Purity Ring is a Canadian

electronic pop 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 r ...

band from

Edmonton Edmonton ( ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Alberta. Edmonton is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Alberta's central region. The city ancho ...

Alberta Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Ter ...

, Canada, formed in 2010. The band consists of multi-instrumentalist/producer Corin Roddick and vocalist Megan James. They released their debut album '' Shrines'' in 2012 to critical acclaim, followed by '' Another Eternity'' in 2015 and ''

Womb The uterus (from Latin ''uterus'', plural ''uteri'') or womb () is the organ in the reproductive system of most female mammals, including humans that accommodates the embryonic and fetal development of one or more embryos until birth. The uter ...

'' in 2020. The band released an EP, ''Graves'', on June 3, 2022.

History

2010–2013: Formation and ''Shrines''

The band were originally members of the band Gobble Gobble. While on tour with them, Roddick began experimenting with

electronic Electronic may refer to: *Electronics, the science of how to control electric energy in semiconductor * ''Electronics'' (magazine), a defunct American trade journal *Electronic storage, the storage of data using an electronic device *Electronic co ...

production and beat-making. James was asked to sing on a track called "Ungirthed", thus forming Purity Ring. The song was released in January 2011. On April 3, 2012, it was announced that Purity Ring was signed by record company 4AD worldwide and

Last Gang Records Last Gang Records is a record label formed by Canadian music industry lawyer Chris Taylor (businessman), Chris Taylor and concert promoter Donald K. Tarlton in the Fall of 2003 at the Pop Montreal Music Festival. Last Gang was nominated as Indepe ...

in Canada. Later the same month the band released their first official single "Obedear", along with the announcement of their debut album, '' Shrines'', which was released on July 24, 2012. The album peaked at 32 on the

Billboard 200 The ''Billboard'' 200 is a record chart ranking the 200 most popular music albums and EPs in the United States. It is published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine and is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of art ...

, selling 90,000 copies in the US as of February 2015. It was ranked 24th on ''

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 ...

''s staff lists top 50 albums of 2012 and became short listed for the

2013 Polaris Music Prize The 2013 edition of the Canadian Polaris Music Prize was presented on September 23, 2013

the following year.Staff Lists: The Top 50 Albums Of 2012
, Pitchfork.com Later that year, they released a collaboration titled "Belispeak II" with rapper

Danny Brown Daniel Dewan Sewell (born March 16, 1981), better known by his stage name Danny Brown, is an American rapper, singer, and songwriter. He has been described by MTV as "one of rap's most unique figures in recent memory". In 2010, after amassing ...

. In February, 2013, the band released a cover of

Soulja Boy DeAndre Cortez Way (born July 28, 1990), known professionally as Soulja Boy (formerly Soulja Boy Tell 'Em), is an American rapper and record producer. He rose to prominence, after his self published debut single "Crank That (Soulja Boy)" peake ...

's "Grammy" as a free download in celebration of the opening of their official online store. Fan reaction to the release was so strong that it crashed the website servers due to too many requests to download. Later that year they released a remix of

Lady Gaga Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta ( ; born March 28, 1986), known professionally as Lady Gaga, is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. She is known for her image reinventions and musical versatility. Gaga began performing as a teenag ...

's "

Applause Applause (Latin ''applaudere,'' to strike upon, clap) is primarily a form of ovation or praise expressed by the act of clapping, or striking the palms of the hands together, in order to create noise. Audiences usually applaud after a performance ...

" for the song's digital remix EP.

2014–present: ''Another Eternity'' and ''Womb''

In February 2014, the duo announced it was working on a second studio album. The band collaborated again with Danny Brown on his third studio album ''

Old Old or OLD may refer to: Places *Old, Baranya, Hungary *Old, Northamptonshire, England *Old Street station, a railway and tube station in London (station code OLD) *OLD, IATA code for Old Town Municipal Airport and Seaplane Base, Old Town, Mai ...

''. On December 3, 2014, the group released the lead single from the album, "Push Pull". On February 26, '' Another Eternity'' became fully available to stream online via

NPR Music NPR Music is a project of National Public Radio, an American privately and publicly funded non-profit membership media organization, that launched in November 2007 to present public radio music programming and original editorial content for music ...

's First Listen. The album was released in March 2015. It charted at number 25 on the

Canadian Albums Chart The Canadian Albums Chart is the official album sales chart in Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocea ...

, becoming the band's first album to chart there, and number 26 on the Billboard 200. On January 19, 2016, the band performed live on '' Conan''. In April 2016, they also performed at

Coachella Coachella may refer to: * Coachella, California * Coachella Canal, in California * Coachella (festival), an annual music and arts festival in California * "Coachella – Woodstock in My Mind", a 2017 song by Lana del Rey See also

* Coachell ...

in Indio, California. On April 30, 2017, while performing at Fortress Festival, it was announced that the band would be taking a break from touring to record new material. The band co-wrote and produced three songs on

Katy Perry Katheryn Elizabeth Hudson (born October 25, 1984), known professionally as Katy Perry, is an American singer, songwriter, and television personality. Known for her influence on modern pop music and her Camp (style), campy style, she has been ...

's 2017 album ''

Witness In law, a witness is someone who has knowledge about a matter, whether they have sensed it or are testifying on another witnesses' behalf. In law a witness is someone who, either voluntarily or under compulsion, provides testimonial evidence, e ...

.'' On July 24, 2017, on the 5th anniversary of their debut album ''Shrines'', the group released a new single titled "Asido". According to Purity Ring, this song is "a standalone offering", suggesting that it would not be featured on its possible new record. In August 2018, an unreleased Purity Ring song was featured in the trailer for

Netflix Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a fil ...

's television series '' The Innocents'', speculated to be titled "Bitter Rhymes". In February 2020, the band posted a link to an interactive puzzle/website that rewarded fans with a song called "Pink Lightning". The duo's third album, ''

'', was released on April 3, 2020. It was announced alongside the release of the lead single, titled "Stardew". In March 2020, the band released "Pink Lightning" as a single, as well as another single called "Peacefall", which features backing vocals from Mew vocalist

Jonas Bjerre Jonas Bjerre Terkelsbøl (born 21 September 1976) is a musician and visual artist from Copenhagen, Denmark, best known as the lead singer of Danish rock band Mew. Bjerre creates animated videos for Mew's live shows. He has an uncommon vocal ra ...

Style and impact

Purity Ring's music is known for its combination of pop and hip-hop styles and James' "childlike" vocals and "

macabre In works of art, the adjective macabre ( or ; ) means "having the quality of having a grim or ghastly atmosphere". The macabre works to emphasize the details and symbols of death. The term also refers to works particularly gruesome in natu ...

", "gory" lyrics, that she takes from "books and books full of things she's written" in the past. Their music utilizes down-pitched, distorted vocals and percussive and vocal loops. A creative key to their sound is a sometimes aggressive use of a volume regulating technique called “sidechaining,” in which the rhythm of one instrument affects the volume of another. Genres that have been used to label the band include

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 ...

dream pop Dream pop (also typeset as dreampop) is a subgenre of alternative rock and neo-psychedelia that emphasizes atmosphere and sonic texture as much as pop melody. Common characteristics include breathy vocals, dense productions, and effects such as ...

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 music, psychedelic fusion of hip hop music, hip hop ...

, and witch house, while the band describes themselves as " future pop". While their debut album was recorded separately with Roddick sending instrumentals to James over email to record vocals over, ''Another Eternity'' was the first time they recorded entirely in the studio together. During live shows, both wear clothes custom designed and sewn by James, and Roddick uses a custom-built, tree-shaped instrument to drive both live sound and lighting. ''Pitchfork'' described ''Shrines'' as "a definitive time capsule for the sound of 2012 (and 2013)". "Grandloves", off ''Shrines'', was sampled on

Playboi Carti Jordan Terrell Carter (born September 13, 1996), known professionally as Playboi Carti, is an American rapper. Carter was initially signed to local underground label Awful Records prior to signing with ASAP Mob's AWGE Label under Interscope R ...

's song " Fell In Luv", while "Fineshrine" was featured in an advertisement for UK online retailer Very and a sixth season episode of ''

Letterkenny Letterkenny ( ga, Leitir Ceanainn , meaning 'hillside of the O'Cannons'), nicknamed 'the Cathedral Town', is the largest and most populous town in County Donegal, a county in Ulster, the northern province in Ireland. Letterkenny lies on the R ...

''. "Obedear" is the theme song for the American television series '' Search Party''. "Sea Castle", off ''Another Eternity'', was used in the trailer for

Marvel Marvel may refer to: Business * Marvel Entertainment, an American entertainment company ** Marvel Comics, the primary imprint of Marvel Entertainment ** Marvel Universe, a fictional shared universe ** Marvel Music, an imprint of Marvel Comics ...

's '' Runaways'' television series.

Members

* Corin Roddick – instruments, production (2010–present) * Megan James – vocals (2010–present), production (2020–present)

Discography

* '' Shrines'' (2012) * '' Another Eternity'' (2015) * ''

'' (2020) * ''Graves'' (2022)

References

External links

* {{Authority control 2010 establishments in Alberta 4AD artists Canadian musical duos Canadian synthpop groups Dream pop musical groups Electronic music duos Musical groups established in 2010 Musical groups from Edmonton Trip hop groups