Boxed In is the alias for British singer, songwriter and record producer Oli Bayston (born Oliver George Bayston). The name is partly inspired by
Francis Bacon
Francis Bacon, 1st Viscount St Alban (; 22 January 1561 – 9 April 1626), also known as Lord Verulam, was an English philosopher and statesman who served as Attorney General and Lord Chancellor of England. Bacon led the advancement of both ...
's infamous painting
Head VI
''Head VI'' is an oil-on-canvas painting by Irish-born figurative artist Francis Bacon, the last of six panels making up his "1949 Head" series. It shows a bust view of a single figure, modeled on Diego Velázquez's ''Portrait of Innocent X ...
, once described as "the operation through which the entire body escapes through the mouth", a phrase which also seemed to befit the act of singing.
After featuring in ''
The Guardian
''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
s "New band of the day" in October 2013, Boxed In released his first single "All Your Love Is Gone" through
Moshi Moshi Records
Moshi Moshi Records is a small London-based record label founded in 1998 by Adrian Pike, Michael McClatchey and Stephen Bass. The label has released music by bands including Lykke Li, Fimber Bravo, Bloc Party, Hot Chip, Late of the Pier, Hot ...
in November 2013. His eponymous, electro-dance-pop debut album followed in January 2015, released by
Nettwerk Records
Nettwerk Music Group is the umbrella company for Nettwerk Records, Nettwerk Management, and Nettwerk One Publishing.
Established in 1984, the Vancouver-based company was created by Nettwerk principals Terry McBride and Mark Jowett as a record ...
, to a swathe of positive reviews, including from ''
NME
''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming, and culture website and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a 'rock inkie', the NME would become a magazine that ended up as a f ...
'',
''Clash'', and ''
The Line of Best Fit
''The Line of Best Fit'' is an independent online magazine based in London, concentrating on new music.
It publishes independent music reviews, features, interview, and media. Founded by Richard Thane in February 2007 and currently edited by P ...
''. Stylistically, the album drew comparisons with
LCD Soundsystem
LCD Soundsystem is an American rock band from Brooklyn, New York, formed in 2002 by James Murphy, co-founder of DFA Records. The band comprises Murphy (vocals, various instruments), Nancy Whang (synthesizer, keyboards, vocals), Pat Mahoney (dr ...
and
Hot Chip
Hot Chip are an English synthpop band formed in London in 1995. The group consists of multi-instrumentalists Alexis Taylor, Joe Goddard, Al Doyle, Owen Clarke, and Felix Martin. They are occasionally joined by former member Rob Smoughton for ...
.
The album, and lead singles "Mystery", "Run Quicker" and "False Alarm", were supported across
BBC Radio 1
BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It specialises in modern popular music and current chart hits throughout the day. The station provides alternative genres at night, including electronica, dance, ...
(including
Huw Stephens
Huw Meredydd Stephens (born 25 May 1981) is a Welsh radio and television presenter, currently broadcasting on BBC Radio Wales, BBC Radio Cymru and BBC Radio 6 Music.
Stephens founded the Sŵn music festival with John Rostron and the yearly s ...
' It's Album Time session),
BBC Radio 6 Music
BBC Radio 6 Music is a British digital radio station owned and operated by the BBC, specialising primarily in alternative music. BBC 6 Music was the first national music radio station to be launched by the BBC in 32 years. It is available onl ...
(including a live session with
Lauren Laverne
Lauren Cecilia Fisher (née Gofton; born 28 April 1978), known professionally as Lauren Laverne, is an English radio DJ, model, television presenter, author and singer. She was the lead singer and additional guitarist in the alternative rock ba ...
),
KCRW
KCRW (89.9 MHz FM) is a National Public Radio member station broadcasting from the campus of Santa Monica College in Santa Monica, California, where the station is licensed. KCRW airs original news and music programming in addition to programm ...
(the album reached the station's top 10 albums of 2015) and
Spotify
Spotify (; ) is a proprietary Swedish audio streaming and media services provider founded on 23 April 2006 by Daniel Ek and Martin Lorentzon. It is one of the largest music streaming service providers, with over 456 million monthly active us ...
. This led to sold-out shows at London's
XOYO
XOYO is a nightclub in London. It is located on Cowper Street near Old Street station in Islington.
History
The two-room club opened in 2010, occupying a converted print works. It was bought and renovated by The Columbo Group.
Eats Everythi ...
and
Oslo (Hackney) venues. After seeing them perform at
SXSW
South by Southwest, abbreviated as SXSW and colloquially referred to as South By, is an annual conglomeration of parallel film, interactive media, and music festivals and conferences organized jointly that take place in mid-March in Austin, Te ...
in March 2015, KCRW music director
Jason Bentley Jason Bentley (born July 27, 1970) is an American radio disc jockey of electronic music in Los Angeles, California. On December 1, 2008, Bentley replaced Nic Harcourt as the host of ''Morning Becomes Eclectic'' and as Music Director for KCRW. Previ ...
invited the band to
Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...
to perform alongside
TV on the radio
TV on the Radio (TVOTR) is an American rock band from Brooklyn, New York, formed in 2001. The band consists of Tunde Adebimpe (vocals, loops), David Andrew Sitek (guitars, keyboards, loops), Kyp Malone (vocals, guitars, bass, loops), and Jale ...
at the station's Sound In Focus festival.
On 22 April 2016, producer
Dan Carey's Speedy Wunderground label (which invites a band to write and record a track in 24 hours at Carey's South London studio) released its 16th single "Running Out" by Boxed In feat. Formation, a British breakthrough dance-pop act.
Single ''Jist'' was released in June 2016, ahead of Boxed In's second album, ''Melt'', which was released in September that year.
A second single from the album, ''Forget'', followed a month later, remixed by
George FitzGerald.
Band members
* Oli Bayston –
vocals
Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or without ...
,
keyboards
Keyboard may refer to:
Text input
* Keyboard, part of a typewriter
* Computer keyboard
** Keyboard layout, the software control of computer keyboards and their mapping
** Keyboard technology, computer keyboard hardware and firmware
Music
* Musi ...
,
guitar
The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected stri ...
s,
programming
Discography
* ''Boxed In'' (2015)
* ''Melt'' (2016)
References
21st-century British musicians
British electronic musicians
British record producers
Living people
Year of birth missing (living people)
Place of birth missing (living people)
Nettwerk Music Group artists
{{UK-musician-stub