Wildlife Control (band)
Wildlife Control | |
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![]() Wildlife Control during a concert at Mercury Lounge in New York City in August 2012 | |
Background information | |
Origin | Brooklyn, New York, U.S. San Francisco, California, U.S. |
Genres | indie rock, alternative pop |
Years active | 2011 – present |
Labels | Kobalt |
Members | Neil Shah Sumul Shah |
Website | Official Site |
Wildlife Control is an American indie rock band and creative lab originally from Brooklyn, New York and San Francisco, California formed in 2011 by brothers Neil Shah (lead vocals, guitar, piano) and Sumul Shah (vocals, drums, guitar).[1][2] Touring members include Moppa Elliott (bass) and Kevin Thaxton (bass).[3]
History
[edit]Wildlife Control released their debut single Analog or Digital in December 2011 with an interactive video using HTML5, JavaScript, and the SoundCloud API.[4] In February 2012, they released the official music video for Analog or Digital on YouTube.[5] It went viral, officially trending during the first weekend of its release.[6][7] The widespread reach of the videos resulted in Analog or Digital and the band's subsequently released EP, Spin to hit No. 1 on Amazon MP3's "Hot New Releases" sales chart in the alternative pop category.[8]
In April 2012, Wildlife Control held a four-week residency at Arlene's Grocery in New York City while touring through several major cities including Philadelphia, Washington D.C., Boston, Chicago, and San Francisco.[9]
Wildlife Control released their self-titled debut album on July 31, 2012. The album received favorable reviews from several major media outlets, with Wired declaring it "A great debut album from an indie band who really seem to be creating their own musical pulse."[10] Two songs from the album hit the Hype Machine "Popular" chart, with People Change reaching No. 1 and Spin reaching No. 4.[11] The band sold out album premiere shows at Mercury Lounge in New York City and Bottom of the Hill in San Francisco.
On August 22, 2012, Wildlife Control peaked at No. 48 on the CMJ Radio 200 chart, making it the highest ranked self-released album for that week.[12] Notable commercial radio DJs including Aaron Axelsen at KITS in San Francisco and Nic Harcourt have featured Wildlife Control songs on their programs.[13][14] On November 28, 2012, Analog or Digital reached No. 12 on the FMQB SubModern Singles chart.[15]
Wildlife Control headlined The Deli Magazine's Avant Pop show at the 2012 CMJ Music Marathon.[16]
South By Southwest announced on their website that Wildlife Control is scheduled to appear at the annual SXSW Music Festival in 2013.[17]
On January 18, 2013, MTV Hive premiered a new Wildlife Control single titled Different, announcing a release date of January 29, 2013.[18] The band then released another single titled Ages Places on March 8, 2013, while announcing details of their upcoming SXSW performances.[19][20]
Billboard (magazine) announced on their website that Wildlife Control is scheduled to appear at the annual BottleRock Festival in 2015.[21]
Popular Science premiered Particles on April 8, 2016 describing it as "one of the year's more forward thinking album releases." The album is composed of three movements: Illusion, Subtract, and Creature. Particles also features a 12-minute film by the same name with the music set to Hyperlapse videos from users around the world.[22]
The Showtime documentary More Than T, featuring an original score by Wildlife Control, premiered on June 23, 2017. The film profiles seven members of the trans community and highlights their "passions, hopes for the future and life's work."[23] Wildlife Control released the film's soundtrack on June 1, 2017, with The Burning Ear describing the music as "grand, sweeping, and full of hope."[24]
In 2019, Ranker included Wildlife Control in their list of famous bands from the San Francisco Bay Area as voted on by the site's audience.[25]
Discography
[edit]Albums
[edit]Title | Release date | Peak chart positions | |
---|---|---|---|
CMJ 200[12] | Billboard Next Big Sound[26] | ||
Wildlife Control | 31 July 2012 | 48 | 4 |
Music for a Film | 1 June 2017 | — | — |
"—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory. |
Extended plays
[edit]Title | Release date |
---|---|
Spin | 27 March 2012 |
Particles | 8 April 2016 |
Singles
[edit]Title | Release date | Peak chart positions |
---|---|---|
SubModern[15] | ||
Analog or Digital | 6 December 2011 | 12 |
Different | 29 January 2013 | — |
Ages Places | 8 March 2013 | — |
"—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory. |
Media
[edit]- Aux (TV channel) Track of the Week on July 6, 2012 [27]
- Billboard Next Big Sound Top 25 Chart on July 28, 2012 [26]
- SoundCloud Soundclouder of the Day on July 31, 2012 [28]
- Last.fm Most Hyped Artist - Alternative Rock on September 9, 2012 [29]
- Channel One News Hear it Now Artist of the Week on September 17, 2012 [30]
References
[edit]- ^ "Wildlife Control - Wildlife Control : Release Credits". AllMusic. Retrieved October 8, 2012.
- ^ "Wildlife Control". Facebook. Retrieved October 8, 2012.
- ^ Warwick, Clayton (July 30, 2012). "Wildlife Control Interview + "Brooklyn"".
- ^ Silver, Curtis (February 15, 2012). "Wildlife Control Geeks Out With Interactive 8-bit Video". Wired. Retrieved October 1, 2012.
- ^ "Wildlife Control - Analog or Digital". YouTube. February 14, 2012. Retrieved October 8, 2012.
- ^ "Twitter / YouTubeTrends: #Trending: Wildlife Control". Twitter.com. Retrieved October 8, 2012.
- ^ Keddy, Shauna (June 14, 2012). "Beach daze with buzzing brother act Wildlife Control". San Francisco Bay Guardian. Retrieved October 1, 2012.
- ^ "Hot New Releases in Adult Alternative". Amazon.com. March 28, 2012.
- ^ "Wildlife Control - Shows". Wildlifectrl.com. Retrieved October 8, 2012.
- ^ Silver, Curtis (August 2, 2012). "Debut LP From Wildlife Control Is Synth Pop With Jazz Sensibilities". Wired. Retrieved October 1, 2012.
- ^ "Popular MP3 & Music Blog Tracks / The Hype Machine". Hype Machine. March 30, 2012.
- ^ a b Radio 200 Chart For College Music Journal Issue #1262
- ^ "Connections Made By Guitar Center". Gc.guitarcenter.com. Retrieved October 8, 2012.
- ^ "Soundcheck Playlist: 07.08.2012 « Live 105". Live105.cbslocal.com. July 8, 2012. Retrieved October 8, 2012.
- ^ a b "FMQB SubModern Report". FMQB. November 28, 2012.
- ^ "Deli CMJ Shows 2012: Young Magic, Wildlife Control. EndAnd, Foxygen, Snowmine, Hundred Waters, Dynasty Electric, You Bred Raptors? + a TON MORE!!". National.thedelimagazine.com. Retrieved October 8, 2012.
- ^ "2013 Bands SXSW". sxsw.com. December 5, 2012. Retrieved December 5, 2012.
- ^ "Stream Wildlife Control's Swirling New Single "Different"". mtvhive.com. January 18, 2013. Retrieved January 21, 2013.
- ^ "Wildlife Control". wildlifectrl.com. March 8, 2013. Retrieved March 8, 2013.
- ^ "Wildlife Control - Ages Places :: Indie Shuffle Music Blog". indieshuffle.com. March 8, 2013. Retrieved March 8, 2013.
- ^ "BottleRock 2015 Lineup". billboard.com. January 6, 2015. Retrieved January 6, 2015.
- ^ Giles, Matt (April 8, 2016). "WILDLIFE CONTROL TURNED YOUR SOCIAL MEDIA POSTS INTO ART". Popular Science. Retrieved May 18, 2016.
- ^ Moran, Justin (May 17, 2017). "New Doc More Than T Highlights the Lives of Transgender Americans". Out. Retrieved May 18, 2017.
- ^ Adams, Jason (June 20, 2017). "Wildlife Control – Gizelle Pt.1 // Jem Creswell". The Burning Ear. Retrieved June 21, 2017.
- ^ "Famous Bands from San Francisco Bay Area". ranker.com. November 5, 2019. Retrieved January 6, 2015.
- ^ a b "Next Big Sound 25 Music Chart". Billboard. July 28, 2012. Retrieved October 8, 2012.
- ^ Mighty Digital (July 6, 2012). "Track Of The Week: "Analog Or Digital" by Wildlife Control". Aux.tv. Retrieved October 8, 2012.
- ^ "SoundCloud - SoundClouder Of The Day | Wildlife Control |". Soundcloud.tumblr.com. July 31, 2012. Retrieved October 8, 2012.
- ^ "Hyped Alternative rock Artists — Week ending Sunday 9 September 2012 –". Last.fm. July 4, 2012. Retrieved October 8, 2012.
- ^ "Wildlife Control - Hear It Now on Channel One News for New Music, Artists, Bands and Video". Channelone.com. Retrieved October 8, 2012.