Lost Valentinos are a band from
Sydney,
Australia. They released two EPs under the band name The Valentinos but changed their name in mid-2007 to Lost Valentinos due to the threat of legal action by soul artists from the 1950s,
Bobby Womack
Robert Dwayne Womack (; March 4, 1944 – June 27, 2014) was an American singer, songwriter, musician, and record producer. Starting in the early 1950s as the lead singer of his family musical group the Valentinos and as Sam Cooke's backing gui ...
&
The Valentinos
The Valentinos (also known as The Womack Brothers) was an American family R&B group from Cleveland, Ohio, best known for launching the careers of brothers Bobby Womack and Cecil Womack. Bobby went on to find greater fame as a solo artist whil ...
.
Lost Valentinos have been described by ''
NME
''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming, and culture website and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a 'rock inkie', the NME would become a magazine that ended up as a f ...
'' as "A skittering shitstorm of punk fury, disco beats and psychedelic excursions, the sonic invention of
M83,
Can and
My Bloody Valentine melding with the panty-poking fun of
Wham!
Wham! (briefly known in the US as Wham! U.K.) were an English pop duo formed in Bushey in 1981. The duo consisted of George Michael and Andrew Ridgeley. They became one of the most commercially successful pop acts of the 1980s, selling mor ...
,
The Pixies
Pixies is an American alternative rock band formed in 1986, in Boston, Massachusetts. Until 2013, the band consisted of Black Francis (vocals, rhythm guitar, songwriter), Joey Santiago (lead guitar), Kim Deal (bass, vocals) and David Loverin ...
and
The Human League
The Human League are an English synth-pop band formed in Sheffield in 1977. Initially an experimental electronic outfit, the group signed to Virgin Records in 1979 and later attained widespread commercial success with their third album ''Dare' ...
."
History
The band's eponymous debut EP, ''The Valentinos'', produced by
Kim Moyes of
The Presets
The Presets are an Australian electronic music duo of Julian Hamilton (vocals, keyboards) and Kim Moyes (drums, keyboards). Formed in 2003 and signed to Modular Records, The Presets released two EPs ('' Blow Up'', '' Girl and the Sea'') in a ...
was released in 2005 and featured
Midnight Juggernauts
Midnight Juggernauts were an Australian band from Melbourne, composed of Andrew Szekeres, Vincent Vendetta (Vincent Heimann), and Daniel Stricker. The band has been described as anything from 'prog dance meets cosmic film scores', to 'slasher-fl ...
's Daniel Stricker and a young
Kirin J. Callinan (credited as Kieran Callinan), of
Mercy Arms, on guitar. The EP's original pressing sold out in its first week of release. Their first single "Man with a Gun" received heavy rotation 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 ...
.
Their second EP, ''Damn And Damn Again'', was produced by
Nick Littlemore
Nicholas George Littlemore (born 6 May 1978) is an Australian musician, record producer, singer and songwriter. As a musician, he is the frontman of the electronic duo Pnau, an ex-member of the art-rock band Teenager and one part of the electr ...
of
PNAU
Pnau ( ) is an Australian dance music trio originating from Sydney. The trio, a duo before 2016, consists of the musicians Nick Littlemore (vocals, production), Peter Mayes (guitar, production) and Sam Littlemore (production), with the latter j ...
and was mastered in
New York by Greg Calbi, who has worked with the likes of
Blondie,
Sonic Youth and
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 ...
. By this stage Jono Ma had replaced Kirin J Callinan. Upon meeting, the two guitarists began working together and would later go on to be founding members of the improvisational collective F.L.R.L.
The band, now Lost Valentinos, released their third EP ''Miles From Nowhere'' in 2007.
They released their debut album, ''
Cities of Gold'', on 9 September 2009. It was recorded during 2008 and 2009 in Sydney, London, and Berlin. The album was produced by
Ewan Pearson
Ewan Pearson (born 1 April 1972) is an English electronic music producer/remixer who works under various aliases including Maas, Sulky Pup, Villa America, World of Apples, and Dirtbox. He is also in Partial Arts with Al Usher. He has remixed ...
, who has worked with bands such as
Chemical Brothers
The Chemical Brothers are an English electronic music duo formed by Tom Rowlands and Ed Simons in Manchester in 1989. They were pioneers (along with the Prodigy, Fatboy Slim, the Crystal Method, and other acts) in bringing the big beat genre ...
and
The Rapture. Four singles were released from the album: "The Bismarck", "Serio", "Midnights", and "Thief".
Members
* Jono Ma – guitar, keyboards
* Andrew Santamaria – guitar
* Patrick Santamaria – bass guitar
* Nik Yiannikas – vocals
* Simon Parker – drums
Former members
* Daniel Stricker (Midnight Juggernauts) – drums
* Kirin J Callinan (Mercy Arms, The Dreamlanders) – guitar, keyboards
* Leon Rogovoy – keyboards
* Liam Bramall – guitar
* Craig Whitaker – drums
* Jonathan Martin – bass guitar
* Loryn Garnsey – drums
Discography
Albums
*''
Cities of Gold'' (2009)
EPs
*''The Valentinos'' (2005)
*''Damn & Damn Again'' (2006)
*''Miles from Nowhere'' (2007)
Singles
*"Man with the Gun" (2005)
*"Rain" (2006)
*"17 Deaths" (2007)
*"The Bismarck" (2008)
*"Serio" (2009)
*"Midnights" (2009)
*"Thief" (2009)
Touring
*Toured with
The Presets
The Presets are an Australian electronic music duo of Julian Hamilton (vocals, keyboards) and Kim Moyes (drums, keyboards). Formed in 2003 and signed to Modular Records, The Presets released two EPs ('' Blow Up'', '' Girl and the Sea'') in a ...
in 2005
*Headline tour with the UK's
Johnny Boy in 2006
*Slots at Parklife Festival,
Splendour in the Grass
Splendour in the Grass (commonly referred to as Splendour) is an annual Australian music festival held at the North Byron Parklands in Yelgun, New South Wales. Since its inauguration, the festival has also been held in various locations near ...
,
Falls Festival
Falls Music & Arts Festival (commonly known as Falls) is a multi-day music festival held annually in Lorne ( Victoria), Marion Bay (Tasmania), Byron Bay (New South Wales) and Fremantle (Western Australia), Australia over the New Year's Eve an ...
,
V Festival and the Playground Weekender Festival
*Toured with
The Church on their national tour in 2006
*Toured to the UK and Japan and 2006
*Toured with
Datarock
Datarock is a Norwegian electronic rock band. The band, known for wearing red jumpsuits, formed in 2000. Original personnel were Fredrik Saroea, Ketil Mosnes and Kevin O'Brien, who soon hired Tom Mæland. O'Brien and Mæland later left the band, ...
in Australia in 2006
*Toured with
Soulwax
Soulwax are an electronic band from Ghent, Belgium. Centred around brothers David and Stephen Dewaele, other current members include Igor Cavalera and Stefaan Van Leuven. They were first noticed after the release of their album '' Much Against Ev ...
in Australia, March/April 2007
*
V festival tour, March/April 2007
*"17 Deaths" Single Tour in Australia, July 2007
*Played at
Splendour in the Grass
Splendour in the Grass (commonly referred to as Splendour) is an annual Australian music festival held at the North Byron Parklands in Yelgun, New South Wales. Since its inauguration, the festival has also been held in various locations near ...
in August 2007 alongside bands such as
Arctic Monkeys
Arctic Monkeys are an English rock band formed in Sheffield in 2002. The group consists of Alex Turner (lead vocals, guitar, keyboards), Jamie Cook (guitar, keyboards), Nick O'Malley (bass guitar, backing vocals), and Matt Helders (drums, ...
and
Bloc Party
Bloc Party are an English 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 Louise Bartle ( ...
*Toured with
Van She
Van She are an electropop band formed in 2002 in Sydney, Australia, with Matt Van Schie (pronounced Van Ski) on bass guitar/vocals, Tomek Archer on drums/sequencer, Michael Di Francesco on synth/guitar and Nicholas Routledge on vocals/guitar. ...
in Australia, September 2008
*Bacardi Express Tour '09 w/ Groove Armada, British India, Bluejuice, Van She, Beardyman, and Hoops DJs.
References
External links
Theaureview.com
{{Authority control
Australian indie rock groups
New South Wales musical groups