Lisp was an English

trip hop Trip hop (sometimes used synonymously with " downtempo") is a musical genre that originated in the early 1990s in the United Kingdom, especially Bristol. It has been described as a psychedelic fusion of hip hop and electronica with slow tem ...

band from

East London East or Orient is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from west and is the direction from which the Sun rises on the Earth. Etymology As in other languages, the word is formed from the ...

. Formed in 1995, they were signed to Mind Horizon Recordings, a subsidiary of

London Records London Recordings (or London Records and London Music Stream) is a British record label that marketed records in the United States, Canada, and Latin America for Decca Records from 1947 to 1980 before becoming semi-independent. The London nam ...

, on which they released their first and only album, ''Cycles'' (2000), which saw radio success from its singles "Flatspin" and "Long Way to Climb".

History

Lisp was formed in

in 1995, with the lineup including former Disco Inferno bassist Paul Willmott on keyboard, vocalist Johnnie Gordon, guitarist

Brad Rubinstein Bradley Adam Rubinstein (Hebrew name: Binyamin Adam) is an English-Israeli Orthodox Jewish guitarist, songwriter, and producer based in Beit Shemesh, Israel. Initially gaining fame with the short-lived London trip hop band Lisp, he moved to Israe ...

, bassist Jason Hall, and drummer Adam Rich. The band was signed to the

subsidiary Mind Horizon Recordings in 1999 by

Pete Tong Peter Michael Tong, (born 30 July 1960) is an English disc jockey who works for BBC Radio 1. He is the host of programmes such as ''Essential Mix'' and '' Essential Selection'' on the radio service, which can be heard through Internet radio str ...

, through which they released their first single, "Flatspin", in September of that year. Their second single, "Long Way to Climb", was even more popular, getting airplay on

XFM Radio X is a British National commercial radio station focused on alternative music, primarily indie rock, and owned by Global. Radio X launched in 1989 as a pirate radio station, a licensed London-wide station in 1997 and nationally in 2 ...

. In November, the band played a show at the club Scala in King's Cross, London. The full album, ''Cycles'', was released on 17 April 2000. The group disbanded in 2001, in part because Rubinstein's then-nascent return to

Orthodox Jewish Orthodox Judaism is the collective term for the traditionalist and theologically conservative branches of contemporary Judaism. Theologically, it is chiefly defined by regarding the Torah, both Written and Oral, as revealed by God to Moses on ...

faith made it difficult for him to attend shows that fell on religious holidays. Following the breakup, Rubinstein moved to

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

, where he co-founded with rapper

Ori Murray Ori Murray is an American-born Israeli rapper, best known as the co-founder and rap vocalist of the band Shtar. Early life Murray was born in Seattle, Washington to an Irish father and a Jewish mother, although he was raised with little connect ...

the

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

hip hop/ rock group

Shtar Shtar (Aramaic: שטר, "contract") is an Israeli Jewish rap rock band based in Beit Shemesh. Formed in 2006 by American rapper Ori Murray and English guitarist/songwriter Brad Rubinstein, the band released their debut album, ''Infinity'', in Is ...

Musical style

Lisp's music combined a rock sound with such additional touches as a

string quartet The term string quartet can refer to either a type of musical composition or a group of four people who play them. Many composers from the mid-18th century onwards wrote string quartets. The associated musical ensemble consists of two violinist ...

and Paul Willmott's

electronic musical instrument An electronic musical instrument or electrophone is a musical instrument that produces sound using electronic circuitry. Such an instrument sounds by outputting an electrical, electronic or digital audio signal that ultimately is plugged into ...

s. The singles "Flatspin" and "Long Way to Climb" were compared to what

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Music ...

's Andy Kellman called "completely unrelated bands", such as Massive Attack and Portishead. Another Allmusic writer, Dean Carlson, compared ''Cycles'' to "a trip-hop

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). Depech ...

, or British baggy after a lecture marathon on Schwarzschild geometry" and described the band's musical structures as "ambitious". Live

concert A concert is a live music performance in front of an audience. The performance may be by a single musician, sometimes then called a recital, or by a musical ensemble, such as an orchestra, choir, or band. Concerts are held in a wide var ...

s would range from stripped-down acoustic sets to elaborate string sections and visuals.

Members

*Jonathan Gordon -

vocals Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or withou ...

, songwriting *

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected string ...

, songwriting *Paul Willmott - keyboards,

synthesizers A synthesizer (also spelled synthesiser) is an electronic musical instrument that generates audio signals. Synthesizers typically create sounds by generating waveforms through methods including subtractive synthesis, additive synthesis a ...

*Jason Hall -

bass guitar The bass guitar, electric bass or simply bass (), is the lowest-pitched member of the string family. It is a plucked string instrument similar in appearance and construction to an electric or an acoustic guitar, but with a longer neck and ...

*Adam Rich -

drums A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair of matching drumsticks ...

Discography

;Albums *''Cycles'' (2000, Mind Horizon) ;Singles *"Flatspin" (1999) *"Long Way to Climb" (1999,

)

References

{{Authority control British electronic music groups English experimental musical groups London Records artists Musical groups established in 1995 Musical groups disestablished in 2001 Trip hop groups