Conquering Animal Sound is a
Glasgow
Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...
-based electronic duo consisting of Anneke Kampman (vocals/music) and James Scott (music). The band's debut album ''Kammerspiel'' was released in February 2011 on Gizeh Records, and their sophomore "On Floating Bodies" on
Chemikal Underground
Chemikal Underground is an independent record label set up in 1994 at Glasgow, Scotland by rock band The Delgados. It was set up to release their first single, "Monica Webster" / "Brand New Car" and went on to break many new Scottish bands in ...
in March 2013.
Early history (2008-2010)
Kampman and Scott met at university in
Edinburgh
Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian on the southern shore of t ...
, and began collaborating in 2008. Taking their name from an article about the Conquering Lion sound-system group, they released a free mixtape titled "Your Friends, Conquering Animal Sound" on download and cassette, and began gigging around Scotland. In 2010 they were approached by new label Gerry Loves Records, and released their debut single "Giant" on 7" and download.
Kammerspiel (2011)
Gizeh Records released their debut album "Kammerspiel", which
The Skinny (magazine)
''The Skinny'' is a 72-page monthly and bi-monthly publication distributed in approximately 1,450 establishments throughout the cities of Dundee, Edinburgh, Glasgow in Scotland and, from 2013 to 2017, Manchester, Liverpool and Leeds in the no ...
called "a remarkable unveiling ... the organic and the electronic coexisting beautifully". The Line of Best Fit heralded it "one of the most accomplished debuts 2011 will see", and
Drowned In Sound praised Kammerspiel's depth, as it "simultaneously managed to capture on record the full depth of their creativity and imagination, as well as the inherent beauty of their sound".
The album was recorded and mixed entirely by the band in Kampman's flat, and she discussed this lo-fi approach, which informed the album's title, in an article with the Skinny.
I had the word Kammerspiel in mind for a long time. I saw that there was a comparison to be drawn between the way those Kammerspielfilm films were made and what occurred within them, and Conquering Animal Sound's approach to music making. I imagine a lot of different facial expressions within our songs, similar to the way narrative was conveyed in Kammerspiel films. I think there’s an intimacy to our music, which is probably a consequence of the fact that it has been made by two people together in one space.
"Kammerspiel" was shortlisted for the inaugural
Scottish Album of the Year Award
The Scottish Album of the Year (SAY) Award is an award given annually for an outstanding album produced by a Scottish artist. The award was launched in 2012 by thScottish Music Industry Association(SMIA) in partnership with Creative Scotland
Cre ...
, ultimately losing out to Bill Wells and Aidan Moffat's
Everything's Getting Older.
On Floating Bodies (2013)
The success of Kammerspiel interested Glasgow's
Chemikal Underground
Chemikal Underground is an independent record label set up in 1994 at Glasgow, Scotland by rock band The Delgados. It was set up to release their first single, "Monica Webster" / "Brand New Car" and went on to break many new Scottish bands in ...
label, and the band went into the label's Chem 19 studios to mix their second album "On Floating Bodies" with
Paul Savage. The album was preceded by the single "The Future Does Not Require", and was released on the
Chemikal Underground
Chemikal Underground is an independent record label set up in 1994 at Glasgow, Scotland by rock band The Delgados. It was set up to release their first single, "Monica Webster" / "Brand New Car" and went on to break many new Scottish bands in ...
label in March 2013.
The List (magazine)
''The List'' is a digital guide to arts and entertainment in the United Kingdom.
The company's activities include events data gathering, content syndication, and running a network of websites carrying listings and editorial, covering film, eati ...
praised the album's "daring and gloriously rich palette", and included it in their Top Ten Albums of 2013. The album takes its title from
Archimedes’ treatise on hydrostatics, and Mike Diver wrote for the
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
that the album is "not always comfortable, but consistently engaging ... persist and there’s real beauty to be found in its digitised designs".
and in an article with the paper, the band discussed their writing processes.
* "Giant" (2010)
* "Bear" (2010)
* "The Future Does Not Require" (2013)
* "Warn Me" (2013)
* ''Your Friends, Conquering Animal Sound'' (2009)
* ''Tracer EP'' (2011)
* ''Talking Shapes'' (2014)