Nightbox were a
dance-punk
Dance-punk (also known as disco-punk, punk-funk or techno-punk) is a post-punk subgenre that emerged in the late 1970s, and is closely associated with the disco, post-disco and new wave movements.Rip It Up and Start Again: Post Punk 1978-1984 ...
band originally from Wicklow, Ireland. The five-piece consisted of Toronto-born brothers Jacob Alexander (Vocals) and Nicolas Amadeus (Drums), and Irishmen Andrew Keyes (Bass), James Tebbitt (Lead Guitar) and James Shelly (Synthesizers).
The band recorded their self-titled debut EP (released February 2011), produced by
MSTRKRFT's
Al-P
Alex Puodziukas known by his stage name Al-P, is a Canadian musician, record producer and recording engineer, best known for being part of the electronic music duo MSTRKRFT along with Jesse F. Keeler. Al-P was producer for Black Cat 13, Death f ...
and
Death From Above 1979
Death from Above 1979 (also known as Death from Above) is a Canadian rock duo consisting of bassist Jesse F. Keeler and drummer and vocalist Sebastien Grainger from Toronto, Ontario, formed in 2001. The band released their debut album, '' You're ...
's
Sebastien Grainger
Sebastien Alexandre Grainger (born 11 April 1979) is a Canadian singer and musician, best known as drummer and singer of the alternative rock duo Death from Above and the singer and guitarist for his band Sebastien Grainger and The Mountains. H ...
. Following the EP's success, they signed with
Ryan Gentles
Ryan Michael Gentles (born November 28, 1977) is an American music manager and the CEO of Wiz Kid Management. He is best known as the longtime manager of the New York City-based band The Strokes, whom he managed from 2000 until 2020.
Career
...
of New York's Wiz Kid Management (
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 More ...
) and began touring in earnest.
History
Nightbox formed in Wicklow, Ireland after meeting at
St. Gerard's School in Bray. The group's brothers, Jacob and Nick formed their first band with classmates James Shelly and James Tebbitt, "The Trotskies"; a project that culminated in their first record of original songs. Upon graduating from St. Gerard's, Nick and James Shelly went to study at the
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States ...
(UNC). During that time, Jacob and James Tebbitt enlisted Andrew Keyes, changed the band's name to Nightbox and continued playing music through secondary school, going through various drummers and arrangements. In July 2009, the band made their debut appearance at Ireland's largest music festival (60,000+ attendees),
Oxegen
Oxegen was a music festival in Ireland, first held from 2004–2011 as a rock and pop festival and again in 2013 with dance and chart acts only. The event was regularly cited as Ireland's biggest music festival, and, by 2009, it was being ci ...
, Ireland. The festival's sponsor,
Heineken
Heineken Lager Beer ( nl, Heineken Pilsener), or simply Heineken () is a pale lager beer with 5% alcohol by volume produced by the Dutch brewing company Heineken N.V. Heineken beer is sold in a green bottle with a red star.
History
On 15 Febr ...
Music Ireland, ranked Nightbox's performance in the Top-3 of the entire festival, out of hundreds of acts, claiming Nightbox to be their new favourite Irish band. In January 2010, after Nick and James Shelly graduated from UNC and Jacob, James Tebbitt and Andrew graduated from St. Gerard's, the band relocated to Toronto, Canada to record for a year.
The five-piece released their debut EP in February 2011, produced by Sebastien Grainger (Death From Above 1979) and Al–P (MSTRKRFT). Critical and commercial reaction to the band's eponymous debut was noteworthy on a world scale. The music video for single "Pyramid" earned heavy rotation on Canadian music television stations, debuting on
MuchMusic
Much (an abbreviation for its full name MuchMusic) is a Canadian English language specialty channel owned by BCE Inc. through its Bell Media subsidiary that airs programming aimed at teenagers and young adults.
MuchMusic launched on August 31 ...
's "
The Wedge" program. The track was also released as part of French label
Kitsuné's Maison No. 11 Compilation. "Pyramid" was chosen 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 Top-10 download, who acclaimed it "takes on a fresh sound of its own". UK's
Dazed & Confused Magazine said "(Pyramid) takes a hedonistic approach with high energy results on a new breed of dance." The EP was re-released in Japan in September 2011 on Rallye Label, selling out 1,000 copies on its initial offering.
Prominent Irish blogger,
Nialler9
''Nialler9'' is an Irish music blog founded in 2005 by DJ and designer Niall Byrne. The company is headquartered in Dublin, Ireland. It has been referred to as "the grandaddy of Irish music blogs" by the Sunday Times.
History
Founder Niall ...
, stated "All signs point to Nightbox as the most likely successors to
Two Door Cinema Club
Two Door Cinema Club are a band from Bangor, County Down, Bangor, Northern Ireland. The band formed in 2007 and is composed of three members: Alex Trimble (vocals, rhythm guitar, beats, synths), Sam Halliday (lead guitar, backing vocals), and Ke ...
's worldwide ubiquity". In August 2011, Nightbox made their debut appearance in the UK, with a headlining tour which included plays at
Reading & Leeds Festivals
The Reading and Leeds Festivals are a pair of annual music festivals that take place in Reading and Leeds in England. The events take place simultaneously on the Friday, Saturday and Sunday of the August bank holiday weekend. The Reading Festiv ...
. They also earned a slot at Ireland's
Electric Picnic Festival where
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
exclaimed, "The glitchy synths and the guitars sound delightful... and by jove do they know how to write a hook", rating the performance an impressive 8/10.
Nightbox have directly supported acts including Death From Above 1979 at their reunion, homecoming Toronto show in October 2011;
. From November 2011 – March 2012, Nightbox toured across Canada, Ireland and the UK supporting fellow Canadian artist
. Nightbox remixed Lights' single "
'. In January 2013, Nightbox remixed
' "Helsinki Art Scene", released as part of the Finnish band's 'Singles Remixed EP'.
A debut album slated for Spring 2013 did not materialize. In February 2014, the group announced 'The Panic Sequence' EP would be released on 22 April 2014 on
. Following the release of this EP, the group disbanded to pursue new projects.
(USA). The track has also appeared on MTV's
. The "Relocate You" music video, produced and directed by Kheaven Lewandowski earned heavy rotation on Much Music and
directly following its release in January 2012.
• "Pyramid" featured on French record label Kitsune's 'Maison Compilation #11' & 'Gildas Kitsune: Club Night Mix'. The track also appeared on MTV's The Inbetweeners (USA), Season 1, Episode 2, and featured on the Official