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Hooverphonic

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Hooverphonic
Geike Arnaert of Hooverphonic in the Effenaar in Eindhoven on 24 January 2008.
Geike Arnaert of Hooverphonic in the Effenaar in Eindhoven on 24 January 2008.
Background information
Also known asHoover
OriginSint-Niklaas, Belgium
Genres
Years active1995–present
LabelsPIAS
Epic Records
MembersAlex Callier
Raymond Geerts
Past membersFrank Duchêne
Liesje Sadonius
Kyoko Bartsoen
Esther Lybeert
Geike Arnaert
Noémie Wolfs
WebsiteHooverphonic.com

Hooverphonic is a Belgian band that formed in October 1995. Though early on categorized as a trip hop group, they quickly expanded their sound to the point where they could no longer be described as a lone genre, but rather encompass alternative, electronica, electropop, rock, and mixture of others. The band originally called themselves Hoover, but later changed their name to Hooverphonic after discovering other groups were already using the Hoover name and to avoid any legal issues with the vacuum cleaner company.

On 10 October 2008, Geike Arnaert, the lead singer of the band, announced she would leave the group by the end of the year to pursue her solo career. Arnaert had been working on solo material for a few months.[1] The last concert of Hooverphonic with Geike was on 13 December 2008 in Tele-Club, Ekaterinburg, Russia. It was filmed by the local MTV station and was shown on Russian TV in 2009.

On 29 October 2010, Hooverphonic announced their new single on their website. The videoclip showcased fourteen possible singers but only one of them, Noémie Wolfs,[2] proved to be the real successor of Geike Arnaert. On 4 November 2010, the new singer was announced on De Laatste Show at the VRT, the Flemish public broadcasting organization.

On 26 March 2015 Hooverphonic announced that Noémie Wolfs would be leaving the band "in mutual agreement".

A New Stereophonic Sound Spectacular

The original members of the group were vocalist Esther Lybeert, keyboardist Frank Duchêne, bassist Alex Callier, and guitarist Raymond Geerts. Lybeert recorded several demos with the group; however, she backed out of the band on the day they were to sign their contract with Sony Music.[3] The band then brought in Liesje Sadonius to record the album. Sadonius left Hooverphonic on amicable terms shortly after the release of A New Stereophonic Sound Spectacular. Kyoko Baertsoen, singer for fellow Belgian trip-hop band Lunascape, filled in for Sadonius for three months of a European tour in 1997 before Geike Arnaert was made the permanent singer in early 1998.[3]

The band achieved international recognition through the inclusion of the Stereophonic track "2Wicky" on the soundtrack to Bernardo Bertolucci's 1996 film Stealing Beauty. "2Wicky" also appeared on the soundtracks of I Know What You Did Last Summer and Heights. The track's main riff is sampled from Isaac Hayes' recording of the 1960s hit "Walk On By".

Additional session musicians for Stereophonic include Eric Bosteels, a session drummer with Hooverphonic from 1997–98 (replaced by Mario Goossens until 2005) and David Poltrock, a keyboard player from the group on-and-off from 1998 until 2005. In 1998, Hooverphonic also contributed to the Depeche Mode tribute album For the Masses, with their cover of "Shake the Disease".

Blue Wonder Power Milk

After an extensive European tour with artists such as Massive Attack, Morcheeba and Apollo 440, and a tour opening for Fiona Apple in the United States in 1997, the band released Blue Wonder Power Milk in 1998 with 18-year-old Arnaert on vocals. A marked departure from their debut, the album is driven less by breakbeats and samples and more by organic string elements and traditional song structures.

The single "Club Montepulciano" was a hit in native Belgium and a minor college hit in the U.S., while "Renaissance Affair" was featured in the North American commercial campaign for the new Volkswagen Vapor Beetle. "This Strange Effect" and "Eden" were both featured in American cell phone commercials-- "This Strange Effect" for the Motorola SLVR, and most recently in 2006, "Eden" for the Cingular 8525. "Eden" was also used in the 1998 slasher film I Still Know What You Did Last Summer. At the time of their release, both songs were also featured in two separate third season episodes of La Femme Nikita. Shortly afterward, Sarah Brightman recorded a cover of "Eden" on her 1998 album "Eden".

At was at this point that Frank Duchêne quit the band: "Having made two successful albums for Sony Music with his band Hooverphonic, and after extensive touring as support for Fiona Apple, Moloko & Massive Attack, he was unhappy with the project and near the end of 1998, decided to leave."[4]

The Magnificent Tree

The band followed up Blue Wonder Power Milk with 2000's The Magnificent Tree, which expands on the sound of Milk with a warmer, more approachable sound.[citation needed] Highlights from the album are the string-laden "Out Of Sight", "Mad About You", and the title track.

The same year, Hooverphonic was asked to write a song specifically for the opening ceremony of the 2000 European Football Championship, which took place in Brussels, Belgium. The result – a 12-minute-long track called "Visions" – became the theme song of the championship, and Hooverphonic's performance at the opening ceremony was heard/seen by more than 1 billion people.

On the heels of Tree's success, the band became the first Belgian outfit to headline the Belgian musical festival Rock Werchter in 2001.

Hooverphonic Presents Jackie Cane

2002 saw the group shifting gears again, this time releasing the concept album Hooverphonic Presents Jackie Cane. The album tells the story of the fictional title character, a celebrity and singer catapulted into stardom at the expense of her relationship with her twin sister. Driven to the brink of insanity by the pressures of fame, Jackie quits show business and returns home to attempt reconciliation, where her sister kills them both with a poisoned last supper.

Jackie Cane retains the dreamy elements of Hooverphonic's previous works, most notably on songs "Nirvana Blue" and "Human Interest" (which contains references to "Echoes" by Pink Floyd), but tracks like "The World Is Mine" (the first single) and "Day After Day" have a clear Broadway influence and quality to them.[citation needed] The album went platinum in Belgium and won the group ZAMU's Best Pop/Rock Band and Best Album awards in 2002.

Sit Down and Listen to Hooverphonic

In 2003, the band released a live (i.e. recorded live with an orchestra but without any audience) album entitled Sit Down and Listen to Hooverphonic, featuring a selection of songs from the band's body of work, as well as the new songs "Antarctica" and "The Last Thing I Need Is You", and a cover of Lee Hazlewood's "My Autumn's Done Come". The band launched into an extended European tour in September 2003, performing in over 100 concert halls.

No More Sweet Music

The band's fifth studio album, a double CD entitled No More Sweet Music/More Sweet Music, was released in December 2005. Both CDs include the same 11 tracks, however, they are all different versions.

Singles '96 - '06

In 2006 the band left Sony/BMG, complaining of lack of label support for No More Sweet Music. A best-of album (Singles '96 - '06) was released to end the relation with Sony/BMG. The band is now going to work without a label.

The President of the LSD Golf Club

In an interview for the Spanish TV program Nosolomusica, Alex Callier gave some hints of a new, more psychedelic orientation for the band's music. During a show in Moscow (October 2007) the band revealed the first single of the new album, "Expedition Impossible".[5] Alex Callier told[6] Side-Line Magazine that the new album also means an abrupt end with their previous label Sony.

The President of the LSD Golf Club, was released in October 2007 in Belgium and Netherlands. The album was released in Europe in March 2008. Following the release, Geike announced she would be leaving the band to pursue a solo career.[1]

The Night Before and Release of A New Stereophonic Sound Spectacular

On 29 October 2010 Hooverphonic released the single "The Night Before" to introduce new singer Noémie Wolfs. This was followed on November 26 by the release of the full-length album "The Night Before". The album went platinum in Belgium soon after its release.[7]

On 9 November 2011 they announced the re-release of their first album, A New Stereophonic Sound Spectacular.[8]

Discography

Main article: Hooverphonic discography

Use of music in television and movies

"2Wicky" has appeared in numerous movies, including I Know What You Did Last Summer, Permanent Midnight, The Interview and Bernardo Bertolucci's Stealing Beauty. It was used in an episode of Entourage. "2Wicky" and "Inhaler" were also featured on episodes of CSI: Crime Scene Investigation and are also on the series soundtrack.

"Eden" was a part of the soundtrack of the sequel I Still Know What You Did Last Summer.

"Renaissance Affair" and "This Strange Effect" were used in the Belgian movie Shades, as was "Shades" (the theme composed for the film). "Renaissance Affair" was also used in the USA in a Volkswagen New Beetle TV ad circa 2000. Alex Callier worked as the composer for the movie. "This Strange Effect" was also used in the 20th episode of the third season of the TV show La Femme Nikita. In episode 10 of season three of the same television series, the song "Eden" was used.

"Battersea" was used in the 1999 pilot of NBC TV series Third Watch and in the end of the show's last episode ("Goodbye to Camelot"), in 2005.

"Mad About You" was used in the CBS TV series Cold Case, in the third-season episode "Sanctuary". The song was also featured in the film A Lot Like Love during the New Year's Eve sequence, the 2002 film "New Best Friend" and in the movie Driven.

"The World is Mine" was featured as the theme song of UK television series Mile High (2003–2005), following the lives of airline crew at the fictional UK airline "Fresh!".

Hooverphonic music has also appeared in a number of adverts and other TV series.

  • Fête Iris in Brussels' Grand Place 2007
    Fête Iris in Brussels' Grand Place 2007

References

  1. ^ a b "Hooverphonic front woman Geike Arnaert quits band". Side-line.com. 1999-02-22. Retrieved 2014-03-07.
  2. ^ Noémie Wolfs is new Hooverphonic-singer Archived November 6, 2010, at the Wayback Machine
  3. ^ a b Callier, Alex (2005). 10 Years With Hooverphonic - Alex Callier Interview (television interview) (in Dutch). ëën. Event occurs at 1:47. Retrieved 29 November 2012. In fact the demos were done by Esther. She also did all the showcases and on the day we had to sign our record contract at Sony Music she said: "I don't think I can do this..."
  4. ^ Biography, Frank Duchêne Website. Retrieved 10 April 2016.
  5. ^ "Hooverphonic - Expedition Impossible (Live @ B-2 / Moscow)". YouTube. Retrieved 2014-03-07.
  6. ^ "Hooverphonic - "I'm a gearslut!"". Side-line.com. 2008-02-16. Retrieved 2014-03-07.
  7. ^ The Night Before goes platinum Archived January 8, 2011, at the Wayback Machine
  8. ^ releases deluxe box set version of debut album A New Stereophonic Sound Spectacular: The Official Hooverphonic Site [dead link]
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