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Ladytron are a largely British electronic band formed in
Liverpool Liverpool is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the List of English districts by population, 10th largest English district by population and its E ...
in 1999. The group consists of Helen Marnie (lead vocals, synthesizers), Mira Aroyo (vocals, synthesizers), Daniel Hunt (synthesizers, guitar, vocals), and Reuben Wu (synthesizers). They have released six studio albums: '' 604'' (2001), '' Light & Magic'' (2002), ''
Witching Hour In folklore, the witching hour or devil's hour is a time of night that is associated with supernatural events, whereby witches, demons and ghosts are thought to appear and be at their most powerful. Definitions vary, and include the hour immedi ...
'' (2005), '' Velocifero'' (2008), '' Gravity the Seducer'' (2011) and '' Ladytron'' (2019) - the seventh, ''Time's Arrow'' is due in January 2023. They also issued the live album ''
Live at London Astoria 16.07.08 ''Live at London Astoria 16.07.08'' is the first official Ladytron live album recorded during their ''Velocifero'' tour and released in 2009. Ladytron's show at Astoria on 15 May 2008 was cancelled because of a power failure A power outag ...
'' in 2009 and the compilation album '' Best of 00–10'' in 2011. They have produced remixes for artists such as
David Gahan David (; , "beloved one") (traditional spelling), , ''Dāwūd''; grc-koi, Δαυΐδ, Dauíd; la, Davidus, David; gez , ዳዊት, ''Dawit''; xcl, Դաւիթ, ''Dawitʿ''; cu, Давíдъ, ''Davidŭ''; possibly meaning "beloved one". w ...
, Erasure, Goldfrapp,
Apoptygma Berzerk Apoptygma Berzerk (; commonly abbreviated to APB or APOP) is a Norwegian musical group. They have achieved success with a brand of synth-pop, and ballads backed with electronic rhythms, commonly known within the scene and referring to themselve ...
, Placebo, Blondie,
Gang of Four The Gang of Four () was a Maoist political faction composed of four Chinese Communist Party (CCP) officials. They came to prominence during the Cultural Revolution (1966–1976) and were later charged with a series of treasonous crimes. The gang ...
, Christina Aguilera,
Nine Inch Nails Nine Inch Nails, commonly abbreviated as NIN and stylized as NIИ, is an American industrial rock band formed in Cleveland in 1988. Singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and producer Trent Reznor was the only permanent member of the band ...
, Bloc Party,
Kings of Convenience Kings of Convenience is an indie folk-pop duo from Bergen, Norway, consisting of Erlend Øye and Eirik Glambek Bøe. History Øye and Bøe were both born in 1975 (Øye on 21 November and Bøe on 25 October) and have known each other since ...
, Soulwax and
Róisín Murphy Róisín Marie Murphy ( , ; born 5 July 1973) is an Irish singer, songwriter, and record producer. She first became known in the 1990s as one half of the pop duo Moloko alongside English musician Mark Brydon. After the breakup of Moloko, she em ...
. The band's name was taken from the song " Ladytron" by Roxy Music. Former Roxy Music member
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 ...
said in 2009, "Ladytron are, for me, the best of English pop music. They're the kind of band that really only appears in England, with this funny mixture of eccentric art-school dicking around and dressing up, with a full awareness of what's happening everywhere musically, which is kind of knitted together and woven into something quite new." Ladytron described their sound as " electronic pop", while music journalists have also described their sound as
synth-pop Synth-pop (short for synthesizer pop; also called techno-pop; ) is a subgenre of new wave music that first became prominent in the late 1970s and features the synthesizer as the dominant musical instrument. It was prefigured in the 1960s ...
, electronic rock, post-punk, and new wave, among other genres. Some of the group's songs contain lyrics written by Aroyo in her native Bulgarian.


History


Band formation and their debut single

Liverpudlian producers and DJs Daniel Hunt and Reuben Wu met in the 1990s. Hunt was a member of the bands
Venini Venini were a British artrock band, featuring members of Pulp and Ladytron, who were active between the years 1998 and 2001. History Guitarist and violinist Russell Senior left Pulp in 1997 and began writing and demoing songs with vocalist/lyric ...
and Jules Verne and also founded the indie record label Invicta Hi-Fi and a nightclub. Wu trained in Industrial Design at
Sheffield Hallam University Sheffield Hallam University (SHU) is a public research university in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. The university is based on two sites; the City Campus is located in the city centre near Sheffield railway station, while the Collegiate Cr ...
and graduated in 1997. He became an industrial designer at Team Consulting Limited, until finally going full-time with the band around 2002. Using a moniker inspired by the song " Ladytron" by Roxy Music, Hunt and Wu recorded the debut single "
He Took Her to a Movie ''604'' is the debut studio album by English electronic music band Ladytron, released in the United States on 6 February 2001 by Emperor Norton Records and in the United Kingdom on 12 March 2001 by Invicta Hi-Fi. It was co-produced, engineered ...
" for £50 with the guest vocalist Lisa Eriksson (who later formed the band
Techno Squirrels Formed in 2005, Techno Squirrels is a band made up of Ryan Harlin (born Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA) and Lisa Eriksson (born Lund, Sweden). Both Eriksson and Harlin are sound engineers and producers for Techno Squirrels. Their music has bee ...
) and released it in July 1999. In the summer of 1999, Hunt and Wu met the Scottish student Helen Marnie through various DJ gigs, and the Bulgarian student Mira Aroyo through a mutual friend. Marnie and Aroyo joined the band as vocalists and keyboardists. Helen Marnie studied music at the University of Liverpool where she received a Bachelor of Arts in pop music in 1999. Mira Aroyo was a postgraduate research geneticist in the Department of Biochemistry, University of Oxford.


The first EPs and ''604'' (1999–2001)

During 1999 and 2001 Ladytron released the EPs ''
Miss Black and Her Friends ''Miss Black and Her Friends'' is the debut EP by English electronic band Ladytron. It was released in December 1999 exclusively in Japan through Bambini label. All tracks but "Miss Black" would be later released on their 2001 debut album, ''604 ...
'' in December 1999 exclusively in Japan, '' Commodore Rock'' in June 2000, '' Mu-Tron EP'' in October 2000 and the singles "Play Girl / Commodore Rock" in 2000, "Playgirl" in 2000 and again in 2001, "
The Way That I Found You ''604'' is the debut studio album by English electronic music band Ladytron, released in the United States on 6 February 2001 by Emperor Norton Records and in the United Kingdom on 12 March 2001 by Invicta Hi-Fi. It was co-produced, engineered ...
" in 2001. All the songs (except "Miss Black", "Olivetti Jerk" and the remixes) from these releases were later included on their debut studio album. "He Took Her to a Movie", ''Mu-Tron EP'', "The Way That I Found You", were all selected as NME "Single of the Week". Ladytron released the debut album '' 604'' on 6 February 2001 on
Emperor Norton Joshua Abraham Norton (February 4, 1818January 8, 1880), known as Emperor Norton, was a resident of San Francisco, California who, in 1859, proclaimed himself "Norton I., Emperor of the United States". In 1863, after Napoleon III invaded Mexi ...
(US), on 26 March 2001 on Labels (Germany) and on 2 April 2001 on Invicta Hi-Fi (UK). It was re-released on 20 July 2004 on Emperor Norton (US) and on 14 January 2011 (Germany), 18 January 2011 (US), 24 January 2011 (UK) on Nettwerk. ''604'' has been written mostly by Daniel Hunt and co-produced by him and Lance Thomas (who also engineered and mixed the album). The band wore uniforms inspired by the science fiction movie '' The Andromeda Strain'' until the end of 2003. Daniel Hunt said in an interview for Jound from 2001: "I'm really into ''The Andromeda Strain'', so that's kind of an influence on the title of the album and the uniforms we've got and stuff. But the design – me and Reuben just love that film". Also in an interview for Chaos Control magazine from 2002 Hunt explained the '' 604'' album title: "It's the
area code A telephone numbering plan is a type of numbering scheme used in telecommunication to assign telephone numbers to subscriber telephones or other telephony endpoints. Telephone numbers are the addresses of participants in a telephone network, rea ...
for
British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include ...
... we're glad we've attached this strange importance to that number, it crops up everywhere now. We noticed when we stayed in Hamburg in Germany (in a hotel called "Commodore" – pure coincidence), that the number to phone reception from your room was '604'. Moments afterwards the building had caught fire and we were lucky to escape with our lives. I'm not joking". Ladytron performed on 4 August 2001 at
Festival Internacional de Benicàssim The Festival Internacional de Benicàssim (), commonly abbreviated to simply FIB, is an annual music festival that takes place in the town of Benicàssim, in the Valencian Community, Spain. It focuses mainly on pop, rock and electronica artis ...
in Spain, on 10 August 2001 at
La Route du Rock LA most frequently refers to Los Angeles, the second largest city in the United States. La, LA, or L.A. may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * La (musical note), or A, the sixth note * "L.A.", a song by Elliott Smith on ''Figur ...
in France, and on 26 August 2001 at Reading Festival in the UK. On 5 December 2001, they performed four songs for Radio 1's John Peel Show. On 1 October 2001, the compilation album '' Reproductions: Songs of The Human League'' was released on Carrot Top Records and it included The Human League' song " Open Your Heart" covered by Ladytron.


''Light and Magic'' (2002–2003)

Their second album '' Light & Magic'' was released on 17 September 2002 at Emperor Norton Records (US) and Telstar (UK). The album was also released on 7 April 2003 at Warner Music (Germany) and on 21 June 2003 at Victor Entertainment (Japan). It was re-released on 20 July 2004 on Emperor Norton (US) and on 14 January 2011 (Germany)/18 January 2011 (US)/24 January 2011 (UK) on Nettwerk. ''Light & Magic'' featured a darker sound than their previous album. It was written and produced in Los Angeles by the band and co-produced by Mickey Petralia. The album included the underground hits "
Seventeen Seventeen or 17 may refer to: *17 (number), the natural number following 16 and preceding 18 * one of the years 17 BC, AD 17, 1917, 2017 Literature Magazines * ''Seventeen'' (American magazine), an American magazine * ''Seventeen'' (Japanese m ...
", " Blue Jeans" and " Evil". They also issued in 2003 a limited 7" single, "Cracked LCD / USA vs. White Noise". They toured over a year to support the album. On 4 December 2002, Ladytron returned to John Peel Show and performed live 11 songs from their first 2 albums. In 2002, Ladytron rescored the 1982 Tron film for a live event in London. On 7 October 2003, they issued the mix compilation ''
Softcore Jukebox ''Softcore Jukebox'' is a compilation album put together by English electronic music band Ladytron. It was released on 7 October 2003 through Emperor Norton Records. It features different styles of music from rock to hip hop. It also includes t ...
'' on Emperor Norton. Besides the songs of other artists, the compilation also includes two of their own songs, the single remix of " Blue Jeans" renamed "Blue Jeans 2.0" and a cover of Tweet's " Oops (Oh My)".


''Witching Hour'' (2004–2007)

Ladytron began working on demos for their next album immediately after concluding Light & Magic tour with a homecoming gig in
Liverpool Liverpool is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the List of English districts by population, 10th largest English district by population and its E ...
in September 2003, where they were supported by Franz Ferdinand. Within a few months, they had mapped out the entire record and by the time they were ready to start recording in April 2004, their UK label Telstar Records had gone into administration. Their US label,
Emperor Norton Joshua Abraham Norton (February 4, 1818January 8, 1880), known as Emperor Norton, was a resident of San Francisco, California who, in 1859, proclaimed himself "Norton I., Emperor of the United States". In 1863, after Napoleon III invaded Mexi ...
, also had problems: the company was purchased by Rykodisc in 2004 and was then shut down later that year, with Rykodisc inheriting its back-catalogue. The band announced on 7 December 2004 that they signed to
Island Records Island Records is a multinational record label owned by Universal Music Group. It was founded in 1959 by Chris Blackwell, Graeme Goodall, and Leslie Kong in Jamaica, and was eventually sold to PolyGram in 1989. Island and A&M Records, anoth ...
. In 2004, Ladytron were booked to play a series of shows in China as part of an exhibition tour set up by the
British Council The British Council is a British organisation specialising in international cultural and educational opportunities. It works in over 100 countries: promoting a wider knowledge of the United Kingdom and the English language (and the Welsh la ...
. They played on 24 and 25 September 2004 in Shenzhen, 28 September 2004 in
Chongqing Chongqing ( or ; ; Sichuanese dialects, Sichuanese pronunciation: , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ), Postal Romanization, alternately romanized as Chungking (), is a Direct-administered municipalities of China, municipality in Southwes ...
, 6 October 2004 and 7 October 2004 (DJ set) in Shanghai. Ladytron released their critically acclaimed third studio album ''
Witching Hour In folklore, the witching hour or devil's hour is a time of night that is associated with supernatural events, whereby witches, demons and ghosts are thought to appear and be at their most powerful. Definitions vary, and include the hour immedi ...
'' on 3 October 2005 on Island (UK) and later in other territories. Island Records also released a limited edition of this album in the form of a 2 disc set: a CD with the album and a DVD of video from the tour of China ("Once Upon a Time in the East: Ladytron in China") plus 3 music videos ("Destroy Everything You Touch", "Sugar", "Seventeen"). ''Witching Hour'' was re-released on 5 April 2007 on
Major Major (commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicators ...
(Germany), on 5 November 2007 on So Sweet (UK), and on 18 January 2011 (US)/24 January 2011 (UK) on Nettwerk. The album was recorded in 2004 at Elevator Studios in Liverpool and it was produced by Ladytron and Jim Abbiss. It featured
Pop Levi Pop Levi (born Jonathan James Mark Levi, 22 September 1977) is an English singer, multi-instrumentalist and record producer. Biography Levi grew up in the suburbs of Birmingham and attended Shrewsbury School, a public school in Shropshire betw ...
on bass, live drums by Keith York and electric guitars mixed with their trademark sound. Pitchfork described it as a "quantum leap record". The songs "
Sugar Sugar is the generic name for sweet-tasting, soluble carbohydrates, many of which are used in food. Simple sugars, also called monosaccharides, include glucose, fructose, and galactose. Compound sugars, also called disaccharides or double ...
", " Destroy Everything You Touch", "International Dateline", "Weekend", and "Soft Power" were issued as singles. " Destroy Everything You Touch" () became the band's best known song. In 2006 saw the light ''
Extended Play An extended play record, usually referred to as an EP, is a musical recording that contains more tracks than a single but fewer than an album or LP record.
'', a two-disc EP CD/DVD compilation that featured exclusive unreleased remixes and B-sides, as well as a DVD with the same content as the one from ''Witching Hour'' limited edition. Also in 2006 Ladytron recorded and released the live EP ''
The Harmonium Sessions ''The Harmonium Sessions'' is the fifth extended play (EP) by English electronic music band Ladytron. It contains unplugged versions of four songs from their 2005 studio album, ''Witching Hour''. It was self-released by the band as a limited edi ...
'' with 4 songs from their third album. Without any real label support, Ladytron toured exhaustively over the next two years, on the strength of their cult following. They played in North America, Europe, and South America. In early 2007, they also opened for the European shows of
Nine Inch Nails Nine Inch Nails, commonly abbreviated as NIN and stylized as NIИ, is an American industrial rock band formed in Cleveland in 1988. Singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and producer Trent Reznor was the only permanent member of the band ...
, at the invitation of Trent Reznor.


''Velocifero'' (2007–2009)

Ladytron were dropped by Island Records and signed to Nettwerk in late 2007. Between 2007 and 2008, the band recorded the follow-up to ''Witching Hour'' at Studio de la Grande Armée in Paris with help from Alessandro Cortini ( Modwheelmood,
Nine Inch Nails Nine Inch Nails, commonly abbreviated as NIN and stylized as NIИ, is an American industrial rock band formed in Cleveland in 1988. Singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and producer Trent Reznor was the only permanent member of the band ...
, SONOIO) and Vicarious Bliss ( Justice, DJ Mehdi). On 2 June 2008, Ladytron released their fourth album '' Velocifero'' on Nettwerk. The band stated that "velocifero" literally means "bringer of speed" and is also the name of a classic retro styled scooter. The album spawned three singles: "
Ghosts A ghost is the soul or spirit of a dead person or animal that is believed to be able to appear to the living. In ghostlore, descriptions of ghosts vary widely from an invisible presence to translucent or barely visible wispy shapes, to rea ...
", "
Runaway Runaway, Runaways or Run Away may refer to: Engineering * Runaway reaction, a chemical reaction releasing more heat than what can be removed and becoming uncontrollable * Thermal runaway, self-increase of the reaction rate of an exothermic proce ...
" and "
Tomorrow Tomorrow may refer to: * Tomorrow (time), the day after today * The future, that which occurs after the present Periodicals * ''To-Morrow'' (Chicago magazine), a magazine from 1903 to 1909 * ''Tomorrow'' (New Zealand magazine), a left-wing ma ...
". In mid 2008, the group composed three exclusive tracks performed in Simlish for The Sims 3 game soundtrack: "Rockfalls & Estuaries", "She Stepped Out of the Car" and "Young Etruscians". Ladytron sang a song titled "Use Your Mind" on Nickelodeon's Yo Gabba Gabba!. On 6 April 2009, Nettwerk issued the remix compilation '' Velocifero (Remixed & Rare)''. In 2009, Ladytron toured North America with The Faint, and performed two special shows with
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 ...
at the
Sydney Opera House The Sydney Opera House is a multi-venue performing arts centre in Sydney. Located on the foreshore of Sydney Harbour, it is widely regarded as one of the world's most famous and distinctive buildings and a masterpiece of 20th-century architec ...
. In the same year they announced that they will be the opening act for
Depeche Mode Depeche Mode are an English electronic music band formed in Basildon, Essex, in 1980. The band currently consists of Dave Gahan (lead vocals and co-songwriting) and Martin Gore (keyboards, guitar, co-lead vocals and main songwriting). Depeche ...
on few concerts in Eastern Europe, but these concerts were cancelled due to Dave Gahan's illness. Also in 2009 Ladytron self-released their first live album ''
Live at London Astoria 16.07.08 ''Live at London Astoria 16.07.08'' is the first official Ladytron live album recorded during their ''Velocifero'' tour and released in 2009. Ladytron's show at Astoria on 15 May 2008 was cancelled because of a power failure A power outag ...
'' and co-wrote and produced a few songs for Christina Aguilera. The songs "Bird of Prey" and "Little Dreamer" were released a bonus tracks on the deluxe edition of her 2010 album '' Bionic''.


''Best of 00–10'' and ''Gravity the Seducer'' (2010–2011)

The soundtrack of the video game '' FIFA 11'' included a new Ladytron song, "
Ace of Hz ''Ace of Hz EP'' is the sixth EP by British electronic music band Ladytron. It was released as music download on 11 January 2011 through Nettwerk. This EP includes the album version of the single "Ace of Hz", plus five remixes of it. Two ...
", which was also released as digital single on 30 November 2010. On 11 January 2011, the band issued the music download '' Ace of Hz EP'', which contained the album mix as well as five remixes. On 28 March 2011, it was released the compilation '' Best of 00–10'' featuring 17 tracks on standard edition and 33 tracks on deluxe edition plus an 80-page booklet. Both editions included two extra tracks, "
Ace of Hz ''Ace of Hz EP'' is the sixth EP by British electronic music band Ladytron. It was released as music download on 11 January 2011 through Nettwerk. This EP includes the album version of the single "Ace of Hz", plus five remixes of it. Two ...
" and a
cover version In popular music, a cover version, cover song, remake, revival, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording by a musician other than the original performer or composer of the song. Originally, it referred to a version of a song relea ...
of Death in June's "Little Black Angel". Also in 2011, Nettwerk reissued all their previous albums, the remix compilation '' Best of Remixes'' and the
iTunes iTunes () is a software program that acts as a media player, media library, mobile device management utility, and the client app for the iTunes Store. Developed by Apple Inc., it is used to purchase, play, download, and organize digital mul ...
video compilation ''Best of 00–10 Videos'' which included music videos for the singles " Playgirl", " Blue Jeans", "
Seventeen Seventeen or 17 may refer to: *17 (number), the natural number following 16 and preceding 18 * one of the years 17 BC, AD 17, 1917, 2017 Literature Magazines * ''Seventeen'' (American magazine), an American magazine * ''Seventeen'' (Japanese m ...
", "
Sugar Sugar is the generic name for sweet-tasting, soluble carbohydrates, many of which are used in food. Simple sugars, also called monosaccharides, include glucose, fructose, and galactose. Compound sugars, also called disaccharides or double ...
", " Destroy Everything You Touch", "
Ghosts A ghost is the soul or spirit of a dead person or animal that is believed to be able to appear to the living. In ghostlore, descriptions of ghosts vary widely from an invisible presence to translucent or barely visible wispy shapes, to rea ...
", "
Runaway Runaway, Runaways or Run Away may refer to: Engineering * Runaway reaction, a chemical reaction releasing more heat than what can be removed and becoming uncontrollable * Thermal runaway, self-increase of the reaction rate of an exothermic proce ...
", "
Tomorrow Tomorrow may refer to: * Tomorrow (time), the day after today * The future, that which occurs after the present Periodicals * ''To-Morrow'' (Chicago magazine), a magazine from 1903 to 1909 * ''Tomorrow'' (New Zealand magazine), a left-wing ma ...
" and "
Ace of Hz ''Ace of Hz EP'' is the sixth EP by British electronic music band Ladytron. It was released as music download on 11 January 2011 through Nettwerk. This EP includes the album version of the single "Ace of Hz", plus five remixes of it. Two ...
". On 20 December 2011, Nettwerk issued the remix compilations '' 604 (Remixed & Rare)'', '' Light & Magic (Remixed & Rare)'' and '' Witching Hour (Remixed & Rare)''. During April 2011 and July 2011, Ladytron performed live in Austria, China, Russia, Finland, Sweden, Poland, UK, Ireland, Hungary and Spain. Their fifth studio album, '' Gravity the Seducer'', was released in the United Kingdom on 12 September 2011 and in the United States on 13 September 2011. The album was recorded in Kent's countryside and it was produced by Ladytron and Barny Barnicott ( Arctic Monkeys, Kasabian, Editors). Daniel Hunt said that "''Gravity the Seducer'' is more of a jump than the last album was, more ethereal and melodic, a touch more abstract in places than we've gone before, baroque 'n' roll". "Ace of Hz", which appears on the album, was previously released as a single from the band's greatest hits compilation '' Best of 00–10''. The first single from '' Gravity the Seducer'', " White Elephant", was issued on 17 May 2011 and its accompanying video was posted on YouTube on 26 July 2011. The band released two more singles, "Ambulances" on 16 June 2011 and "
Mirage A mirage is a naturally-occurring optical phenomenon in which light rays bend via refraction to produce a displaced image of distant objects or the sky. The word comes to English via the French ''(se) mirer'', from the Latin ''mirari'', meanin ...
" on 8 August 2011. The music video for "Mirage" was posted on YouTube on 11 November 2011. During September 2011 and December 2011, the band toured in United States, Mexico, Canada, Brazil, Chile, Thailand, Indonesia, and Singapore. For the concerts in North America, Ladytron were supported by SONOIO, VHS or Beta and
Geographer A geographer is a physical scientist, social scientist or humanist whose area of study is geography, the study of Earth's natural environment and human society, including how society and nature interacts. The Greek prefix "geo" means "earth" a ...
.


Hiatus and side projects (2012–2015)

The soundtrack of the video game '' The Sims 3: Supernatural'' included a new Ladytron instrumental track, "Tesla". Using her surname as a stage name, Helen Marnie started in 2012 a solo career. She self-released through PledgeMusic her debut solo album ''
Crystal World ''Crystal World'' is the debut studio album by Scottish musician Marnie, self-released on 11 June 2013 through the site PledgeMusic. The album was produced in 2012 in Reykjavík, Iceland, by her Ladytron band-mate Daniel Hunt in collaboration ...
'' on 11 June 2013. The album was produced in 2012 in Reykjavík, Iceland by her bandmate Daniel Hunt in collaboration with the Icelandic musician
Barði Jóhannsson Barði Jóhannsson (born 10 September 1975) is an Icelandic musician, composer, writer, TV show host (of the surrealist Icelandic TV show ''Konfekt''), clothing designer and film director. He is mostly known for his work with the groups Bang Ga ...
. Marnie released a second solo album titled '' Strange Words and Weird Wars'' on 2 June 2017 on Disco Pinata. This album was recorded at Chem19 Studio, Glasgow and produced by Jonny Scott. On 22 February 2013, Ladytron premiered the "International Dateline" music video. It was shot in 2006 during ''
Witching Hour In folklore, the witching hour or devil's hour is a time of night that is associated with supernatural events, whereby witches, demons and ghosts are thought to appear and be at their most powerful. Definitions vary, and include the hour immedi ...
'' era, left unfinished, rediscovered and finished by Daniel Hunt in 2012. On 29 November 2013, Ladytron released the remix album '' Gravity the Seducer Remixed'', a collection of remixes of '' Gravity the Seducer'' songs. Ladytron featured shortly on the section "Resurgence" of the 2014 music documentary ''
Beautiful Noise ''Beautiful Noise'' is the tenth album by Neil Diamond and his third with Columbia Records, released in 1976. "Dry Your Eyes" was performed with The Band at their farewell show and is featured in Martin Scorsese's '' The Last Waltz''. Overv ...
''. This documentary also features several short interviews with Daniel Hunt.


Self-titled album and ''Time's Arrow'' (2016–present)

On 18 July 2016, the band posted on their official website: "After a five year hiatus following the release of their fifth album '' Gravity the Seducer'', another chapter in Ladytron's story is about to begin." On 26 November 2016, Ladytron posted on
Instagram Instagram is a photo and video sharing social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. The app allows users to upload media that can be edited with filters and organized by hashtags and geographical tagging. Posts can ...
an image with a
SSL SSL may refer to: Entertainment * RoboCup Small Size League, robotics football competition * ''Sesame Street Live'', a touring version of the children's television show * StarCraft II StarLeague, a Korean league in the video game Natural language ...
recording console, implying that the recording of their sixth album started. On 28 February 2018, Ladytron started a PledgeMusic campaign to finish recording and releasing their new album. On the same day they released the first single "The Animals". On 16 August the band premiered the single "The Island". The track was accompanied by a disturbing short film directed by
Bryan M. Ferguson Bryan M. Ferguson (born 25 February 1987) is a Scottish filmmaker and music video director, best known for his music videos for artists such as Garbage, Alice Glass, Ladytron, Arab Strap and Boy Harsher. Music videos After being recommended F ...
. On 10 October the band announced that the new album would be titled '' Ladytron'' and released on 15 February 2019 through their own Ladytron Music imprint via
!K7 !K7 Music is a music company based in Berlin, Germany that focuses mostly on electronic music. The name is an abbreviation of the company's original Berlin address, Kaiserdamm 7 (it has since relocated, first to Heidestrasse 52, and currently he ...
. PledgeMusic suspended operations in February 2019, after repeated cases of failing to pay artists. The band subsequently issued updates stating that while much of the merchandise had never been made, they had been able to buy the vinyl and CDs from PledgeMusic's administrators and were in the process of sending them out to subscribers who were willing to pay for the postage. On 16 September 2019 Ladytron premiered the music video for "Deadzone". The video was directed by frequent collaborator
Bryan M. Ferguson Bryan M. Ferguson (born 25 February 1987) is a Scottish filmmaker and music video director, best known for his music videos for artists such as Garbage, Alice Glass, Ladytron, Arab Strap and Boy Harsher. Music videos After being recommended F ...
. On 4 February 2020 Ladytron premiered the music video of "Tower of Glass". Ladytron will release a 20th anniversary edition of their second album, '' Light & Magic''. On 22 August 2022, the band published a previously unreleased video for the album's title track, "Light & Magic". Ladytron announced the release of their seventh studio album, ''Time's Arrow'' for January 2023, alongside the release of the single "City of Angels" in October 2022.


Side projects

All band members are also involved in various side projects. Besides touring, each member plays DJ sets (solo and with other band members) in clubs and events around the world. Ladytron have produced remixes for many artists, including
David Gahan David (; , "beloved one") (traditional spelling), , ''Dāwūd''; grc-koi, Δαυΐδ, Dauíd; la, Davidus, David; gez , ዳዊት, ''Dawit''; xcl, Դաւիթ, ''Dawitʿ''; cu, Давíдъ, ''Davidŭ''; possibly meaning "beloved one". w ...
, Erasure, Goldfrapp,
Apoptygma Berzerk Apoptygma Berzerk (; commonly abbreviated to APB or APOP) is a Norwegian musical group. They have achieved success with a brand of synth-pop, and ballads backed with electronic rhythms, commonly known within the scene and referring to themselve ...
, Placebo, Blondie,
Gang of Four The Gang of Four () was a Maoist political faction composed of four Chinese Communist Party (CCP) officials. They came to prominence during the Cultural Revolution (1966–1976) and were later charged with a series of treasonous crimes. The gang ...
, Christina Aguilera,
Nine Inch Nails Nine Inch Nails, commonly abbreviated as NIN and stylized as NIИ, is an American industrial rock band formed in Cleveland in 1988. Singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and producer Trent Reznor was the only permanent member of the band ...
, Bloc Party,
Kings of Convenience Kings of Convenience is an indie folk-pop duo from Bergen, Norway, consisting of Erlend Øye and Eirik Glambek Bøe. History Øye and Bøe were both born in 1975 (Øye on 21 November and Bøe on 25 October) and have known each other since ...
, Soulwax and
Róisín Murphy Róisín Marie Murphy ( , ; born 5 July 1973) is an Irish singer, songwriter, and record producer. She first became known in the 1990s as one half of the pop duo Moloko alongside English musician Mark Brydon. After the breakup of Moloko, she em ...
. Using her surname as stage name, Helen Marnie released 2 solo albums: ''
Crystal World ''Crystal World'' is the debut studio album by Scottish musician Marnie, self-released on 11 June 2013 through the site PledgeMusic. The album was produced in 2012 in Reykjavík, Iceland, by her Ladytron band-mate Daniel Hunt in collaboration ...
'' on 11 June 2013 and '' Strange Words and Weird Wars'' on 2 June 2017. Daniel Hunt worked on several movie scores, including that of '' Would You Rather'' in collaboration with Icelandic musician
Barði Jóhannsson Barði Jóhannsson (born 10 September 1975) is an Icelandic musician, composer, writer, TV show host (of the surrealist Icelandic TV show ''Konfekt''), clothing designer and film director. He is mostly known for his work with the groups Bang Ga ...
. Hunt also produced Marnie's album, ''
Crystal World ''Crystal World'' is the debut studio album by Scottish musician Marnie, self-released on 11 June 2013 through the site PledgeMusic. The album was produced in 2012 in Reykjavík, Iceland, by her Ladytron band-mate Daniel Hunt in collaboration ...
''. He started the band Tamoios with singer Luisa Maita, and Fernando Rischbieter, in 2014, in São Paulo, Brazil. Reuben Wu is an accomplished photographer. He posted a selection of photos on his own website and he also released in 2011 a book with a collection of photographs from an expedition with a friend on
Svalbard Svalbard ( , ), also known as Spitsbergen, or Spitzbergen, is a Norwegian archipelago in the Arctic Ocean. North of mainland Europe, it is about midway between the northern coast of Norway and the North Pole. The islands of the group range ...
in the same year. Hunt, Wu and DJ Revo opened the
Liverpool Liverpool is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the List of English districts by population, 10th largest English district by population and its E ...
club night Evol in September 2003. In September 2005, Hunt and Wu helped by some collaborators, opened the Liverpool bar/restaurant/music venue Korova. Mira Aroyo collaborated with John Foxx and the Maths and The Projects. She also worked for some documentaries. Ladytron are credited as co-writers and producers of the bonus songs "Birds of Prey" and "Little Dreamer" from the 2010 album '' Bionic'' by Christina Aguilera.


Music style

Ladytron have described their sound as "electronic pop", with music journalists similarly describing their sound as
electropop Electropop is a hybrid music genre combining elements of electronic and pop genres. Writer Hollin Jones has described it as a variant of synth-pop with heavy emphasis on its electronic sound. The genre was developed in the 1980s and saw a re ...
. They focused on a balance between pop structures and experimental sounds. Their sound has also been described as
synth-pop Synth-pop (short for synthesizer pop; also called techno-pop; ) is a subgenre of new wave music that first became prominent in the late 1970s and features the synthesizer as the dominant musical instrument. It was prefigured in the 1960s ...
, electronic rock,
post-punk revival Post-punk revival (also known as garage rock revival,J. Stuessy and S. D. Lipscomb, ''Rock and roll: its History and Stylistic Development'' (London: Pearson Prentice Hall, 5th edn., 2006), , p. 451. new wave revival,. and new rock revolution) is ...
, new wave,
shoegaze 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 ...
,
witch house ''Witch House'' is a fantasy novel by American writer Evangeline Walton. It was published in 1945 by Arkham House in an edition of 3,000 copies. It was the first full-length novel to be published by Arkham House and was listed as the initial bo ...
, and art pop. While some writers have labeled Ladytron as an electroclash act, others have claimed that they are not entirely electroclash and Ladytron members have also rejected the term, with Daniel Hunt and Helen Marnie commenting: Reuben Wu said about the process of making a new Ladytron album: "We start writing individually. We've never really lived in the same city before. We've always been geographically apart. ..It's always been first as individuals, and then reviewing everything together, and then working on each other's songs. That's how we've always worked. And it goes well with how we make music. We do get together down the line and in the studio when we start fleshing out the tracks".


Touring

Ladytron toured during each one of their major albums: ''604'' (2001), ''Light & Magic'' (2002–2004), ''Witching Hour'' (2005–2007), ''Velocifero'' (2008–2009), ''Best of 00–10'' (2011), ''Gravity the Seducer '' (2011), ''Ladytron'' (2019–2020). During the years, they toured in Europe, North America, South America, Asia, and Australia. The band played at various music festivals like La Route du Rock 2001, Reading Festival 2001, Koneisto 2001, Festival Internacional de Benicàssim 2001 and 2005, Coachella Festival 2003 and 2006, Hultsfred Festival 2003, Arvikafestivalen 2003 and 2006, Lowlands Festival 2003, Dot-to-Dot Festival 2005,
Pukkelpop Pukkelpop is an annual music festival that takes place near the city of Hasselt, Belgium, in mid- to late August. It is held within a large enclosure of fields and woodland—adjacent to a dual carriageway called ''Kempische Steenweg''—in the ...
2005, Exit Festival 2005, Creamfields 2007, Electric Picnic 2007, Bonnaroo Festival 2008, Ruisrock Festival 2009, Traffic Festival 2009, Standon Calling Festival 2009, Electrosonic Festival 2009, Ping Gu Valley Festival 2011, Donaufestival 2011, Selector Festival 2011, Hegyalja Festival 2011, Decibel Festival 2011, DeLuna Fest 2011, Zouk Festival 2011. Since ''Light & Magic'', Ladytron started to tour extensively and to add touring members to play live bass and drums. Previous touring members include
Pop Levi Pop Levi (born Jonathan James Mark Levi, 22 September 1977) is an English singer, multi-instrumentalist and record producer. Biography Levi grew up in the suburbs of Birmingham and attended Shrewsbury School, a public school in Shropshire betw ...
(bass during ''Light & Magic'' tour), Andrea Goldsworthy (bass during ''Witching Hour'' tour), and Keith York (drums during ''Light & Magic'' and ''Witching Hour'' tours). Bands to open for Ladytron on their tours include
Simian The simians, anthropoids, or higher primates are an infraorder (Simiiformes ) of primates containing all animals traditionally called monkeys and apes. More precisely, they consist of the parvorders New World monkeys (Platyrrhini) and Catarrhi ...
, The Presets, Client, Phaser,
CSS Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) is a style sheet language used for describing the presentation of a document written in a markup language such as HTML or XML (including XML dialects such as SVG, MathML or XHTML). CSS is a cornerstone techno ...
, Asobi Seksu, Mount Sims, Crocodiles, Franz Ferdinand, SONOIO, VHS or Beta and
Geographer A geographer is a physical scientist, social scientist or humanist whose area of study is geography, the study of Earth's natural environment and human society, including how society and nature interacts. The Greek prefix "geo" means "earth" a ...
. Ladytron have opened for other artists like Soulwax on their UK tour in 2001,
Björk Björk Guðmundsdóttir ( , ; born 21 November 1965), known mononymously as Björk, is an Icelandic singer, songwriter, composer, record producer, and actress. Noted for her distinct three-octave vocal range and eccentric persona, she has de ...
in 2003, and Goldfrapp in 2006. In early 2007, they opened for
Nine Inch Nails Nine Inch Nails, commonly abbreviated as NIN and stylized as NIИ, is an American industrial rock band formed in Cleveland in 1988. Singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and producer Trent Reznor was the only permanent member of the band ...
on their European tour, at the invitation of Trent Reznor. In 2009, Ladytron and The Faint co-headlined a North American tour. During the early part of the ''Witching Hour'' tour, the band used to name their four
Korg MS-2000 The Korg MS2000 is a virtual analog synthesizer produced by the Japanese electronic musical instrument manufacturer Korg. History and features The synthesizer was offered as either a 44-key board or as a rack module, the latter being controlle ...
B synths to easily differentiate them: ''Cleopatra'' (Marnie), ''Babylon'' (Aroyo), ''Ulysses'' (Hunt), and ''Gloria'' (Wu). A staple of all Ladytron shows is Korg MS-20 played by Mira Aroyo.


Discography

*'' 604'' (2001) *'' Light & Magic'' (2002) *''
Witching Hour In folklore, the witching hour or devil's hour is a time of night that is associated with supernatural events, whereby witches, demons and ghosts are thought to appear and be at their most powerful. Definitions vary, and include the hour immedi ...
'' (2005) *'' Velocifero'' (2008) *'' Gravity the Seducer'' (2011) *'' Ladytron'' (2019) *''Time's Arrow'' (2023)


Awards and nominations

Classic Pop Reader Awards , - , 2019 , "The Island" , Video of the Year , MVPA Awards , - , 2006 , " Destroy Everything You Touch" , Best Directional Debut , PLUG Awards , - , 2006 , " Destroy Everything You Touch" , Song of the Year , Popjustice Twenty Quid Music Prize , - , 2003 , "
Seventeen Seventeen or 17 may refer to: *17 (number), the natural number following 16 and preceding 18 * one of the years 17 BC, AD 17, 1917, 2017 Literature Magazines * ''Seventeen'' (American magazine), an American magazine * ''Seventeen'' (Japanese m ...
" , rowspan=2, Best British Pop Single , , - , 2006 , " Destroy Everything You Touch" ,


Media usage


See also

* List of synthpop artists


References


External links

* * {{Authority control English synth-pop groups English electronic rock musical groups Electropop groups Post-punk revival music groups Musical groups established in 1999 Musical groups from Liverpool Musical quartets Remixers Nettwerk Music Group artists Rykodisc artists Island Records artists Telstar Records artists 1999 establishments in England