''Stainless Style'' is the debut album from

Neon Neon Neon Neon is a collaborative project from producer Boom Bip and Gruff Rhys, the frontman for the Welsh rock band Super Furry Animals. They began work on the project in October 2006 originally under the moniker Delorean. In March 2008 the duo, by ...

—a project from Super Furry Animals front man

Gruff Rhys Gruffudd Maredudd Bowen Rhys (; born 18 July 1970) is a Welsh musician, composer, producer, filmmaker and author. He performs solo and with several bands, including Super Furry Animals, which obtained mainstream success in the 1990s. He formed ...

and electronic artist Boom Bip—which was released in March 2008 via

Lex Records Lex Records is a British independent record label based in Camden, London, England. Style Lex has a varied musical output. Most releases are alternative hip hop, alternative rock or electronic. The label works with a small group of artists. ...

. The album was streamed in its entirety on the band's Myspace page for one week before its physical release. ''Stainless Style'' is a loose concept album based on the tumultuous life of

DeLorean Motor Company The DeLorean Motor Company (DMC) was an American automobile manufacturer formed by automobile industry executive John DeLorean in 1975. It is remembered for the one model it produced—the stainless steel DeLorean sports car featuring gull-win ...

founder

John DeLorean John Zachary DeLorean (January 6, 1925 – March 19, 2005) was an American engineer, inventor, and executive in the U.S. automobile industry, widely known for his work at General Motors and as founder of the DeLorean Motor Company. DeLorean mana ...

, and features a number of high-profile guest appearances from Fab Moretti of The Strokes, Har Mar Superstar,

Yo Majesty Yo! Majesty is an American hip hop group consisting of singer Jwl B and rappers Shunda K and Shon B, produced by UK-based electro group HardfeelingsUK. Yo! Majesty was mentioned as one of the 'Top 11 new bands of 2008' by ''NME'' magazine as ...

, Spank Rock, Cate Le Bon and Fatlip. The album was nominated for the 2008 Mercury Music Prize.

Background

According to Rhys, he and Boom Bip (real name Bryan Hollon) had been working together on various projects before they finally came up with Neon Neon. In an interview with Sam Richards, Rhys stated: Rhys and Boom Bip had also previously collaborated on "Do's & Don'ts" from the latter's 2005 album ''Blue Eyed in the Red Room''.

Production

Recording for the album began in London in August 2006, and it was gradually mixed and finished over the course of the following year in London and Los Angeles. According to the band, the primary goal was to make something entirely different from their previous work. "It had to be something completely outside of ourselves," said Hollon. Rhys adds that although the duo were trying to make something different, "we didn't realize we were going to make a mid-'80s synth-pop record. That was never part of the plan." In order to recreate this mid-'80s

synthpop 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 a ...

sound, the band relied on keyboards such as the

Casio SK-5 is a Japanese multinational electronics manufacturing corporation headquartered in Shibuya, Tokyo, Japan. Its products include calculators, mobile phones, digital cameras, electronic musical instruments, and analogue and digital watches. It ...

, Korg MiniKorg 700 and Roland SH-101, as well as

Casio is a Japanese multinational electronics manufacturing corporation headquartered in Shibuya, Tokyo, Japan. Its products include calculators, mobile phones, digital cameras, electronic musical instruments, and analogue and digital watches. It ...

drum pads and sticks and a 1964 Silvertone Jupiter guitar. Concerning the album's production Hollon said

Concept album

''Stainless Style'' is a

concept album A concept album is an album whose tracks hold a larger purpose or meaning collectively than they do individually. This is typically achieved through a single central narrative or theme, which can be instrumental, compositional, or lyrical. Som ...

based on the tumultuous life of playboy car designer

. In an interview with Marc Hogan, Rhys described it as The album's title is a pun on ''

stainless steel Stainless steel is an alloy of iron that is resistant to rusting and corrosion. It contains at least 11% chromium and may contain elements such as carbon, other nonmetals and metals to obtain other desired properties. Stainless steel's corros ...

'', deriving from the fact that the only car produced by the

—the DeLorean—was distinctive by the fact that its body was fiberglass with a stainless steel veneer. DeLorean also began selling "D=MC2" stainless steel watches for $3,495 each on the internet in 2000. The song "Raquel" is based upon tales of an affair DeLorean allegedly had with actress Raquel Welch in the mid-'70s, and mentions many true-life biographical details about Welch, such as her Bolivian father and Irish mother, her birth in "north Chicago", and education and upbringing in California. The song is sung from DeLorean's perspective, as he delivers lines to Welch such as "I saw you as a movie star, but now you're riding in my car." According to Rhys, "I Lust U" recounts "a dark period in DeLorean's life when he was having lots of affairs", while "Michael Douglas" describes the time when DeLorean "redesigned his own chin while sitting at pool parties in LA with

Michael Douglas Michael Kirk Douglas (born September 25, 1944) is an American actor and film producer. He has received numerous accolades, including two Academy Awards, five Golden Globe Awards, a Primetime Emmy Award, the Cecil B. DeMille Award, and the AF ...

Track listing

Personnel

;Musicians * Bryan Hollon - performer (all tracks) *Marty Sataman - performer (1) *

- performer (all tracks except 1) * Fab Moretti - drums (2) *Shay - additional backing vocals (3), additional vocals (5) * Spank Rock - performer (5) * Har Mar Superstar - performer (5) * N. Juwan - performer (5), additional vocals (5) *Sean Tillmann - additional vocals (5, 8) * Josh Klinghoffer - performer (6), guitar (6), bass (6), drums (6) * Cate Le Bon - performer (7), additional vocals (7) *Sylvia G - additional vocals (7) *

- performer (8) *Jwl B - additional vocals (8) *Shon B - additional vocals (8) *Shunda K - additional vocals (8) * Fatlip - performer (11), additional vocals (11) *Angela Gannon - additional vocals (12) *Michele Stodart - additional vocals (12) *Romeo Stodart - additional vocals (12) ;Technical *Boom Bip - producer (all tracks except 6) *Max Dingle - engineer (2 to 4, 7 to 12) *Danny Kalb - engineer (2, 4) *Kris Jenkins - engineer (2) *Adam Samuels - engineer (6) *Todd Monfalcone - engineer (6) *Sir Douglas Styles - engineer (7) *Adam Tilzer - assistant engineer (2) *Boom Bip - mixing (1) *Chris Shaw - mixing (2 to 4, 6, 7, 9, 10) *Danny Kalb - mixing (4, 5, 8, 11, 12) *Guy Davie - mastering *Tom Brown - A&R *Will Skeaping - A&R *David Rodrick and Kevin Gasser - Boom Bip management *Alun Llwyd - Gruff Rhys management

Chart performance

Notes

External links

Neon Neon Myspace page

Official Lex Records album page
{{Authority control 2008 albums Concept albums Neon Neon albums Gruff Rhys albums Boom Bip albums Lex Records albums