SixNationState (also known as Six Nation State or 6NS) is an English

indie rock Indie rock is a Music subgenre, subgenre of rock music that originated in the United States, United Kingdom and New Zealand from the 1970s to the 1980s. Originally used to describe independent record labels, the term became associated with the mu ...

band formed in 2004 in

Southampton Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Po ...

, England (although the band have since relocated to

Reading, Berkshire Reading ( ) is a town and borough in Berkshire, Southeast England, southeast England. Located in the Thames Valley at the confluence of the rivers River Thames, Thames and River Kennet, Kennet, the Great Western Main Line railway and the M4 mot ...

to strengthen links with

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 ...

's music scene). The band is known for their low-budget music videos, often starring fans of the band.

Career

Within the band's first year, they had performed 154 shows, played

music festivals A music festival is a community event with performances of singing and instrument playing that is often presented with a theme such as musical genre (e.g., rock, blues, folk, jazz, classical music), nationality, locality of musicians, or ho ...

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

and supported

Nine Black Alps Nine Black Alps are an English alternative rock band, formed in 2003 in Manchester. The band consists of vocalist-guitarist Sam Forrest, guitarist David Jones, drummer James Galley and bassist Karl Astbury. Taking their name from "The Couriers ...

and

Babyshambles Babyshambles were an English rock music, rock band established in London. The band was formed by Pete Doherty (lead vocals, rhythm guitar) during a hiatus from the Libertines. As of 2013 the band includes Mick Whitnall (lead guitar), Drew McCo ...

. In 2007, the band performed at the

SXSW South by Southwest, abbreviated as SXSW and colloquially referred to as South By, is an annual conglomeration of parallel film, interactive media, and music festivals and conferences organized jointly that take place in mid-March in Austin, Te ...

festival in

Austin, Texas Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of Texas, as well as the county seat, seat and largest city of Travis County, Texas, Travis County, with portions extending into Hays County, Texas, Hays and Williamson County, Texas, Williamson co ...

and recorded sessions for

BBC Radio 2 BBC Radio 2 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It is the most popular station in the United Kingdom with over 15 million weekly listeners. Since launching in 1967, the station broadcasts a wide range of content. ...

Dermot O'Leary Seán Dermot Fintan O'Leary Jr. (born 24 May 1973) is an English broadcaster who currently works for ITV and BBC Radio 2. His radio career began when he worked as a disc jockey at Essex Radio, but he is best known for being the presenter of ''T ...

and

BBC 6 Music BBC Radio 6 Music is a British digital radio station owned and operated by the BBC, specialising primarily in alternative music. BBC 6 Music was the first national music radio station to be launched by the BBC in 32 years. It is available onl ...

's Marc "Lard" Riley. In the autumn of 2007, the band hit the headlines after bassist John Maskell severed tendons in his left foot following his landing on a broken wine glass after crowdsurfing. The band's debut album, ''SixNationState'', was released in the UK on 24 September 2007 through

Jeepster Records Jeepster Records is an English, London-based independent record label, founded in 1995, and specializing in British indie and alternative bands, particularly Glasgow-based acts. It is most notable for its signing of Belle and Sebastian and Snow ...

. Produced by Iain Gore, the record peaked at No. 16 on the

UK Indie Chart The UK Independent Singles Chart and UK Independent Albums Chart are charts of the best-selling independent singles and albums, respectively, in the United Kingdom. Originally published in January 1980, and widely known as the indie chart, the rele ...

. Within weeks, the album was on rotation on

MTV Central MTV Germany is a German language free-to-air television channel operated by Paramount Global. The channel launched on 7 March 1997 as MTV Central, as part of a regionalisation strategy by Paramount Global, then MTV Networks Europe. Availabi ...

. On 27 June 2008, the band made their debut performance at

Glastonbury Festival Glastonbury Festival (formally Glastonbury Festival of Contemporary Performing Arts and known colloquially as Glasto) is a five-day festival of contemporary performing arts that takes place in Pilton, Somerset, England. In addition to contemp ...

, playing at 'Cafe Tango'. As of September 2008, the band were demoing tracks for their second album. This included working at

Genesis Genesis may refer to: Bible * Book of Genesis, the first book of the biblical scriptures of both Judaism and Christianity, describing the creation of the Earth and of mankind * Genesis creation narrative, the first several chapters of the Book of ...

' The Farm

studio A studio is an artist or worker's workroom. This can be for the purpose of acting, architecture, painting, pottery (ceramics), sculpture, origami, woodworking, scrapbooking, photography, graphic design, filmmaking, animation, industrial design ...

Surrey Surrey () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South East England, bordering Greater London to the south west. Surrey has a large rural area, and several significant urban areas which form part of the Greater London Built-up Area. ...

. The band also performed at the Southsea Fest, finishing with a set at

The Wedgewood Rooms The Wedgewood Rooms is an independent live music venue, in Southsea, Portsmouth, England, which hosts both music and comedy events. It has a capacity of 400 people, and is located on Albert Road in Southsea. Recently it has hosted events from ...

. The band took a break in 2009 after bassist John Maskell left. In 2010 they regrouped as a four and have since demoed and recorded tracks for a new album (to be released 2011). The band's new song "You Really" was recently used in a Nike iPhone application advert.

Discography

Singles

*"Keep Dancing" ( Worst Case Scenario Records, March 2006) *"Fire!" (Jeepster, 6 November 2006) *"Where Are You Now?" (Jeepster, 26 March 2007) *"We Could Be Happy" (Jeepster, 10 September 2007)

Albums

*''SixNationState'' (Jeepster, 24 September 2007)

References

External links

MySpace
{{Authority control British indie rock groups English alternative rock groups English rock music groups Musical groups established in 2004