British India are an Australian
rock
Rock most often refers to:
* Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids
* Rock music, a genre of popular music
Rock or Rocks may also refer to:
Places United Kingdom
* Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...
band from Melbourne. The band is made up of lead vocalist and guitarist Declan Melia, guitarist Nic Wilson, bassist Will Drummond and drummer Matt O'Gorman. In 2019, Jack Tosi replaced Nic Wilson as a touring member of the band. They have released six studio albums.
History
Formation and Early Shows 2003 - 2006
The members of British India met in 2003 in high school at
St. Bede's College, in
Melbourne, Victoria. The band began rehearsing and writing songs in the pool room at drummer Matt O'Gorman's parent's house. Early influences included
The Strokes
The Strokes are an American rock band from New York City. Formed in 1998, the band is composed of lead singer and songwriter Julian Casablancas, guitarists Nick Valensi and Albert Hammond Jr., bassist Nikolai Fraiture, and drummer Fabrizio Mor ...
,
The White Stripes
The White Stripes were an American rock duo from Detroit formed in 1997. The group consisted of Jack White (songwriter, vocals, guitar, piano, and mandolin) and Meg White (drums and vocals). After releasing several singles and three albums wit ...
,
The Datsuns
The Datsuns are a hard rock band from Cambridge, New Zealand, formed in 1998. Founding mainstays are Rudolf "Dolf" de Borst on vocals and bass guitar, and Christian Livingstone and Phil Somervell, both on guitar. They have released seven album ...
, and
Interpol
The International Criminal Police Organization (ICPO; french: link=no, Organisation internationale de police criminelle), commonly known as Interpol ( , ), is an international organization that facilitates worldwide police cooperation and cri ...
. Upon finishing high school, the band began gigging extensively at pub and club shows throughout Melbourne.
In 2005 the band recorded a vinyl seven inch single called "Outside 109" with producer Lindsay Gravina at his Birdland studios. The single was given airplay on
Triple J
Triple J (stylised in all lowercase) is a government-funded, national Australian radio station intended to appeal to listeners of alternative music, which began broadcasting in January 1975. The station also places a greater emphasis on broad ...
, and generated some interest in the Australian music industry.
Counter Culture EP and Guillotine 2006 - 2007
In 2005 the band met producer and future manager Glenn Goldsmith who provided early demos to Australian producer
Harry Vanda
Johannes Hendrikus Jacob van den Berg (born 22 March 1946), better known as his stage name Harry Vanda, is a Dutch Australian musician, songwriter and record producer. He is best known as lead guitarist of the 1960s Australian rock band the Ea ...
, Vanda agreed to finance and produce the band.
In late 2005 the band recorded the four track ''Counter Culture EP'' at Vanda's Flashpoint Studios in Sydney with Vanda and Goldsmith as producers. Promoted with the single "The Time" the EP made little impact, producing no label interest or radio airplay.
In 2006 the band returned to Flashpoint to record their debut album ''Guillotine'', again produced by Vanda and Goldsmith. After being shelved for several months due to lack of label interest, the album was eventually released independently through
Flashpoint Music and
Shock Records distribution.
''Guillotine ''was released in July 2007 and included the singles "Black & White Radio", "Tie Up My Hands", "Run The Red Light" and "Russian Roulette". This was followed by a successful Australian tour and festival appearances at
Homebake festival and
The Big Day Out
The Big Day Out (BDO) was an annual music festival that was held in five Australian cities: Sydney, Melbourne, Gold Coast, Adelaide, and Perth, as well as Auckland, New Zealand. The festival was held during summer, typically in January of eac ...
. Triple J played the album extensively and "Tie Up My Hands" and "Run The Red Light" charted in the
Triple J Hottest 100
The Triple J Hottest 100 is an annual music listener poll hosted by the publicly-funded, national Australian youth radio station, Triple J. Members of the public are invited to vote for their favourite Australian and alternative music of the y ...
of that year. ''Guillotine'' was nominated for the
J Award
The J Awards are an annual series of Australian music awards that were established by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation's youth-focused radio station Triple J and which are judged by the music and on-air teams from radio stations Triple J, ...
in 2007, and won the
Australian Independent Record (AIR) Award for Best New Artist.
Thieves 2008
Throughout 2007, British India continued to play shows and festivals while writing material for their second album. In April 2008 they began recording their second album ''Thieves'', again with Harry Vanda and Glenn Goldsmith at Flashpoint Studios Sydney. ''Thieves'' entered the ARIA Album Chart at #5. The first single, "I Said I'm Sorry" reached number 23 in Triple J's Hottest 100 for 2008. ''Thieves'' was nominated for Best Independent Album in the
2008 ARIA awards.
Avalanche 2010
In 2009 British India parted with Flashpoint Music and recorded their third album ''Avalanche'' independently throughout 2009. The album was recorded at Sing Sing studios Melbourne and produced by Glenn Goldsmith. ''Avalanche'' was released in March 2010 and promoted by the single "Vanilla". The album debuted in the top 10 and sold 20,000 copies. The album was followed by extensive touring and festival appearances.
In late 2010, Shock Records fell into receivership following the album release, and was unable to pay the band unpaid royalties. Later that year, British India embarked on their first UK tour pursuing interest from
Warner Music UK
Warner Music Group's labels include the following.
Flagship labels
* Atlantic Records
* Elektra Records
*Parlophone Records
*Warner Records
Atlantic Records Group
* 1st & 15th Entertainment
* All Money In
* Artist Partners Group
* Asylum Re ...
. The tour was successful, but an album deal with Warner did not eventuate.
The band returned from the UK to find their rehearsal space had flooded. At the end of 2010 the band were suffering from writers block and financial hardship following Shock's receivership and the expensive UK tour.
Controller 2013
In late 2010 British India released a stand-alone single "March into The Ocean" and embarked on the biggest Australian tour of their careers in early 2011.
Following the tour, they built a new rehearsal space and recording studio: Josif K studios in Preston, Melbourne. Now able to demo songs for the first time in their careers, they generated interest with Australian label
Liberation Music
Liberation Music is an Australian record company and label, started in 1999 by Michael Gudinski and Warren Costello, based in Melbourne. Its stated aim is to find, nurture and then to develop new talent for a world market while remaining inde ...
who agreed to release their fourth album.
The band’s fourth album, ''Controller'' was recorded at Sing Sing Studios and produced by Glenn Goldsmith. The first single "I Can Make You Love Me" would later be certified Gold for selling 20,000 units and came in at number 37 in Triple J's
Hottest 100 of 2012. This was followed by the singles "Summer Forgive Me", and "Plastic Souvenirs".
The album was followed by extensive Australian touring including supporting
The Rolling Stones
The Rolling Stones are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for six decades, they are one of the most popular and enduring bands of the album era, rock era. In the early 1960s, the Rolling Stones pioneered the g ...
on their
14 On Fire Tour.
Nothing Touches Me 2015
The band released their fifth album ''Nothing Touches Me'' in March 2015. Although the band attempted to record the album in Berlin in late 2014, the results were considered lacklustre, and the band returned to Sing Sing studios where the album was again produced by Glenn Goldsmith. ''Nothing Touches Me'' debuted at Number five on the Australian album charts and included the singles "Suddenly" and "Wrong Direction".
The band toured in support of the album and played the biggest venues of their career. The tour was a success with all shows selling out. The success of ''Nothing Touches Me'' was encapsulated when British India headlined the main stage at the 2015
Byron Bay Bluesfest
The Byron Bay Bluesfest, formerly the East Coast International Blues & Roots Music Festival, is an annual Australian music festival that has been held over the Easter long weekend in the Byron Bay, New South Wales, area since 1990. The festiv ...
as a replacement for
The Black Keys
The Black Keys are an American rock duo formed in Akron, Ohio, in 2001. The group consists of Dan Auerbach (guitar, vocals) and Patrick Carney (drums). The duo began as an independent act, recording music in basements and self-producing their ...
.
Forgetting The Future 2017
In 2017 the band left Josif K studios and relocated to Sing Sing South recording studio in Melbourne to begin working on songs for their sixth album. Wanting to record with a new producer, they teamed up with
Oscar Dawson of
Holy Holy. Their sixth album ''Forgetting the Future'' was released in October 2017 and was promoted with the singles "Precious" and "My Love".
Following the tour promoting ''Forgetting the Future'' founding member Nic Wilson announced that he would no longer tour with the band. In 2019 the remaining members recruited Jack Tosi of
Stealing O'Neil to replace Nic on guitar and the band embarked on a successful Australian tour in August 2019.
Discography
Studio albums
EPs
Singles
Compilation appearances
* ''Discoveries'' (2007) – "Black & White Radio"
* ''Triple J Hottest 100 Vol.15'' (2007) - "Tie Up My Hands"
* ''
Triple J's Like a Version 4'' (2008) - "
And I Was a Boy from School"
Awards
AIR Awards
The Australian Independent Record Awards (commonly known informally as
AIR Awards
The Australian Independent Record Awards (commonly known informally as AIR Awards) is an annual awards night to recognise, promote and celebrate the success of Australia's Independent Music sector.
History
The inaugural 2006 awards were held at ...
) is an annual awards night to recognise, promote and celebrate the success of Australia's Independent Music sector.
, -
,
2007
, themselves
, Most Outstanding New Independent Artist
,
, -
,
2008
File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...
, ''Thieves''
, Best Independent Album
,
, -
,
2010
, themselves
, Best Independent Artist
,
, -
,
2015
, ''Nothing Touches Me''
, Best Independent Hard Rock or Punk Album
,
, -
ARIA Music Awards
The
ARIA Music Awards is an annual awards ceremony that recognises excellence, innovation, and achievement across all genres of
Australian music.
, -
, rowspan="2",
2008
File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...
, ''Thieves''
,
Best Independent Release
,
, -
, Harry Vanda and Glen Goldsmith for ''Thieves''
,
Producer of the Year
The Grammy Award for Producer of the Year, Non-Classical is an honor presented to record producers for quality non- classical music at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards. Honors i ...
,
, -
J Award
The
J Awards
The J Awards are an annual series of Australian music awards that were established by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation's youth-focused radio station Triple J and which are judged by the music and on-air teams from radio stations Triple J, ...
are an annual series of Australian music awards that were established by the
Australian Broadcasting Corporation
The Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) is the national broadcaster of Australia. It is principally funded by direct grants from the Australian Government and is administered by a government-appointed board. The ABC is a publicly-own ...
's youth-focused radio station
Triple J
Triple J (stylised in all lowercase) is a government-funded, national Australian radio station intended to appeal to listeners of alternative music, which began broadcasting in January 1975. The station also places a greater emphasis on broad ...
. They commenced in 2005.
, -
,
J Awards of 2007
The J Award of 2007 is the third annual J Awards, established by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation's youth-focused radio station Triple J
Triple J (stylised in all lowercase) is a government-funded, national Australian radio station i ...
, ''Guillotine''
, Australian Album of the Year
,
References
External links
*
* British India o
MySpace* British India o
{{DEFAULTSORT:British India (Band)
2004 establishments in Australia
Australian indie rock groups
Musical groups established in 2004
Musical groups from Melbourne