Kasabian

Kasabian ( ) are an English rock band formed in Leicester in 1997 by lead vocalist Tom Meighan, guitarist and occasional vocalist Sergio Pizzorno, guitarist Chris Karloff, and bassist Chris Edwards. Drummer Ian Matthews joined in 2004. Karloff left the band in 2006 and founded a new band called Black Onassis. Jay Mehler joined as touring lead guitarist in 2006, leaving for Liam Gallagher's Beady Eye in 2013, to be replaced by Tim Carter, who later became a full-time band member in 2021. Meighan left the band in July 2020, with Pizzorno stepping up as full-time lead vocalist.

In 2010 and 2014, Kasabian won the Q Awards for "Best Act in the World Today", while they were also named "Best Live Act" at the 2014 Q Awards and the 2007 and 2018 NME Awards. The band's music is often described as "indie rock", but Pizzorno has said he "hates indie bands" and does not feel Kasabian fit into that category.

Kasabian have released seven studio albums – ''Kasabian'' (2004), ''Empire'' (2006), ''West Ryder Pauper Lunatic Asylum'' (2009), ''Velociraptor!'' (2011), '' 48:13'' (2014), '' For Crying Out Loud'' (2017) and ''The Alchemist's Euphoria'' (2022). The band's music has been described as a mix between The Stone Roses and Primal Scream with the swagger of Oasis. Their music has won them several awards and recognition in the media, including a Brit Award in 2010 for Best British Group, and their live performances have received praise, the most notable of which was their appearance as headliners at the 2014 Glastonbury Festival.

History

Early years (1997–2002)

The band was formerly called Saracuse. They started recording at Bedrock Studios in Leicester where Chris Edwards worked as an engineer. The original band members came from Countesthorpe and Blaby, and the band formed while Pizzorno, Meighan and Edwards were attending Countesthorpe Community College."Kasabian on tour with Oasis". ''Leicester Mercury''. 17 October 2008Turnell, Cat (2005). "We're grafters, not lazy gits". ''Leicester Mercury''. 2005 The first demo EP was produced by Scott Gilbert and handed to the band on 24 December 1998. Three songs were recorded live: "Whats Going On", "Life of Luxury" and "Shine On". Their first public appearance was at the Vipers Rugby Club to celebrate Edwards' 18th birthday with family and friends. The band was signed to BMG by London DJ and producer Sam Young and changed their name to Kasabian, after Linda Kasabian, a member of the Charles Manson cult who later went on to testify against Manson at his trial. In an interview with '' Ukula'', bassist Chris Edwards explained how former guitarist Chris Karloff picked the name. Reading up on Charles Manson, the Kasabian name stuck with Karloff. "He just thought the word was cool... so it was decided", says Edwards. Kasabian is a common Armenian surname, from the dialectal Armenian ղասաբ ''ġasab'' taken from Arabic ( ar, قصّاب, ḳaṣṣāb, links=no) "butcher" and the patronymic ending յան ''-yan''. Sam Young had been working at Concept Music, a small independent label, when the band's manager left the Saracuse demo on his desk. Concept wanted to sign the band and a two single deal was offered. However, Young did not take over managerial duties and did not solely get them signed instantly to BMG. EMI were interested in the band as well.

''Kasabian'' (2003–2005)

Their eponymous debut album was released in the UK on 13 September 2004, receiving good sales and generally positive reviews. During the recording, the band lived in a farmhouse near Rutland Water to avoid being disturbed. Kasabian featured at Glastonbury Festival 2005 on the "Other Stage".

Despite having two prior single releases with debut single "Processed Beats" and lead single "Reason Is Treason", it was their third single release "Club Foot" that gave Kasabian success in the UK Singles Chart. The song, which was written in the early years of Kasabian, went on to enjoy both critical and commercial success, and being performed at nearly every Kasabian live performance since its release.

During this period, various drummers played with Kasabian, including current keyboard player Ben Kealey, DJ Dan Ralph Martin, Martin Hall-Adams, brothers Mitch and Ryan Glovers and some others. While recording in Bristol, the band met Ian Matthews, who plays on "Processed Beats", "Butcher Blues", "Beneficial Herbs" and possibly some other songs on the debut album and B-sides. He was asked to tour with them in 2004 and became a permanent member in April 2005. The album was produced by Jim Abbiss.

''Empire'' and Karloff's departure (2006–2007)

During the recording of Kasabian's second album, ''Empire'', Christopher Karloff, one of the band's chief songwriters, had "artistic and creative differences" and was asked to leave the band, according to the band's website, although there is evidence to suggest that he left due to personal circumstances. In 2013 he confirmed that "differences in the musical direction and personal unresolved things" led to his departure. Ultimately, he contributed to three of the songs on ''Empire'', including the self-titled first single.

The album, which was co-produced by Jim Abbiss, was released in the UK on 28 August 2006. "Empire" was released as the first single from the album, and reached No. 9 on the UK Singles Chart "Shoot the Runner" reached No. 17 in the same chart. A third single, " Me Plus One", was released on 2 January 2007.

Kasabian won the Best Live Act award at the 2007 NME Awards.

''West Ryder Pauper Lunatic Asylum'' (2008–2010)

The band released an EP titled ''Fast Fuse'' in late 2007 which featured the songs "Fast Fuse" and "Thick as Thieves". Both tracks are featured in their third album.

Kasabian started work on their third album in late 2007 with producer Dan the Automator. On 5 March 2009, it was revealed that the album title would be ''West Ryder Pauper Lunatic Asylum'', with a release date of 8 June 2009. The song "Vlad the Impaler" was released as a free download for a period of 4 days, as a preview for the album. The promo video for "Vlad the Impaler" stars Noel Fielding of ''The Mighty Boosh''. Fielding is a fan of Kasabian, and appeared in an ''NME'' cover with the band. The album's first single was the track "Fire", which was released on 1 June 2009, used as the theme song for the English Premier League from the 2010–11 season onward, and the song " Where Did All the Love Go?" was released as the second single. The third single "Underdog" was used in the mobile and PC game Asphalt 8: Airborne as well as in the movie ''Takers'' (2010). Underdog was also used in the 2009 TV advert for Sony Bravia 200hz televisions. The advert also featured Kaka, at the time the world's most expensive footballer

On 14 June 2009, ''West Ryder Pauper Lunatic Asylum'' reached No. 1 in the UK Albums Chart, spending two weeks there. ''West Ryder Pauper Lunatic Asylum'' was shortlisted for the 2009 Mercury Prize, and was named "Best Album" at the 2009 Q Awards. The band won "Best Group" at the 2010 Brit Awards. At the 2010 Q Awards the band won the "Best Act in the World Today".

The first three albums were released as a box-set called ''The Albums'' in 2010.

''Velociraptor!'' (2011–2012)

Kasabian started work on their fourth album, ''Velociraptor!'', in November 2010 with Dan the Automator as producer. It was revealed in a number of interviews that some songs were already written. One track, titled "Green Fairy", which featured on the ''London Boulevard'' soundtrack, is present on the record under the name "La Fée Verte", but the album version is different from the soundtrack version. In June 2011, Kasabian closed the Isle of Wight Festival. They also headlined Rockness festival and played at Rock Werchter in July 2011. The band confirmed that the album would be released on 19 September 2011.

"Switchblade Smiles", the first song to be heard from ''Velociraptor!'', was exclusively played on UK radio on 7 June 2011 during Zane Lowe's show on BBC Radio 1. The title and release date of the fourth album was also confirmed on the show. This first single from the album was available for visitors to listen to on the Kasabian website, and was available as a download for people who pre-order the album. Two tracks from the album ("Velociraptor" and "Switchblade Smiles") were premièred throughout the four-date warm-up tour including playing at the Leeds O2 Academy before the RockNess and Isle of Wight festivals in June 2011. A track from the album "Days Are Forgotten" was due for radio release on 22 July 2011. However, it surfaced online the night before. The album failed to crack the Billboard Top 200 chart upon its first week of release in the United States.

On 27 November 2011, Kasabian performed "Goodbye Kiss" during the BBC
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