Looper are a Scottish electronic music group fronted by

Belle and Sebastian Belle and Sebastian are a Scottish indie pop band formed in Glasgow in 1996. Led by Stuart Murdoch, the band has released eleven albums. They are often compared with acts such as The Smiths and Nick Drake. The name "Belle and Sebastian" come ...

co-founder

Stuart David Stuart David is a Scottish musician, songwriter and novelist. He co-founded the band Belle and Sebastian and was a member from 1996 to 2000, and then went on to front Looper (1998–present).Strong, Martin C. (2003) ''The Great Indie Discograp ...

. They have been credited with originating two distinct musical genres- ''Folk Hop'', and ''Horror Pop''Bowers, William (2002)
''The Snare''
,

Pitchfork A pitchfork (also a hay fork) is an agricultural tool with a long handle and two to five tines used to lift and pitch or throw loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves. The term is also applied colloquially, but inaccurately, to th ...

, 13 August 2002. Retrieved 25 February 2018 (later termed ''Noir'n'B'' or ''Switchblade Pop''
/ref>) The band formed in 1998 for a show at the

Glasgow School of Art The Glasgow School of Art (GSA; gd, Sgoil-ealain Ghlaschu) is a higher education art school based in Glasgow, Scotland, offering undergraduate degrees, post-graduate awards (both taught and research-led), and PhDs in architecture, fine art, and ...

and released their first single "Impossible Things" on the

Subpop Sub Pop is a record label founded in 1986 by Bruce Pavitt and Jonathan Poneman. Sub Pop achieved fame in the early 1990s for signing Seattle bands such as Nirvana, Soundgarden, and Mudhoney, central players in the grunge movement. They are often ...

label a few months later. They have released five albums, '' Up a Tree'' (1999), ''

The Geometrid ''The Geometrid'' is the second studio album by Looper, released in 2000. It peaked at number 22 on the UK Independent Albums Chart. Critical reception '' Exclaim!'' called ''The Geometrid'' "a beautiful, modern pop record." ''The Guardian ...

'' (2000), '' The Snare'' (2002), '' Offgrid:Offline'' (2015), '' Quiet & Small'' (2018) and a 5-CD box set '' These Things'' (2015), as well as a series of EPs titled

The MP3 EPs ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

Biography

Looper emerged from Belle & Sebastian in 1997, when Stuart David (co-founder and bass player of B&S) and his wife Karn (an artist who directed the early B&S videos) collaborated for a show at Glasgow School of Art. A degree show fundraiser for Stuart’s sister

Karla Black Karla Black (born 1972) is a Scottish sculptor who creates abstract three-dimensional artworks that explore the physicality of materials as a way of understanding and communicating the world around us. In 2011, Black was nominated for the Turne ...

– who received a Turner Prize nomination in 2011- the performance was a multi-media affair incorporating TVs, super 8 film, 35mm slides and kinetic sculptures Their first album, '' Up a Tree'', was released in 1999 on the

Sub Pop Sub Pop is a record label founded in 1986 by Bruce Pavitt and Jonathan Poneman. Sub Pop achieved fame in the early 1990s for signing Seattle bands such as Nirvana, Soundgarden, and Mudhoney, central players in the grunge movement. They are often ...

label in the U.S. and by Jeepster Records in the rest of the world. It was followed in 2000 by ''

'' on the same labels. After touring the U.S. for three months with

The Flaming Lips The Flaming Lips are an American psychedelic rock band formed in 1983 in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. The band currently consists of Wayne Coyne (vocals, guitar, keyboards), Steven Drozd (guitars, keyboards, bass, drums, vocals), Derek Brown (keyb ...

in 2000 they signed to

Mute Records Mute Records is a British independent record label owned and founded in 1978 by Daniel Miller. It has featured several prominent musical acts on its roster such as Depeche Mode, Erasure, Einstürzende Neubauten, Fad Gadget, Goldfrapp, Grinderm ...

. They have now licensed their full back catalogue to Mute. Since then, Looper have been releasing their music free to the public at their Looperama website, funding this experiment by licensing the use of their songs in high-profile

Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywood, ...

films and ad campaigns. Their most recognizable song is "Mondo '77", from their second album, ''The Geometrid''. It has been featured in American television commercials for Xerox and

Partnership for a Drug-Free America Partnership to End Addiction, first known as the Partnership for a Drug-Free America (PDFA) then later as the Partnership at DrugFree.org, and The Partnership for Drug-Free Kids, is a New York, New York, New York City-based nonprofit, non-profit ...

, in numerous films including ''

Vanilla Sky ''Vanilla Sky'' is a 2001 American science fiction thriller film directed, written, and co-produced by Cameron Crowe. It is an English-language remake of Alejandro Amenábar's 1997 Spanish film '' Open Your Eyes'', which was written by Amenábar ...

'' and ''

The Edukators ''The Edukators'' (german: Die fetten Jahre sind vorbei) is a 2004 crime drama film directed by the Austrian director Hans Weingartner. A co-production between Germany and Austria, it stars Daniel Brühl, Stipe Erceg, and Julia Jentsch as thr ...

'', and on the ''

American Dad! ''American Dad!'' is an American animated sitcom created by Seth MacFarlane, Mike Barker and Matt Weitzman for the Fox Broadcasting Company. Since 2014, the series has been airing new episodes on TBS. ''American Dad!'' is the first television ...

'' episode "

All About Steve ''All About Steve'' is a 2009 American comedy film directed by Phil Traill and starring Sandra Bullock, Thomas Haden Church, and Bradley Cooper as the eponymous Steve. The film is the winner of two Golden Raspberry Awards and has a 6% approval ...

". Another track from that album, "My Robot", is featured in the film ''The Girl Next Door''. These two songs ("Mondo '77", "My Robot") are also featured in the

Xbox Xbox is a video gaming brand created and owned by Microsoft. The brand consists of five video game consoles, as well as applications (games), streaming services, an online service by the name of Xbox network, and the development arm by the na ...

video game ''

Project Gotham Racing ''Project Gotham Racing'' (''PGR'') is a series of racing video games developed by Bizarre Creations and published by Microsoft Studios (Xbox and Xbox 360) and Sega (Dreamcast). The series appeared on the Dreamcast, Xbox and Xbox 360 consoles, ...

''. The song "Burning Flies", from the album ''Up a Tree'', is part of the soundtrack to the '' Mission Hill''

pilot episode A television pilot (also known as a pilot or a pilot episode and sometimes marketed as a tele-movie), in United States television, is a standalone episode of a television series that is used to sell a show to a television network or other distri ...

. Other films their songs have appeared in include '' Out Cold'', and ''

Dog Park A dog park is a park for dogs to exercise and play off-leash in a controlled environment under the supervision of their owners. Description Dog parks have varying features, although they typically offer a 4' to 6' fence, separate double-gated ...

''.

Discography

* '' Up a Tree'' (1999) * ''

'' (2000) * '' The Snare'' (2002) * '' Offgrid:Offline'' (2015) * ''

These Things (5 CD box set) "These Things" is a song by American rock band She Wants Revenge. It was released as their debut single and the lead single from their self-titled debut studio album on October 25, 2005. On ''Billboards Alternative Songs chart, "These Things ...

'' (2015) * '' Quiet & Small'' (2018)

References

External links

BBC News
Story on "Mondo '77" * {{DEFAULTSORT:Looper Scottish electronic music groups Musical groups from Glasgow Bands with fictional stage personas British indie pop groups Mute Records artists Musical groups established in 1998 Sub Pop artists