[3] According to Mayberry, "Iain and Martin went to university together so they've known each other for quite a long time".[4]

Lauren Mayberry performing live with Chvrches at Melt! Festival (2013)

Mayberry did a four-year law degree, followed by a Masters in journalism.[5] This led her into a career in freelance journalism for several years prior to music. She played piano since she was a kid, and drums since she was a teenager.[6] From age 15 until 22, she played drums in various bands.[4] Before Chvrches, Mayberry was member of two local bands, Boyfriend/Girlfriend and then Blue Sky Archives.[4] On the latter band, she is vocalist, drummer and keyboardist.[4]

Cook was producing an EP for Blue Sky Archives on a weekend in September 2011.[4] Cook started a new project with Doherty and asked Mayberry to sing on a couple of demos.[2] They wrote together for seven or eight months in a basement studio in Glasgow.[4] Cook, Mayberry and Doherty decided to form a new band after the sessions proved to be successful.[2] They chose the name Chvrches, using a Roman "v" to avoid confusions with actual churches on internet searches.[2] Chvrches have also stated that the band name "has no religious connotation, [they] just thought it sounded cool".

On 11 May 2012, Chvrches premiered the song "Lies", which was available exclusively as a free download from the blog of the Neon Gold label.[7] On 17 September 2012 the band released their official debut single, "The Mother We Share".

In June 2012, The Guardian featured Chvrches as one of New Bands of the Day.[8] On 5 July 2012, Chvrches performed their debut gig at The Artschool Glasgow, Scotland.[9]

"Lies" ranked at number 28 on NME's Best Tracks of 2012.[10] "The Mother We Share" ranked at number 51 on The Huffington Post Top 52 Songs of 2012.[11] Chvrches ranked fifth on the BBC's Sound of 2013 list of the most promising new music talent.[2]

Recover EP and The Bones of What You Believe (2013-present)

Main articles: Recover EP and The Bones of What You Believe

In mid January 2013, it was announced that Chvrches signed with the independent label Glassnote Records.[12] Previously in November 2012, Daniel Glass (the owner of Glassnote) received copies of the songs "Lies" and "Recover".[12] He also headed to the UK and watched Chvrches perform three times (two solo shows, and one opening for Passion Pit).[12]

On 6 February 2013, Chvrches premiered the second single, "Recover". It was followed by Recover EP, out on 25 March 2013 in the UK via Goodbye/Virgin and 26 March 2013 in the US via Glassnote.[13] In 13 March 2013, Chvrches performed at SXSW.[14] They also won the Inaugural Grulke Prize (for Developing Non-US Act) at SXSW.[15]

On 19 June 2013, Chvrches made their US TV debut performing "The Mother We Share" on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon. On 15 July 2013, they released the single "Gun".[16] In July 2013, Chvrches supported Depeche Mode on four shows from The Delta Machine Tour 2013. In September 2013, they also performed "The Mother We Share" on Later... with Jools Holland.[17]

In 20 September 2013, the band released their debut studio album, The Bones of What You Believe, on Virgin Records. At the critical aggregator website Metacritic, the album received a score of 81, based on 31 reviews, indicating "universal acclaim".[18]

The song "We Sink" features on the official soundtrack of FIFA 14.[19] It is the first time Chvrches appears as part of a video game soundtrack.

On 30 September, 2013, Mayberry penned an op-ed piece in The Guardian on the sexist remarks directed towards her through the band's social media sites.[20]

Musical style

Chvrches at SPIN Party, SXSW (2013)

Chvrches' music style is usually tagged as electronic or synthpop. Neon Gold described their sound as "a godless hurricane of kinetic pop energy".[7] Kitty Empire of the Observer wrote they "make accessible electro-pop that's only just short of truly brilliant".[21]

Chvrches are influenced by acts such as Prince, Tubeway Army, Robyn, Laurie Anderson, Depeche Mode, Kate Bush, Cocteau Twins, Cyndi Lauper, Whitney Houston and Elliott Smith.[2][3][22] The band writes, records, mixes, and masters their songs in a basement studio in Glasgow.[3]

Touring

When Chvrches play live, Mayberry performs lead vocals and occasionally plays synthesizers and samplers; Cook plays synthesizers, guitar, bass, and also performs backing vocals; Doherty plays synthesizers and samplers, and also performs backing vocals and sometimes lead vocals.

Chvrches toured in various countries from Europe (including their home country), USA, Canada, Japan. They also performed at various music festivals like SXSW, Field Day, Canadian Music Fest, Sasquatch!, The Great Escape, Firefly Music Festival, Pitch Festival, T in the Park, Electric Picnic, Melt! Festival, Summer Sonic, Pukkelpop, Reading Festival.

Chvrches were the opening act for Discopolis, School of Seven Bells, Passion Pit, Two Door Cinema Club. They also supported Depeche Mode during their The Delta Machine Tour 2013 at Nîmes (16 July), Milan (18 July), Prague (23 July) and Warsaw (25 July).

Some of the artists that opened for Chvrches were Dan Croll, MØ, Isaac Delusion, Young Fathers, Arthur Beatrice, Conquering Animal Sound, Still Corners, City Calm Down, XXYYXX.

Discography

Studio albums

Title Album details Peak chart positions
UK SCO AUS GER IRE JPN
[23] 		NL NZ US
The Bones of What You Believe 6 5 13 22 12 66 68 35 12

Extended plays

Title Album details Peak chart positions
UK
Recover EP —
EP
  • Released: 10 July 2013
  • Label: Hostess Entertainment (Japan),[24] Goodbye Records (UK)[25]
  • Format: CD (Japan), digital download (UK)
 —
Gun (Remixes) —

Singles

Release date Title Peak chart positions Album
UK
[26] 		SCO
[27] 		AUS
[28] 		GER
[29] 		JPN
[30] 		Tokio Hot 100
[31] 		US Alt
17 September 2012 "The Mother We Share" 38 34 — 63 6 8 39 The Bones of What You Believe
25 March 2013 "Recover" 91 — 84 55 — — —
15 July 2013 "Gun" 55 — — — 82 44 —

Cover songs

Year Song Notes
2012 "I Would Die 4 V" live cover of a Prince song
2013 "Falling" live BBC Radio 1 cover of a Haim song
"It's Not Right But It's Okay" live BBC Radio 1 cover of a Whitney Houston song

Remixes

  • Ultraísta – "Gold Dayzz" (CHVRCHES Remix)
  • St. Lucia – "Before the Dive" (CHVRCHES Remix)
  • MS MR – "Hurricane" (CHVRCHES Remix)
  • Haim – "Falling" (CHVRCHES Remix)

Music videos

Year Song Director
2013 "Recover" Wim Reygaert[32]
"Gun" Pen$acola[33]
"The Mother We Share" SJ Lee[34]

Awards and nominations

Year Organisation Award Result
2012 BBC Sound of 2013 Sound of 2013[2] Fifth
2013 South by Southwest Inaugural Grulke Prize (for Developing Non-US Act) at South by Southwest[15] Winner

Media usage

References

  1. ^ "BBC - Music - CHVRCHES".
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h "BBC News - BBC Sound of 2013: Chvrches". Retrieved 31 December 2012.
  3. ^ a b c "On the Radar - No 207: CHURCHES".
  4. ^ a b c d e f "Chvrches Is the Most Addicting Band of the Summer - Newsweek and The Daily Beast".
  5. ^ "Dollars to Pounds: Chvrches - The FADER".
  6. ^ "Chvrches Find Their Place In a Pop World - MTV IGGY". Retrieved 18 April 2013.
  7. ^ a b "Neon Gold Beat Company: SKIN + BONE".
  8. ^ "New Band of the Day - No 1,295: Churches - Music - guardian.co.uk".
  9. ^ "CHVRCHES DEBUT SHOW".
  10. ^ "50 Best Tracks Of 2012 - The Big Picture - NME.COM - The world's fastest music news service, music videos, interviews, photos and more".
  11. ^ "John Chattman: A-Sides Music: Top 52 Songs of 2012 (Call Me Maybe...Not)".
  12. ^ a b c "CHVRCHES' Hype Dreams: Can Blog Buzz Produce A Hit Album? - Billboard". Retrieved 20 September 2013.
  13. ^ "Chvrches: Recover - Tracks - Pitchfork". Pitchfork Media. Retrieved 6 February 2013.
  14. ^ "Schedule - sxsw.com".
  15. ^ a b "Haim, CHVRCHES, and The Flaming Lips are Winners of the Inaugural Grulke Prize at SXSW 2013 - SXSW 2013". Retrieved 14 April 2013.
  16. ^ "Chvrches unveil tracklisting for debut album 'The Bones Of What You Believe' - News - NME.COM".
  17. ^ http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b03bwqr3
  18. ^ "The Bones Of What You Believe". metacritic.com. Retrieved September 28, 2013.
  19. ^ http://www.easports.com/fifa/news-updates-gameplay/article/fifa-14-soundtrack
  20. ^ Mayberry, Lauren. "Chvrches' Lauren Mayberry: 'I will not accept online misogyny'". The Guardian. Retrieved 1 October, 2013. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  21. ^ Empire, Kitty. "Chvrches- review". music. The Guardian. Retrieved 14 March 2013.
  22. ^ "26 Things You Should Know About Chvrches, Your New Favorite Electro-Pop Band".
  23. ^ Billboard Japan Top Albums (in Japanese; retrieved October 3, 2013)
  24. ^ "Chvrches - EP". Discogs. 10 July 2013. Retrieved 13 August 2013.
  25. ^ "Chvrches - EP (File, MP3)". Discogs. Retrieved 20 September 2013.
  26. ^ "Chvrches > Artist Chart History". The Official Charts Company. Retrieved 31 March 2013.
  27. ^ Peak positions for singles in Scotland: "Chart Archive > October 5, 2013". Official Charts Company. 2013-09-29.
  28. ^ Peak positions for singles in Australia: . ARIA Charts. 2013-04-1 http://pandora.nla.gov.au/pan/23790/20130408-0704/Issue1205.pdf. Retrieved October 2, 2013. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Missing or empty |title= (help)
  29. ^ Peak positions for singles in Scotland: "Chvrches - The Mother We Share". Swiss Charts. 2013-09-30. Retrieved September 30, 2013.
  30. ^ Billboard Japan Hot 100 (retrieved September 19, 2013)
  31. ^ Peak positions for Chvrches' singles on Tokio Hot 100:
  32. ^ "Chvrches 'Recover' on Vimeo".
  33. ^ "Chvrches 'Gun' on Vimeo".
  34. ^ "Video: Chvrches: "The Mother We Share" - News - Pitchfork".
  35. ^ "FIFA 14 SOUNDTRACK REVEAL". EA. Retrieved 4 October, 2013. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
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