Engineers are a British
shoegazing
Shoegaze (originally called shoegazing and sometimes conflated with "dream pop") is a subgenre of indie and alternative rock characterized by its ethereal mixture of obscured vocals, guitar distortion and effects, feedback, and overwhelming volu ...
/
dream pop
Dream pop (also typeset as dreampop) is a subgenre of alternative rock and neo-psychedelia that emphasizes atmosphere and sonic texture as much as pop melody. Common characteristics include breathy vocals, dense productions, and effects such as ...
band. The band was formed in London in 2003 by bassist/guitarist/keyboardist
Mark Peters, singer/guitarist Simon Phipps, bassist/guitarist
Dan MacBean (previously known as guitarist of
The Shining, and drummer Andrew Sweeney. After the release of their second album ''
Three Fact Fader'' in 2009, MacBean and Sweeney left the band, and were replaced by bassist/vocalist Daniel Land, drummer
Matthew Linley, and keyboardist
Ulrich Schnauss
Ulrich Schnauss (born 1977) is a German electronic musician and producer based in London, England. He is best known for being a member of Tangerine Dream from 2014 to 2020.
Biography
Ulrich Schnauss was born in the northern German seaport of ...
. Phipps and Land would later leave the band before the release of 2014's ''
Always Returning.'' Engineers' sound has been described as "hazy, ethereal and atmospheric"
and the band often cites the works of
The Beach Boys
The Beach Boys are an American Rock music, rock band that formed in Hawthorne, California, in 1961. The group's original lineup consisted of brothers Brian Wilson, Brian, Dennis Wilson, Dennis, and Carl Wilson, their cousin Mike Love, and frie ...
,
Brian Eno
Brian Peter George St John le Baptiste de la Salle Eno (; born Brian Peter George Eno, 15 May 1948) is a British musician, composer, record producer and visual artist best known for his contributions to ambient music and work in rock, pop an ...
,
Cocteau Twins
Cocteau Twins was a Scottish rock band active from 1979 to 1997. They were formed in Grangemouth by Robin Guthrie (guitars, drum machine) and Will Heggie (bass), adding Elizabeth Fraser (vocals) in 1981 and replacing Heggie with multi-instrum ...
,
Spiritualized
Spiritualized (stylised as Spiritualized®) are an English rock band formed in 1990 in Rugby, Warwickshire, by Jason Pierce (often known as J. Spaceman), formerly of Spacemen 3. After several line up-changes, in 1999, the band centered on Pierc ...
and
Pink Floyd
Pink Floyd are an English rock band formed in London in 1965. Gaining an early following as one of the first British psychedelic music, psychedelic groups, they were distinguished by their extended compositions, sonic experimentation, philo ...
as influences.
History
Beginnings and debut album
Engineers were signed to the
Echo Records
The Echo Label was a British record label started by Chrysalis Group in 1994, and linked with Pony Canyon in Japan. The Chrysalis Group were the original owners of Chrysalis Records, which they sold to EMI.
In 2005, The Echo Label recorded a ...
label in 2004, and the band recorded and released their first single "Home"/"New Horizons" in April 2004; both songs were re-recorded for the band's debut album the following year. The mini-album ''Folly'' arrived on 27 September 2004, preceded by the single "Come in Out of the Rain" a week prior. The mini-album also featured a cover of
Tim Hardin
James Timothy Hardin (December 23, 1941 – December 29, 1980) was an American folk and blues musician and composer. As well as releasing his own material, several of his songs, including " If I Were a Carpenter" and "Reason to Believe", becam ...
's "
If I Were a Carpenter", and the original recording of "Forgiveness". Their
eponymous debut album followed in March 2005, preceded by the re-recorded
Top 50 single "Forgiveness" in late February.
The album was released to generally positive reviews; at
Metacritic
Metacritic is a website that review aggregator, aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted arithmetic mean, weighted average). M ...
, which assigns a
normalised rating out of 100 reviews from mainstream critics, the album has received a generally favourable score of 81, based on 18 reviews. The album's second single was "Home", which was released in June 2005 but failed to chart. In early 2010, "Home" became the
theme song
Theme music is a musical composition that is often written specifically for radio programming, television shows, video games, or films and is usually played during the title sequence, opening credits, closing credits, and in some instances at so ...
for the fourth season of the United States TV series ''
Big Love
''Big Love'' is an American drama television series that aired on HBO from March 12, 2006 to March 20, 2011. It stars Bill Paxton as the patriarch of a fundamentalist Mormon family in contemporary Utah that practices polygamy, with Jeanne Tripp ...
'', replacing "
God Only Knows
"God Only Knows" is a song by American rock band the Beach Boys from their 1966 album ''Pet Sounds''. Written by Brian Wilson and Tony Asher, it is a Baroque-style love song distinguished for its harmonic innovation and its subversion of typica ...
" by
The Beach Boys
The Beach Boys are an American Rock music, rock band that formed in Hawthorne, California, in 1961. The group's original lineup consisted of brothers Brian Wilson, Brian, Dennis Wilson, Dennis, and Carl Wilson, their cousin Mike Love, and frie ...
which ran from season one through three.
Later in 2005, Engineers recorded a version of
Tim Buckley
Timothy Charles Buckley III (February 14, 1947 – June 29, 1975) was an American musician. His music and style changed considerably through the years. Buckley began his career based in folk music, but his subsequent albums experimented with ja ...
's "
Song to the Siren" for the 2005 tribute album ''
Dream Brother: The Songs of Tim and Jeff Buckley''.
''Three Fact Fader''
Whilst in the process of mixing their follow-up album, the band split with Echo Records and their future became uncertain. After a period of silence, bassist/guitarist Mark Peters posted a message on the band's official forum in February 2008 that the second album would be released
digitally in the first half of the year, and that the band members had been working in various side-projects apart from Engineers. The digital release of the album never came to fruition. On 29 August 2008, Peters posted a new message stating that one of the tracks from the second album, titled "Sometimes I Realise", had been remixed by DJ
Sasha for inclusion on his album ''
Invol2ver
''Invol2ver'' is a mix album by Welsh DJ Sasha, released on 8 September 2008 through British record label Global Underground. It was released as a sequel to his 2004 mix album, ''Involver''. Like its predecessor, tracks from other artists have ...
''.
By 2009, the band signed with
Snapper Music
Snapper Music is an independent record label founded in 1996 by former head of Castle Communications Jon Beecher, Dougie Dudgeon and funded by Mark Levinson from Palan Music Publishing. In 1999, Snapper broke away from its Palan parent company ...
sub-label
Kscope
Kscope is an independent record label that is part of Snapper Music, and a sister-label of Peaceville. It is dedicated to artists in the progressive rock genre. The label has released albums by Steven Wilson and his projects Porcupine Tree (m ...
, and their second album ''
Three Fact Fader'' was released on 6 July 2009. The album was released to further critical acclaim, with
Drowned in Sound
''Drowned in Sound'', sometimes abbreviated to ''DiS'', is a UK-based music webzine financed by artist management company Silentway. Founded by editor Sean Adams, the site features reviews, news, interviews, and discussion forums.
History
''D ...
awarding the album an 8 out of 10 rating,
as well as 4-star reviews from ''
Gigwise
''Gigwise'' is a British online music news site that features music news, photos, album reviews, music festivals, concert tickets and video content. Founded in June 2001, the site is based in London, England.
History
Gigwise was launched in 2001 ...
'',
''
The Skinny'',
and ''
The Times
''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper ''The Sunday Times'' (fou ...
''.
On 1 February 2010, it was announced that Dan McBean and Andrew Sweeney had left the band, with Peters noting, "No arguments or disagreements prompted anyone to leave, but when we got back together to play after ''Three Fact Fader'' was released it was clear we had all moved on personally and professionally."
Shortly thereafter, it was announced that Phipps and Peters would continue with a new line-up, and musicians
Ulrich Schnauss
Ulrich Schnauss (born 1977) is a German electronic musician and producer based in London, England. He is best known for being a member of Tangerine Dream from 2014 to 2020.
Biography
Ulrich Schnauss was born in the northern German seaport of ...
, Daniel Land (of the band Daniel Land & The Modern Painters), and Matthew Linley (of the band
Gilbert Gilbert may refer to:
People and fictional characters
* Gilbert (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters
*Gilbert (surname), including a list of people
Places Australia
* Gilbert River (Queensland)
* Gilbert River (South ...
) were added to the official line-up.
''In Praise of More''
Engineers' third studio album, and first album with the new line-up, entitled ''
In Praise of More'', was released by
Kscope
Kscope is an independent record label that is part of Snapper Music, and a sister-label of Peaceville. It is dedicated to artists in the progressive rock genre. The label has released albums by Steven Wilson and his projects Porcupine Tree (m ...
on 27 September 2010.
The album was largely written and recorded by Mark Peters, with assistance from Dave Potter and Ulrich Schnauss.
The album was released to generous critical acclaim;
MusicOMH
MusicOMH (stylized as musicOMH) is a London-based online music magazine which publishes independent reviews, features and interviews from across all genres including classical, metal, rock and R&B.
History
MusicOMH was founded and launched by ...
praised the album's "incredible melodies",
''
SPIN
Spin or spinning most often refers to:
* Spinning (textiles), the creation of yarn or thread by twisting fibers together, traditionally by hand spinning
* Spin, the rotation of an object around a central axis
* Spin (propaganda), an intentionally b ...
'' magazine gave the album a 7/10 rating,
and ''
Clash Music
''Clash'' is a music and fashion magazine and website based in the United Kingdom. It is published four times a year by Music Republic Ltd, whose predecessor Clash Music Ltd went into liquidation.
The magazine won the Best New Magazine award in ...
'' called the album "a joy to behold" and stated that "''In Praise of More'' has
he band
He or HE may refer to:
Language
* He (pronoun), an English pronoun
* He (kana), the romanization of the Japanese kana へ
* He (letter), the fifth letter of many Semitic alphabets
* He (Cyrillic), a letter of the Cyrillic script called ''He'' ...
stripping back the density of previous releases, letting in a little warmth and allowing the songs
obreathe, resulting in a broadening of their sound much to their benefit."
''Always Returning''
On 2 June 2014, after a brief silence following selected live dates, the band announced their fourth studio album, ''
Always Returning.''
The album is set for release on 11 August 2014, and is to be the band's first release with just
Peters Peters may refer to:
People
* Peters (surname)
* Peters Band, a First Nations band in British Columbia, Canada
Places United States
* Peters, California, a census-designated place
* Peters, Florida, a town
* Peters Township, Kingman County, Kan ...
,
Schnauss and
Linley as the core members of the group. Of the lineup change, Peters confirmed that "based on mutual agreement after a recent conversation, we decided that Simon (Phipps) would sit this one out. There are no plans to tour this album, so Daniel (Land) wasn't needed either. As the band was essentially a solo project since 2009, no one has 'left' in the traditional sense – they're just not on this album."
Band members
Current members
*
Mark Peters (born 21 July 1975;
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...
, England) – vocals, guitar, bass, keyboards
(2003–present)
*
Ulrich Schnauss
Ulrich Schnauss (born 1977) is a German electronic musician and producer based in London, England. He is best known for being a member of Tangerine Dream from 2014 to 2020.
Biography
Ulrich Schnauss was born in the northern German seaport of ...
(born 1977;
Kiel
Kiel () is the capital and most populous city in the northern Germany, German state of Schleswig-Holstein, with a population of 246,243 (2021).
Kiel lies approximately north of Hamburg. Due to its geographic location in the southeast of the J ...
, Germany) – keyboards
(2010–present)
*
Matthew Linley – drums
(2010–present)
Former members
* Simon Phipps (born 29 December 1974;
Basildon
Basildon ( ) is the largest town in the borough of Basildon, within the county of Essex, England. It has a population of 107,123. In 1931 the parish had a population of 1159.
It lies east of Central London, south of the city of Chelmsford and ...
, Essex, England) – vocals, guitar, bass
(2003–2014)
* Daniel Land (born 21 December 1980;
Barnstaple
Barnstaple ( or ) is a river-port town in North Devon, England, at the River Taw's lowest crossing point before the Bristol Channel. From the 14th century, it was licensed to export wool and won great wealth. Later it imported Irish wool, bu ...
, Devon, England) – bass, vocals
(2010–2014)
* Dan MacBean (born September 1973;
Salford
Salford () is a city and the largest settlement in the City of Salford metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. In 2011, Salford had a population of 103,886. It is also the second and only other city in the metropolitan county afte ...
, Lancashire, England) – bass, guitar
(2003–2010)
* Andrew Sweeney (sometimes known as just "Sweeney") (born 6 November 1971;
Ormskirk
Ormskirk is a market town in the West Lancashire district of Lancashire, England, north of Liverpool, northwest of St Helens, southeast of Southport and southwest of Preston. Ormskirk is known for its gingerbread.
Geography and administr ...
, Lancashire, England) – drums
(2003–2010)
Discography
Studio albums
EPs
* ''Folly'' mini-album (27 September 2004) (ECHCD55, CD; ECHLP55, 12" vinyl)
*# "A Given Right"
*# "Forgiveness"
*# "Come in Out of the Rain"
*# "
If I Were a Carpenter" (
Tim Hardin
James Timothy Hardin (December 23, 1941 – December 29, 1980) was an American folk and blues musician and composer. As well as releasing his own material, several of his songs, including " If I Were a Carpenter" and "Reason to Believe", becam ...
cover)
*# "Nature's Editing"
*# "Pictobug"
* "To an Evergreen" EP (13 June 2011)
*# "To an Evergreen" (Edit)
*# "What It's Worth" (
Helios
In ancient Greek religion and Greek mythology, mythology, Helios (; grc, , , Sun; Homeric Greek: ) is the deity, god and personification of the Sun (Solar deity). His name is also Latinized as Helius, and he is often given the epithets Hyper ...
Remix)
*# "Twenty Paces" (Beroshima Remix)
*# "In Praise of More" (Elika Remix)
*# "Subtober" (
North Atlantic Oscillation
The North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) is a weather phenomenon over the North Atlantic Ocean of fluctuations in the difference of atmospheric pressure at sea level (SLP) between the Icelandic Low and the Azores High. Through fluctuations in the ...
Remix)
*# "Twenty Paces" (
A Shoreline Dream
A Shoreline Dream is an American indie rock band from the Barnum neighborhood of Denver, Colorado. Their sound has been described as being “a moody blend of psych ... and post-rock," as sounding "like a band out of time," and possessing a soun ...
Remix)
*# "
Hey You" (
Pink Floyd
Pink Floyd are an English rock band formed in London in 1965. Gaining an early following as one of the first British psychedelic music, psychedelic groups, they were distinguished by their extended compositions, sonic experimentation, philo ...
cover)
**Released as a digital download only.
Singles
* "Home" (25 April 2004) (ECSCD150, CD; comes in a die-cut 7"-sized sleeve; limited edition of 500)
*# "Home"
*# "New Horizons"
*# "Home" (enhanced video)
* "Come in Out of the Rain" (20 September 2004) (ECS154, 7")
*# "Come in Out of the Rain"
*# "If I Were a Carpenter"
* "Forgiveness" (21 February 2005) (ECSCD159, CD; ECS159, 7") UK: No. 48
*# "Forgiveness"
*# "Stake to Glory"
*# "Cats of Justice"
* "Home" (re-issue) (13 June 2005) (Netherlands CD EP, 113.0166.179)
*# "Home"
*# "Home" (
Jagz Kooner
Jagz Kooner (born Jagjit Singh Kooner, 1967)Companies House https://find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/company/07470451/officers is an English record producer who has worked with Radio 4, Manic Street Preachers, Garbage, Infadels ...
Funhouse Remix)
*# "Home" (
Mogwai
Mogwai () are a Scottish post-rock band, formed in 1995 in Glasgow. The band consists of Stuart Braithwaite (guitar, vocals), Barry Burns (guitar, piano, synthesizer, vocals), Dominic Aitchison (bass guitar), and Martin Bulloch (drums). Mogw ...
Wazzap Remix)
*# "Home" (
U-MYX enhanced section)
*# "Home" (enhanced video)
**Released as a digital download only in the UK. Originally planned for 7" (ECS166) and CD (ECSCD166). Was released in the Netherlands on the
Play It Again Sam label.
* "Clean Coloured Wire" (20 July 2009)
*# "Clean Coloured Wire" (Radio Edit)
*# "Clean Coloured Wire" (SeriousMusic 438 kHz Mix)
*# "Be What You Are" (Chicken Feed Remix)
*# "Sometimes I Realise" (
Steven Wilson
Steven John Wilson (born 3 November 1967) is an English musician. He is the founder, guitarist, lead vocalist and songwriter of the rock band Porcupine Tree, as well as being a member of several other bands, including Blackfield, Storm Corrosio ...
Remix)
* "What Pushed Us Together" (7 December 2009)
*# "What Pushed Us Together"
*# "What Pushed Us Together" (A Ricardo Tobar Remix)
* "Subtober" (6 December 2010)
*# "Subtober" (Single Edit)
*# "Subtober" (North Atlantic Oscillation Remix)
**Released as a digital download only.
* "Fight Or Flight" (28 July 2014)
*# "Fight Or Flight"
*# "Drive Your Car (Instrumental)"
**Released as a digital download only.
* "A Million Voices" (19 January 2015) (KSCOPE704, 7")
*# "A Million Voices"
*# "Smoke and Mirrors (Demo)"
**Released digitally with additional track "One Possible Ending."
Appearances on compilations
* "Song to the Siren" (
Tim Buckley
Timothy Charles Buckley III (February 14, 1947 – June 29, 1975) was an American musician. His music and style changed considerably through the years. Buckley began his career based in folk music, but his subsequent albums experimented with ja ...
cover) on ''
Dream Brother: The Songs of Tim and Jeff Buckley'' (31 January 2006).
* "Sometimes I Realise" (Sasha Remix) on ''
Invol2ver
''Invol2ver'' is a mix album by Welsh DJ Sasha, released on 8 September 2008 through British record label Global Underground. It was released as a sequel to his 2004 mix album, ''Involver''. Like its predecessor, tracks from other artists have ...
'' by
Sasha (8 September 2008).
* "
Hey You" (
Pink Floyd
Pink Floyd are an English rock band formed in London in 1965. Gaining an early following as one of the first British psychedelic music, psychedelic groups, they were distinguished by their extended compositions, sonic experimentation, philo ...
cover) on ''
Mojo
Mojo may refer to:
* Mojo (African-American culture), a magical charm bag used in voodoo
Arts, entertainment and media Film and television
* MOJO HD, an American television network
* ''Mojo'' (play), by Jez Butterworth, made into a 1997 film
* ' ...
'' magazine's ''The Wall Re-Built'', a 2CD re-recording of Pink Floyd's ''
The Wall
''The Wall'' is the eleventh studio album by the English progressive rock band Pink Floyd, released on 30 November 1979 by Harvest/EMI and Columbia/CBS Records. It is a rock opera that explores Pink, a jaded rock star whose eventual self-imp ...
'' by various modern artists (January 2010).
Remixes and collaborations
*
Bloc Party
Bloc Party are an English Rock music, rock band, composed of Kele Okereke (lead vocals, rhythm guitar, keyboards, sampler), Russell Lissack (lead guitar, keyboards), Justin Harris (bass guitar, keyboards, saxophones, backing vocals) and Loui ...
– "Blue Light" (Engineers 'Anti-Gravity' Remix) on ''
Silent Alarm Remixed
''Silent Alarm Remixed'' is the remix album to ''Silent Alarm'', the debut album by British indie rock band Bloc Party. It was released on 29 August 2005 in the British Isles on Wichita Recordings, the band's primary label, and on 13 September ...
'' (2005)
*
Viva Voce
''Viva voce'' is a Latin phrase literally meaning "with living voice" but most often translated as "by word of mouth."
It may refer to:
*Word of mouth
*A voice vote in a deliberative assembly
*An oral exam
**Thesis defence, in academia
*Spoken evi ...
– "Alive With Pleasure" (Engineers Remix) on ''Alive With Pleasure'' EP (2005)
*
Steven Wilson
Steven John Wilson (born 3 November 1967) is an English musician. He is the founder, guitarist, lead vocalist and songwriter of the rock band Porcupine Tree, as well as being a member of several other bands, including Blackfield, Storm Corrosio ...
– "Abandoner" (Engineers Mix) on ''
NSRGNTS RMXS
''NSRGNTS RMXS'' (a shortening of the phrase ''Insurgentes Remixes'', spelled without the vowels), is the name of a remix Extended play, EP released by British musician, songwriter and producer (music), music producer Steven Wilson, comprising re ...
'' (2009)
*
North Atlantic Oscillation
The North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) is a weather phenomenon over the North Atlantic Ocean of fluctuations in the difference of atmospheric pressure at sea level (SLP) between the Icelandic Low and the Azores High. Through fluctuations in the ...
– "77 Hours" (Engineers Mix) on ''Grappling Hooks'' (Expanded Edition) (2011)
*
Anathema
Anathema, in common usage, is something or someone detested or shunned. In its other main usage, it is a formal excommunication. The latter meaning, its ecclesiastical sense, is based on New Testament usage. In the Old Testament, anathema was a cr ...
– "Universal" (Engineers Remix) on ''Dreaming Light'' single (2011)
*
Mark Peters & Elliot Ireland – "Deep Blue" (Engineers Remix) on ''Deep Blue Remixes'' EP (2016)
Television soundtracks
* "Home" was used on the soundtrack of Australian soap opera ''
Neighbours
''Neighbours'' is an Australian television soap opera, which has aired since 18 March 1985. It was created by television executive Reg Watson. The Seven Network commissioned the show following the success of Watson's earlier soap '' Sons an ...
'', during the break-up of
Steve and
Miranda Parker
Miranda Parker is a fictional character from the Australian soap opera ''Neighbours'', played by Nikki Coghill. In 2007, the show's focus returned to focus more on family dynamics and the characters of Miranda and her family were created and intro ...
's marriage.
* "Home" was used as the
theme song
Theme music is a musical composition that is often written specifically for radio programming, television shows, video games, or films and is usually played during the title sequence, opening credits, closing credits, and in some instances at so ...
for the fourth and fifth seasons of the United States TV series ''
Big Love
''Big Love'' is an American drama television series that aired on HBO from March 12, 2006 to March 20, 2011. It stars Bill Paxton as the patriarch of a fundamentalist Mormon family in contemporary Utah that practices polygamy, with Jeanne Tripp ...
'', replacing "
God Only Knows
"God Only Knows" is a song by American rock band the Beach Boys from their 1966 album ''Pet Sounds''. Written by Brian Wilson and Tony Asher, it is a Baroque-style love song distinguished for its harmonic innovation and its subversion of typica ...
" by
The Beach Boys
The Beach Boys are an American Rock music, rock band that formed in Hawthorne, California, in 1961. The group's original lineup consisted of brothers Brian Wilson, Brian, Dennis Wilson, Dennis, and Carl Wilson, their cousin Mike Love, and frie ...
which ran from season one through three.
* "How Do You Say Goodbye?" was featured in the US original series ''
The 4400
''The 4400'' (pronounced "the forty-four hundred") is a science fiction television series produced by CBS Paramount Network Television in association with BSkyB, Renegade 83, and American Zoetrope for USA Network in the United States and Sky ...
'', in the episode "Trial by Fire."
* "How Do You Say Goodbye?" was featured in the BBC comedy television series '
Gavin & Stacey
''Gavin & Stacey'' is a British sitcom written by James Corden and Ruth Jones about two families: one in Billericay, Essex; one in Barry, South Wales. Mathew Horne and Joanna Page play the titular characters Gavin and Stacey and the writers st ...
', during Episode 7 of Series 2.
*"Clean Coloured Wire" was used in the
Top Gear
Top Gear may refer to:
* "Top gear", the highest gear available in a vehicle's manual transmission
Television
* ''Top Gear'' (1977 TV series), a British motoring magazine programme
* ''Top Gear'' (2002 TV series), a relaunched version of the or ...
Middle East special.
References
External links
Engineers' official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Engineers
Musical groups established in 2003
English rock music groups
British indie rock groups
British shoegaze musical groups
Dream pop musical groups