Alt-J (stylised as alt-J, real name Δ) are an English

indie rock Indie rock is a Music subgenre, subgenre of rock music that originated in the United Kingdom, United States and New Zealand in the early to mid-1980s. Although the term was originally used to describe rock music released through independent reco ...

band formed in 2007 in

Leeds Leeds is a city in West Yorkshire, England. It is the largest settlement in Yorkshire and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds Metropolitan Borough, which is the second most populous district in the United Kingdom. It is built aro ...

. Their lineup includes Joe Newman (guitar/lead vocals),

Thom Sonny Green Thomas Stuart Green (born 5 November 1985), known professionally as Thom Sonny Green, is an English drummer and electronic music producer. Green attended Leeds University, where he met the musicians with whom he would found the band Alt-J in ...

(drums), Gus Unger-Hamilton (keyboards/vocals), and formerly Gwil Sainsbury (guitar/bass). Their debut album ''

An Awesome Wave ''An Awesome Wave'' is the debut album by English indie rock band Alt-J, released on 25 May 2012 through Infectious. The album includes the singles " Matilda"/" Fitzpleasure", " Breezeblocks" and " Tessellate". It peaked at number thirteen on ...

'' was released in May 2012 in Europe, and in September 2012 in the United States, and won the 2012 British

Mercury Prize The Mercury Prize, formerly called the Mercury Music Prize, is an annual Music award, music prize awarded for the best album released by a musical act from the Music of the United Kingdom, United Kingdom or Music of Ireland, Ireland. It was cre ...

. Sainsbury left the band in early 2014. Their second album, ''

This Is All Yours ''This Is All Yours'' is the second album by English indie rock band Alt-J, released on 22 September 2014 through Infectious. It was promoted with four singles: " Hunger of the Pine", " Left Hand Free", " Every Other Freckle", and "Warm Foothill ...

'', was released on 22 September 2014 and went straight to number one in the United Kingdom.Listing
for Alt-J at the Official Charts Company (UK), (retrieved 29 May 2015). In June 2017 the band released their third studio album ''

Relaxer A relaxer is a type of lotion or cream generally used by people with tight curls or very curly hair which makes hair easier to hair straightening, straighten by chemically "relaxing" the natural curls. The active agent is usually a strong alkali, ...

'', followed in February 2022 by their fourth studio album '' The Dream''.

Name

Alt-J started with the name "

Daljit Dhaliwal Daljit Dhaliwal (born 8 September 1962) is a British newsreader and television presenter. Dhaliwal is a former news presenter for the Al-Jazeera English news service that was broadcast from Washington, D.C. Previously, she was the anchor cha ...

", after the BBC newsreader and television presenter, who the band grew up watching in the 90s. The band then renamed itself to "FILMS", but were later forced to change their name because an American band called " The Films" already existed. The band's "actual" name is the

triangle A triangle is a polygon with three corners and three sides, one of the basic shapes in geometry. The corners, also called ''vertices'', are zero-dimensional points while the sides connecting them, also called ''edges'', are one-dimension ...

-shaped symbol ∆, the capital Greek letter delta which is used in mathematics to mean "change". On

Mac Mac or MAC may refer to: Common meanings * Mac (computer), a line of personal computers made by Apple Inc. * Mackintosh, a raincoat made of rubberized cloth * Mac, a prefix to surnames derived from Gaelic languages * McIntosh (apple), a Canadi ...

computers, that symbol can be typed by pressing the keys , hence the name Alt-J. Then-member Gwil Sainsbury explained this by relating the meaning of "change" to the renaming happening "at a turning point in their lives." The band often makes references to triangles (for example, the song "

Tesselate A tessellation or tiling is the covering of a surface, often a plane (mathematics), plane, using one or more geometric shapes, called ''tiles'', with no overlaps and no gaps. In mathematics, tessellation can be generalized to high-dimensiona ...

" mentions "triangles are my favourite shape", and they make triangle symbols with their fingers during concerts), which they say is just due to it being a visually appealing shape. The cover art of the band's debut album ''

'' shows an overhead view of the largest

river delta A river delta is a landform, archetypically triangular, created by the deposition of the sediments that are carried by the waters of a river, where the river merges with a body of slow-moving water or with a body of stagnant water. The creat ...

in the world, where the

Ganges River The Ganges ( ; in India: Ganga, ; in Bangladesh: Padma, ). "The Ganges Basin, known in India as the Ganga and in Bangladesh as the Padma, is an international which goes through India, Bangladesh, Nepal and China." is a trans-boundary rive ...

meets the

Bay of Bengal The Bay of Bengal is the northeastern part of the Indian Ocean. Geographically it is positioned between the Indian subcontinent and the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese peninsula, located below the Bengal region. Many South Asian and Southe ...

Bangladesh Bangladesh, officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, eighth-most populous country in the world and among the List of countries and dependencies by ...

History

2007–2010: Formation and early years

Alt-J (∆) were formed when Gwilym (Gwil) Sainsbury (guitar/bass), Joe Newman (guitar/lead vocals), Augustus (Gus) Unger-Hamilton (keyboards/vocals) and Thomas Stuart (Thom Sonny) Green (drums) met at

University of Leeds The University of Leeds is a public research university in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It was established in 1874 as the Yorkshire College of Science. In 1884, it merged with the Leeds School of Medicine (established 1831) and was renamed Y ...

in 2007. Unger-Hamilton (younger brother of Ferdy, head of A&R for

Polydor Records Polydor Limited, also known as Polydor Records, is a British record label that operates as part of Universal Music Group. It has a close relationship with Universal's Interscope Geffen A&M Records label, which distributes Polydor's releases in ...

) studied English, the other three

Fine Art In European academic traditions, fine art (or, fine arts) is made primarily for aesthetics or creative expression, distinguishing it from popular art, decorative art or applied art, which also either serve some practical function (such as ...

. According to Newman, "I basically went to art school to start a band." In their second year of studies, Newman showed Sainsbury some of his own songs and the pair began recording on

GarageBand GarageBand is a software application by Apple Inc., Apple for macOS, iPadOS, and iOS devices that allows users to create music or Podcast, podcasts. It is a lighter, amateur-oriented offshoot of Logic Pro. GarageBand was originally released for ...

in their hall rooms with Sainsbury acting as producer. The band's sound arose in part from living in student accommodation, where noise had to be kept to a minimum, as well as limited access to instruments. At the time, Green used a very limited drum kit, Unger-Hamilton a cheap keyboard, and Newman an acoustic guitar.

2011–2012: ''An Awesome Wave'' and touring

After graduating, the band moved to

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a List of cities in the United Kingdom, city and non-metropolitan district in the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It is the county town of Cambridgeshire and is located on the River Cam, north of London. As of the 2021 Unit ...

where they spent several months working on their music before signing a deal with

Infectious Music Infectious Music is an independent record label owned by BMG, whose bands have included Alt-J, Ash and the Subways. History Infectious Music was established in 1993 as Infectious Records by former Zerra One drummer Korda Marshall after lea ...

in December 2011. Their self-titled 4-track demo EP, ''∆'', was recorded with producer

Charlie Andrew Charles Andrew is a British record producer, mixer and songwriter. He is best known for his work with indie band Alt-J. In 2013 he was awarded 'Breakthrough Producer of the Year' by his peers at Music Producers Guild awards, in 2016 he won th ...

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

and featured the tracks " Breezeblocks", "Hand-Made", "

Matilda Matilda or Mathilda may refer to: Animals * Matilda (chicken) (1990–2006), World's Oldest Living Chicken record holder * Mathilda (gastropod), ''Mathilda'' (gastropod), a genus of gastropods in the family Mathildidae * Matilda (horse) (1824–1 ...

", and "

Tessellate A tessellation or tiling is the covering of a surface, often a plane, using one or more geometric shapes, called ''tiles'', with no overlaps and no gaps. In mathematics, tessellation can be generalized to higher dimensions and a variety of ...

". A 7" single containing " Bloodflood" and "Tessellate" was released by

Loud and Quiet ''Loud and Quiet'' is a British bi-monthly music magazine that focuses on new music from underground indie, alternative, electronic and hip hop artists. History and profile The magazine was founded in January 2005 by Stuart Stubbs as a home-print ...

in October 2011. Their first 2012 release for

was the triangle-shaped 10" "Matilda" / " Fitzpleasure". It was followed by " Breezeblocks" which preceded their first album. ''

'' was also produced by

and compiled at Iguana Studios,

Brixton Brixton is an area of South London, part of the London Borough of Lambeth, England. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London. Brixton experienced a rapid rise in population during the 19th century ...

, where the band recorded tracks during the studio's spare time. Andrew said that the band's sound was heavily influenced by unusual instrument choices, including drummer Thom Green's decision not to use cymbals. Andrew told

Sound on Sound ''Sound on Sound'' is a monthly music technology magazine. The magazine includes product tests of electronic musical performance and recording devices, and interviews with industry professionals. Due to its technical focus, it is predominantly ...

, "The only slightly cymbal-like thing he uses is the back end of a saucepan, which he uses for the hi-hat". The album's drums were recorded first, followed by bass guitar and other instruments. Green's drumming was always recorded to a click track because Andrew wanted it to have the precision of electronic drums. Their debut album was released on 28 May 2012 in the UK, Europe, and Australia, and on 18 September 2012 in

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South Ameri ...

via Canvasback Music. The album received some favourable reviews and was described as a "captivating blend of insatiable grooves and profound poignancy". Alt-J supported

Wild Beasts Wild Beasts was an English indie rock band, formed in 2002 in Kendal. They released their first single, "Brave Bulging Buoyant Clairvoyants", on Bad Sneakers Records in November 2006, and subsequently signed to Domino Recording Company, Domino ...

in April 2012 and played a minor headlining tour around the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

and

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

in October of that year. The band have featured regularly on summer festivals, including

Latitude In geography, latitude is a geographic coordinate system, geographic coordinate that specifies the north-south position of a point on the surface of the Earth or another celestial body. Latitude is given as an angle that ranges from −90° at t ...

Bestival Bestival was a four-day music festival held in the south of England. The name Bestival is a portmanteau of the words best and festival. It had been held annually in the late summer since 2004 at Robin Hill on the Isle of Wight. In 2017 the festi ...

, Reading and Leeds,

T in the Park T in the Park festival was a major Scottish music festival that was held annually from 1994 to 2016. It was named after its main sponsor, Tennents. The event was held at Strathclyde Park, Lanarkshire, until 1996. It then moved to the disused ...

Green Man The Green Man, also known as a foliate head, is a motif in architecture and art, of a face made of, or completely surrounded by, foliage, which normally spreads out from the centre of the face. Apart from a purely decorative function, the Green ...

Pukkelpop Pukkelpop is an annual music festival that takes place near the city of Hasselt, Belgium in mid- to late August. It is held within a large enclosure of fields and woodland—adjacent to a dual carriageway called ''Kempische Steenweg''—in the v ...

, and

Lowlands Upland and lowland are conditional descriptions of a plain based on elevation above sea level. In studies of the ecology of freshwater rivers, habitats are classified as upland or lowland. Definitions Upland and lowland are portions of a ...

. They also did concert tour in the United States in December 2012 and performed at the Laneway Festival tour in Australia. In November 2012 the band were announced as the winners of the Mercury Prize for their album. Besides the prize-money, the band saw an increase in their profile resulting in ''An Awesome Wave'' reaching number 13 on the

UK Albums Chart The Official Albums Chart is the United Kingdom's industry-recognised national record chart for album, albums. Entries are ranked by sales and audio streaming. It was published for the first time on 22 July 1956 and is compiled every week by the O ...

. The band would later describe the event as "life-changing, there was a sense of eingimposters, that the band had somehow got this far without not being a real band, we're just guys from Leeds who muddled through it and magicked a Mercury award". The title "An Awesome Wave" was taken from the 1991

Bret Easton Ellis Bret Easton Ellis (born March 7, 1964) is an American author and screenwriter. Ellis was one of the literary Brat Pack (literary), Brat Pack and is a self-proclaimed satirist whose trademark technique as a writer is the expression of extreme acts ...

novel ''

American Psycho ''American Psycho'' is a black comedy horror novel by American writer Bret Easton Ellis, published in 1991. The story is told in the First-person narrative, first-person by Patrick Bateman, a wealthy, narcissistic, and vain Manhattan investmen ...

''.

2013–2016: Departure of Sainsbury and ''This Is All Yours''

On 11 January 2014, the band announced that Sainsbury had decided to leave the group, and that they remained friends. In early June 2014, Alt-J announced a 2014 tour to take place in North America over October and November. The 23-day tour started in Vancouver, B.C., on 14 October and ended in Washington, D.C., on 19 November. On 9 June 2014, they announced their second album ''

'', that was released on 22 September 2014. This Is All Yours went straight to number 1 on the UK's Official Albums Chart. Alt-J headlined the September 2015 edition of Boston Calling Music Festival. As a replacement for Sainsbury, Cameron Knight became a supporting member for Alt-J's live shows.

2017–2020: ''Relaxer''

On 3 March 2017 Alt-J began teasing their third studio album on their social media accounts with an audio clip captioned "00110011 01110111 01110111" (Binary code for "3ww"). ''

Stereogum ''Stereogum'' is a daily Internet publication that focuses on music news, reviews, interviews, and commentary. The site was created in January 2002 by Scott Lapatine. ''Stereogum'' was one of the first MP3 blogs and has received several awar ...

'' reported later that day that the band's third album would be titled ''

'' and was scheduled for release on 2 June 2017. On 6 March 2017 Alt-J released " 3WW", which features lead singer Ellie Rowsell of

Wolf Alice Wolf Alice are a Rock music, rock band from London. Formed in 2010 as an acoustic duo made up of singer Ellie Rowsell and guitarist Joff Oddie, Wolf Alice have also featured bassist Theo Ellis and drummer Joel Amey since 2012. Wolf Alice playe ...

, as a digital single and announced dates for the ''Relaxer'' Tour in support of the album. Three weeks later, on 29 March, they released "

In Cold Blood ''In Cold Blood'' is a non-fiction novel by the American author Truman Capote, first published in 1966. It details the 1959 Clutter family murders in the small farming community of Holcomb, Kansas. Capote learned of the quadruple murder bef ...

", the second single from ''Relaxer''. In anticipation of their third album, the band released an online video game, whose soundtrack was their single "3WW," as well as announcing in May 2017 that they would be playing a five-date UK tour at seaside venues, starting on 4 September 2017. On 24 May 2017 Alt-J released "

Adeline Adeline may refer to: People *Adeline (given name) *Yves-Marie Adeline (born 1960), French Catholic writer Places *Adeline, Illinois, village in Maryland Township, Ogle County, Illinois, US Arts and entertainment *Adeline Records, recording lab ...

", the third single from ''Relaxer''. The album was released shortly afterwards, on 2 June 2017. " Deadcrush", the fourth single from the album, was released on 12 July and was featured as a soundtrack in the ''

FIFA 18 ''FIFA 18'' is a association football, football simulation video game, simulation video game developed and published by Electronic Arts and released worldwide on 29 September 2017 for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Xbox 360, ...

'' game. Fifth single "Pleader" arrived on 15 September 2017. Several tracks from ''Relaxer'' have since been remixed by a diverse array of artists. ''Relaxer'' was nominated for the 2017

. On 28 September 2018 an alternative version of ''Relaxer'' was released. The album, titled '' Reduxer,'' is a "rap heavy do-over" of the previous year's record.

Since 2021: ''The Dream''

On 16 September 2021, the band announced their first single since 2018, titled "U&ME", would be released 22 September 2021. The single's release coincided with the announcement of their fourth album, '' The Dream'', which was released 11 February 2022.

In popular culture

Alt-J performed "Buffalo" along with

Mountain Man A mountain man is an Geographical exploration, explorer who lives in the wilderness and makes his living from hunting, fishing and trapping. Mountain men were most common in the North American Rocky Mountains from about 1810 through to the 1880s ...

for the 2011 film ''

Silver Linings Playbook ''Silver Linings Playbook'' is a 2012 American romantic comedy-drama film written and directed by David O. Russell. The film is based on Matthew Quick's 2008 novel '' The Silver Linings Playbook''. It stars Bradley Cooper and Jennifer Lawre ...

''. In February 2013 the band announced they would be composing the soundtrack for

Toby Jones Toby Edward Heslewood Jones''Births, Marriages & Deaths Index of England & Wales, 1916–2005.''; at ancestry.com (born 7 September 1966) is an English actor. He is known for his extensive character actor roles on stage and screen. From 1989 ...

' new film ''Leave to Remain''. On 7 August 2008, " Fitzpleasure" was featured in the closing credits of ''

Weeds A weed is an unwanted plant of any species. Weed or weeds may also refer to: Places * Weed, Arkansas, an unincorporated community in the United States * Weed, California, a city in the United States * Weed, Kentucky, an unincorporated communit ...

'', episode 6, season 8. Their song "

Every Other Freckle "Every Other Freckle" is a song by English indie rock band Alt-J. It was released as the third single from the band's second studio album ''This Is All Yours'' on 14 August 2014. ''Spin Spin or spinning most often refers to: * Spin (physics) or p ...

" was featured on the Netflix show '' Lovesick'', in the season 1 episode "Cressida", in 2014. In 2014, their song "

" was featured on ''

Sons of Anarchy ''Sons of Anarchy'' is an American Action film, action crime drama television series created by Kurt Sutter for FX (TV channel), FX. Originally aired from September 3, 2008, to December 9, 2014, ''Sons of Anarchy'' follows the lives of a close-k ...

'', episode 5, season 6. The song " Hunger of the Pine" is used to begin and end the first season of ''

Unreal Unreal may refer to: Books and TV * ''Unreal'' (short story collection), a 1985 book of short stories by Paul Jennings * ''Unreal'' (TV series), a 2015 television drama series on Lifetime Computing and games * ''Unreal'' (video game series), ...

'' released in 2015. "Fitzpleasure" was featured in the background of the 2015 film ''

Sisters A sister is a woman or a girl who shares parents or a parent with another individual; a female sibling. The male counterpart is a brother. Although the term typically refers to a familial relationship, it is sometimes used endearingly to r ...

'' and in the main trailer for the video game '' Battleborn'' released in 2016. In 2015, their song " Something Good" was featured in the second episode of ''

Life Is Strange ''Life Is Strange'' is a series of adventure games published by Square Enix's Square Enix External Studios, External Studios. Created by Dontnod Entertainment, the series debuted with the Life Is Strange (video game), eponymous first install ...

''. In 2016, their song " Left Hand Free" was featured in the

Marvel Cinematic Universe The Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) is an American media franchise and shared universe centered on List of Marvel Cinematic Universe films, a series of superhero films produced by Marvel Studios. The films are based on characters that appe ...

film '' Captain America: Civil War''. In 2018, their songs "Tessellate" and "

" are the opening and ending respectively of the anime '' Ingress'', based on the AR game created for

Niantic Niantic may refer to: * Niantic people, tribe of American Indians * Niantic, Inc., mobile app developer known for the mobile games ''Ingress'' and ''Pokémon Go'' * Niantic Correctional Institution, now known as York Correctional Institution ...

: '' Ingress''. In 2019, their songs " Breezeblocks" and "In Cold Blood" were featured on the Netflix series '' Daybreak'', episodes 5 and 10 respectively. In 2020, their song "Left Hand Free" was featured in the Netflix series ''

Outer Banks The Outer Banks (frequently abbreviated OBX) are a string of barrier islands and spits off the coast of North Carolina and southeastern Virginia, on the east coast of the United States. They line most of the North Carolina coastline, separatin ...

''. Also in 2020, "In Cold Blood" was in the Netflix film, ''

Extraction Extraction may refer to: Science and technology Biology and medicine * Comedo extraction, a method of acne treatment * Dental extraction, the surgical removal of a tooth from the mouth Computing and information science * Data extraction, the ...

''. In 2022, their song "Breezeblocks" was featured in the pilot episode, "Lightning Strikes", of

Hulu Hulu (, ) is an American Subscription business model, subscription streaming media service owned by Disney Streaming, a subsidiary of the Disney Entertainment segment of the Walt Disney Company. It was launched on October 29, 2007, initially as ...

series ''

Tell Me Lies Tell Me Lies may refer to: * ''Tell Me Lies'' (film), a 1968 documentary film * ''Tell Me Lies'' (TV series), a 2022 drama series * "Tell Me Lies", a 1997 song by Natalie Cole featured in the film ''Cats Don't Dance'' See also * "Little Lies ...

''. In 2023, a portion of their song "Hunger of the Pine" was featured in the announcement trailer for

Hello Games Hello Games Ltd is a British video game company based in Guildford, Surrey. The company was founded by Sean Murray, Grant Duncan, Ryan Doyle and David Ream in February 2008 (incorporated on 4 August 2008) and has developed the '' Joe Danger'' ...

's video game ''

Light No Fire Hello Games Ltd is a British video game company based in Guildford, Surrey. The company was founded by Sean Murray, Grant Duncan, Ryan Doyle and David Ream in February 2008 (incorporated on 4 August 2008) and has developed the ''Joe Danger'' se ...

''. In December 2023, an instrumental version of their song "

" was featured in the trailer for the Netflix film ''

Society of the Snow ''Society of the Snow'' () is a 2023 survival drama film directed by J. A. Bayona and based on Pablo Vierci's 2008 book of the same name, which details the true story of a Uruguayan rugby team's experience in 1972 after Uruguayan Air Forc ...

''.

Lyrics

Alt-J has been noted for their

post-modern Postmodernism encompasses a variety of artistic, cultural, and philosophical movements that claim to mark a break from modernism Modernism was an early 20th-century movement in literature, visual arts, and music that emphasized experi ...

lyrics Lyrics are words that make up a song, usually consisting of verses and choruses. The writer of lyrics is a lyricist. The words to an extended musical composition such as an opera are, however, usually known as a "libretto" and their writer, ...

in their songs that highlight historic events and pop-culture subjects. The song "Taro" is written in reference to

Gerda Taro Gerta Pohorylle (1 August 1910 – 26 July 1937), known professionally as Gerda Taro, was a German War photography, war photographer active during the Spanish Civil War. She is regarded as the first female Photojournalism, photojournalist to hav ...

and her role as a

war photographer War photography involves photographing armed conflict and its effects on people and places. Photographers who participate in this genre may find themselves placed in harm's way, and are sometimes killed trying to get their pictures out of the war ...

during the

Spanish Civil War The Spanish Civil War () was a military conflict fought from 1936 to 1939 between the Republican faction (Spanish Civil War), Republicans and the Nationalist faction (Spanish Civil War), Nationalists. Republicans were loyal to the Left-wing p ...

as well as her relationship to

Robert Capa Robert Capa (; born Endre Ernő Friedmann, ; October 22, 1913 – May 25, 1954) was a Hungarian-American war photographer and photojournalist. He is considered by some to be the greatest combat and adventure photographer in history.Kershaw, Al ...

. The song describes the details of Capa's death ("A violent wrench grips mass / Rips light, tears limbs like rags") and imagines Taro's complementary emotions. The visuals in a fan made music video by YouTube user David Dean Burkhart are taken from Godfrey Reggio's experimental film ''

Powaqqatsi ''Powaqqatsi'' is a 1988 American non-narrative film directed by Godfrey Reggio and the sequel to Reggio's experimental 1982 film, '' Koyaanisqatsi''. It is the second film in ''Qatsi'' trilogy, which was followed by '' Naqoyqatsi'' (2002). T ...

''. "

" is a reference to

Natalie Portman Natalie Hershlag{{efn, Some Hebrew sources claim that her birth name was "Neta-Lee Hershleg" ({{langx, he, נטע-לי הרשלג) and later, her first name was Americanized to "Natalie". {{Cite news , last=Shamir , first=Oron , date=August ...

's character in the film '' Léon: The Professional''. "Fitzpleasure" is the retelling of

Hubert Selby Jr. Hubert "Cubby" Selby Jr. (July 23, 1928 – April 26, 2004) was an American writer. Two of his novels, ''Last Exit to Brooklyn'' (1964) and ''Requiem for a Dream'' (1978), explore worlds in the New York area and were adapted as films, both of w ...

's short story "Tralala", published in ''

Last Exit to Brooklyn ''Last Exit to Brooklyn'' is a 1964 novel by American author Hubert Selby Jr. The novel takes a harsh, uncompromising look at lower class Brooklyn in the 1950s written in spare, stripped-down prose. Critics and fellow writers praised the b ...

.'' The story follows a

prostitute Prostitution is a type of sex work that involves engaging in sexual activity in exchange for payment. The definition of "sexual activity" varies, and is often defined as an activity requiring physical contact (e.g., sexual intercourse, non-pe ...

named Tralala who dies after being gang-raped and raped with a broom, as in the lyrics "dead in the middle / of a c-o-double-m-o-n" and "in your snatch fits pleasure / broom shaped pleasure."

Awards and nominations

In 2012, Alt-J's debut album won the British Mercury Prize. Alt-J were also nominated for three Brit Awards (British Breakthrough Act, British

Album An album is a collection of audio recordings (e.g., music) issued on a medium such as compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl (record), audio tape (like 8-track cartridge, 8-track or Cassette tape, cassette), or digital distribution, dig ...

of the Year and British Group of the Year). ''An Awesome Wave'' was announced as

BBC Radio 6 Music BBC Radio 6 Music is a British digital radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It primarily plays a wide range of alternative music, from established and emerging artists and bands. In 2002 it was the first national music radio station t ...

of the Year 2012. Three of the tracks from this album gained entry into the Australian 2012

Triple J Hottest 100 The Triple J Hottest 100 is an annual music poll presented by the publicly-funded Australian youth radio station Triple J. Members of the public are invited to vote for their favourite Music of Australia, Australian and alternative music of th ...

, with " Something Good" at number 81, "

" at number 64, and " Breezeblocks" coming third overall. In 2013, ''

'' won Album of the year at the

Ivor Novello Awards The Ivor Novello Awards, named after the Welsh entertainer Ivor Novello, are awards for songwriting and Musical composition, composing. They have been presented annually in London by the The Ivors Academy, Ivors Academy, formerly called the Britis ...

. ''This Is All Yours'' received a

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious ...

nomination for

Best Alternative Music Album The Grammy Award for Best Alternative Music Album is an award presented to recording artists for quality albums in the alternative genre at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards. Ho ...

at the

57th Annual Grammy Awards The 57th Annual Grammy Awards were held on February 8, 2015, at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California. The show was broadcast live by CBS at 5:00 p.m. PST ( UTC−8). Rapper LL Cool J hosted the show for the fourth consecutive ti ...

, and for

IMPALA The impala or rooibok (''Aepyceros melampus'', lit. 'black-footed high-horn' in Ancient Greek) is a medium-sized antelope found in eastern and southern Africa. The only extant member of the genus '' Aepyceros'', and tribe Aepycerotini, it ...

's European Independent Album of the Year Award.

Personnel

Current * Joe Newman – lead vocals, guitars, bass (2007–present) *

– drums, percussion (2007–present) * Gus Unger-Hamilton – keyboards, bass, vocals (2007–present) Touring * Cameron Knight – guitars, bass, sampler (2014–2016) Past * Gwil Sainsbury – guitars, bass (2007–2014)

Discography

Studio albums * ''

'' (2012) * ''

'' (2014) * ''

'' (2017) *'' The Dream'' (2022)

References

External links

*
Official website
{{Authority control Alt-J Indie rock groups from Leeds English indie pop groups Musical groups established in 2007 English musical quartets English art rock groups Folktronica groups Atlantic Records artists Infectious Music artists Ivor Novello Award winners 2007 establishments in England