Purson was an English

psychedelic rock Psychedelic rock is a rock music Music genre, genre that is inspired, influenced, or representative of psychedelia, psychedelic culture, which is centered on perception-altering hallucinogenic drugs. The music incorporated new electronic sound ...

band from

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

, England, founded by

Rosalie Cunningham Rosalie Cunningham (born 25 April 1990) is an English singer-songwriter. After the split of the band Ipso Facto, Cunningham started a new project named Purson. She has performed as a solo artist since 2017. Career Cunningham was born in Southend ...

. Purson formed after Cunningham disbanded her previous project Ipso Facto. They were signed with Spinefarm. Cunningham described their sound as "vaudeville carny psych".

Career

The band name has its origins in demonology, in which Purson is one of the Kings of Hell. Cunningham wanted to name the band after a god. After not finding any god-like names that they liked, they searched in the names of demons or devils. Purson appeared at the 2012 edition of

Roadburn Festival Roadburn Festival is an international music festival held in Tilburg, Netherlands every April since 1999. It was set up as a spin-off from the Roadburn music blog founded by Jurgen van den Brand and Walter Hoeijmakers. Originally focused on stone ...

. The band performed live in session for Marc Riley on BBC Radio 6 Music in January 2012 and again in March 2013 and December 2013, live from Maida Vale studios. During the show the band discussed plans to record a second album in 2014. Purson supported

Kiss A kiss is the touch or pressing of one's lips against another person or an object. Cultural connotations of kissing vary widely. Depending on the culture and context, a kiss can express sentiments of love, passion, romance, sexual attraction, ...

on their 2014 edition of the KISS Kruise. Purson have also performed alongside label mates

Uncle Acid & the Deadbeats Uncle Acid & the Deadbeats (written as Uncle Acid and the deadbeats or simply Uncle Acid) are an English rock band, formed in Cambridge by Kevin Starrs. The band have released five albums – the most recent, ''Wasteland'', was released in Octob ...

, Electric Wizard, Blood Ceremony,

Comus In Greek mythology, Comus (; grc, Κῶμος, ''Kōmos'') is the god of festivity, revels and nocturnal dalliances. He is a son and a cup-bearer of the god Dionysus. He was represented as a winged youth or a child-like satyr and represents ana ...

, Pentagram as well as

neo-psychedelia Neo-psychedelia is a diverse genre of psychedelic music that draws inspiration from the sounds of 1960s psychedelia, either updating or copying the approaches from that era. Originating in the 1970s, it has occasionally seen mainstream pop su ...

bands such as Toy and

Temples A temple (from the Latin ) is a building reserved for spiritual rituals and activities such as prayer and sacrifice. Religions which erect temples include Christianity (whose temples are typically called churches), Hinduism (whose temples ...

. Their first single "Rocking Horse" was released on 1 March 2012. Purson's debut album titled ''

The Circle and the Blue Door ''The Circle and the Blue Door'' is the debut studio album from British rock band Purson. The album was released on 29 April 2013, via Rise Above Records. Reception ''The Circle and the Blue Door'' received favourable reviews from professional cr ...

'' was released on 29 April 2013 to general and critical acclaim. The title was inspired by an ex-boyfriend who had a breakdown. The Circle and the Blue Door was something he talked about before he broke down. ''

Spin Spin or spinning most often refers to: * Spinning (textiles), the creation of yarn or thread by twisting fibers together, traditionally by hand spinning * Spin, the rotation of an object around a central axis * Spin (propaganda), an intentionally b ...

'' called the album "an audacious entry into a current crop of retro-pop headbanger fare that should chill the marrow of fans".

Virgin Virginity is the state of a person who has never engaged in sexual intercourse. The term ''virgin'' originally only referred to sexually inexperienced women, but has evolved to encompass a range of definitions, as found in traditional, modern ...

wrote "Long before the last track has played its final note you will already be planning your next visit to this dark yet enchanting musical world. 'The Circle & The Blue Door' is thoroughly addictive listening". Purson toured the US extensively with

Ghost A ghost is the soul or spirit of a dead person or animal that is believed to be able to appear to the living. In ghostlore, descriptions of ghosts vary widely from an invisible presence to translucent or barely visible wispy shapes, to rea ...

on their Black to the Future US 2015 tour. On 21 April 2017 Purson released the farewell single "Chocolate Money" and announced their split.

Awards and accolades

Purson were voted Best New Band and Best Debut Album of 2013 in '' Terrorizer'' magazine's yearly readers poll as well as ranking ''The Circle And The Blue Door'' 11th in their critics choice of the best albums of 2013. ''The Circle And The Blue Door'' ranked number 15 on ''

Metal Hammer ''Metal Hammer'' is a heavy metal music magazine and website founded in 1983, published in the United Kingdom by Future, with other language editions available in numerous other countries. ''Metal Hammer'' features news, reviews and long-form ...

'' magazine's best 50 Albums 2013. Purson were also Nominated for Best New Band in ''

Classic Rock Classic rock is a US radio format which developed from the album-oriented rock (AOR) format in the early 1980s. In the United States, the classic rock format comprises rock music ranging generally from the mid-1960s through the mid 1990s, primar ...

s 2014 Rock Roll Of Honour held in Los Angeles In 2015, they won the Vanguard award (for acts who deserve wider recognition) at the Progressive Music Awards in London.

Discography

Singles * "Rocking Horse" / "Twos and Ones" ( Rise Above), March 2012 * "Leaning on a Bear" / "Let Bloom" (Rise Above), February 2013 * "The Contract" / "Blueprints of the Dream" (Rise Above), September 2013 * "Electric Landlady" ( Spinefarm), September 2015 * "Chocolate Money" (Spinefarm), April 2017 EPs * ''Rocking Horse - EP'' (Rise Above), April 2012 * ''In the Meantime...'' (Machine Elf), November 2014 Albums * ''

'' (Rise Above/ Metal Blade), April 2013 * ''Desire's Magic Theatre'' (Spinefarm Records), April 2016

References

{{Authority control English psychedelic rock music groups English progressive rock groups Musical groups from London Musical groups established in 2011 Musical groups disestablished in 2017