Syd Arthur are an
English
English usually refers to:
* English language
* English people
English may also refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England
** English national ide ...
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, formed in
Canterbury
Canterbury (, ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and UNESCO World Heritage Site, situated in the heart of the City of Canterbury local government district of Kent, England. It lies on the River Stour, Kent, River Stour.
...
in 2003 by brothers frontman Liam and bassist Joel Magill, drummer Fred Rother and violinist Raven Bush. Raven Bush is the nephew of singer
Kate Bush
Catherine Bush (born 30 July 1958) is an English singer, songwriter, record producer and dancer. In 1978, at the age of 19, she topped the UK Singles Chart for four weeks with her debut single "Wuthering Heights (song), Wuthering Heights", ...
. Rother was officially replaced by the Magills' younger brother Josh in 2016.
History
The band released their self-titled debut album in 2006 on Madman Records and the ''Kingdoms Of Experience'' EP in 2008. The band then set up their own recording space, Wicker Studios, and their own label, Dawn Chorus Recording Company. In 2011 they self-released the ''Moving World'' EP and "Ode to the Summer" single, before releasing their second album, ''On an On'', in July 2012. The band's bassist, Joel Magill, stated that the band released the album themselves "because it’s the only way we know. It may have been harder and longer for us but it has given us more satisfaction, I think. But if a major label waved a lot of money at us and said you could work with anyone you wanted we would have to think about that". The band undertook their first nationwide tour to promote the album in February 2013. The band supported
Paul Weller
Paul John Weller (born John William Weller; 25 May 1958) is an English singer-songwriter and musician. Weller achieved fame with the punk rock/ new wave/mod revival band the Jam (1972–1982). He had further success with the blue-eyed soul m ...
on tour in October 2013, invited the band to record in his studio and tipped the band for success in 2014 in the ''
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 ...
''.
In December 2013, the band signed to the newly re-activated
Harvest Records
Harvest Records is a British-American record label belonging to Capitol Music Group, originally created by EMI in 1969.
History
Harvest Records was created by EMI in 1969 to market progressive rock music, and to compete with Philips' Vertigo ...
label. Originally a subsidiary of
EMI
EMI Group Limited (originally an initialism for Electric and Musical Industries, also referred to as EMI Records Ltd. or simply EMI) was a British transnational conglomerate founded in March 1931 in London. At the time of its break-up in 201 ...
and linked to the
progressive rock
Progressive rock (shortened as prog rock or simply prog; sometimes conflated with art rock) is a broad genre of rock music that developed in the United Kingdom and United States through the mid- to late 1960s, peaking in the early 1970s. Init ...
movement of the early 1970s in England, the label is now owned by
Universal Music Group
Universal Music Group N.V. (often abbreviated as UMG and referred to as just Universal Music) is a Dutch– American multinational music corporation under Dutch law. UMG's corporate headquarters are located in Hilversum, Netherlands and its ...
. The band's debut album was released in the US for the first time on the label.
The band released their third album, ''Sound Mirror'', in June 2014.
The band spent much of the year in the US, performing at
South by Southwest
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 Convention (meeting), conferences organized jointly that take place in m ...
and
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 ...
and supporting the likes of
Sean Lennon
is an American–British musician, songwriter, producer and multi-instrumentalist. He is the son of John Lennon and Yoko Ono, and half-brother to Julian Lennon. Over the course of his career, he has been a member of the bands Cibo Matto, The G ...
's band
The Ghost of a Saber Tooth Tiger
The Ghost of a Saber Tooth Tiger is an American band formed in 2008 by Sean Lennon and Charlotte Kemp Muhl. The couple have stated that they started the band as a way to spend more time together, and while they released a number of recordings and ...
and
Yes. The band promoted the album at home with nationwide tour in September–October 2014, after having postponed dates from earlier in the year.
The band are currently playing with the Magills' brother Josh filling in for Fred Rother, who has missed gigs in the past due to problems with
tinnitus
Tinnitus is the perception of sound when no corresponding external sound is present. Nearly everyone experiences a faint "normal tinnitus" in a completely quiet room; but it is of concern only if it is bothersome, interferes with normal hearin ...
.
On 10 June 2016, the band announced that their fourth studio album, ''Apricity'', would be released on 21 October 2016 and also released the title track as the lead single. This is the first album to feature Josh Magill on drums, and confirms the departure of Fred Rother. It was later confirmed that Rother left the band prior to recording the album due to "severe hearing difficulties", with singer Liam Magill adding that "it was a precarious moment, Fred leaving, but Josh sort of saved the day, in a way. The transition was slightly difficult because we’ve been a tight band, you know, us four members, for a long time. That was a big change".
Originally recorded in a barn in 2012, on 8 March 2019 the band released an EP covering the
Beck
Beck David Hansen (born Bek David Campbell; July 8, 1970) is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer. He rose to fame in the early 1990s with his Experimental music, experimental and Lo-fi music, lo-fi style, and became ...
song "
Nobody's Fault but My Own
"Nobody's Fault but My Own" is a song by American musician Beck. The song was released in 1998 on his album ''Mutations'', and was released as a single in Japan only on April 21, 1999. The CD single came backed with the exclusive tracks "One of Th ...
" with the Canterbury jazz group
Jack Hues
Jeremy Allan Ryder, better known as Jack Hues, (born 10 December 1954) is an English singer, songwriter, and musician, who is best known for forming and fronting the 1980s English new wave band, Wang Chung. Hues was also a member of the one-o ...
and the Quartet (whose namesake is of
Wang Chung fame). It was released on
Bandcamp
Bandcamp is an American online audio distribution platform founded in 2007 by Oddpost co-founder Ethan Diamond and programmers Shawn Grunberger, Joe Holt and Neal Tucker, with headquarters in Oakland, California, US. On March 2, 2022, Bandcamp ...
on digital download and vinyl formats.
Band members
* Liam Magill – lead vocals, lead guitar
* Joel Magill – bass guitar, backing vocals
* Josh Magill – drums
* Raven Bush – violin, keyboard, mandolin
Past members
* Fred Rother – drums
Discography
Albums
* ''Syd Arthur'' (2006), Madman Records
* ''On an On'' (July 2012), Dawn Chorus Recording Company
* ''Sound Mirror'' (June 2014),
Harvest Records
Harvest Records is a British-American record label belonging to Capitol Music Group, originally created by EMI in 1969.
History
Harvest Records was created by EMI in 1969 to market progressive rock music, and to compete with Philips' Vertigo ...
* ''Apricity'' (October 2016), Harvest Records
EPs
* ''Kingdoms of Experience'' (2008), Green Bean Records
* ''Moving World'' (March 2011), Dawn Chorus Recording Company
*''
Nobody's Fault but My Own
"Nobody's Fault but My Own" is a song by American musician Beck. The song was released in 1998 on his album ''Mutations'', and was released as a single in Japan only on April 21, 1999. The CD single came backed with the exclusive tracks "One of Th ...
''
(with Jack Hues
Jeremy Allan Ryder, better known as Jack Hues, (born 10 December 1954) is an English singer, songwriter, and musician, who is best known for forming and fronting the 1980s English new wave band, Wang Chung. Hues was also a member of the one-o ...
and the Quartet) (March 2019)
Singles
* "Ode to the Summer" (October 2011), Dawn Chorus Recording Company
* "Dorothy" (November 2012), Dawn Chorus Recording Company
Filmography
* 2015: ''
Romantic Warriors III: Canterbury Tales'' (DVD)
* 2017: ''Need For Speed: Payback'' (PS4, Xbox, PC)
References
External links
*
{{Authority control
English indie rock groups
Musical groups established in 2003
English psychedelic rock music groups
Sibling musical groups
Musical groups from Kent
2003 establishments in England