The Earlies are a band formed by Christian Madden and Giles Hatton from

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly. The non-metropolitan county of Lancashi ...

, England, and Brandon Carr and John Mark Lapham from the United States. They are notable for blending elements from a wide range of musical genres and have been described as both "a very English kind of folk-psychedelia... with a smattering of Beach Boys harmonies" by ''

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...

'', and "country-meets-prog-meets-electronica symphonies" by ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

''. In the late 1990s, prior to his Earlies days, Lapham released ambient electronic music, under the name Autio, on Manchester

record label A record label, or record company, is a brand or trademark of music recordings and music videos, or the company that owns it. Sometimes, a record label is also a publishing company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the produ ...

Beatnik Records Beatniks were members of a social movement in the 1950s that subscribed to an anti-materialistic lifestyle. History In 1948, Jack Kerouac introduced the phrase "Beat Generation", generalizing from his social circle to characterize the undergr ...

. Hatton recorded as Atomic Clock for the same label. The band are notable for using a large live line-up consisting of 11 members who play an eclectic range of

instruments Instrument may refer to: Science and technology * Flight instruments, the devices used to measure the speed, altitude, and pertinent flight angles of various kinds of aircraft * Laboratory equipment, the measuring tools used in a scientific lab ...

, including the

flute The flute is a family of classical music instrument in the woodwind group. Like all woodwinds, flutes are aerophones, meaning they make sound by vibrating a column of air. However, unlike woodwind instruments with reeds, a flute is a reedless ...

, the

tuba The tuba (; ) is the lowest-pitched musical instrument in the brass family. As with all brass instruments, the sound is produced by lip vibrationa buzzinto a mouthpiece. It first appeared in the mid-19th century, making it one of the ne ...

, the

cello The cello ( ; plural ''celli'' or ''cellos'') or violoncello ( ; ) is a Bow (music), bowed (sometimes pizzicato, plucked and occasionally col legno, hit) string instrument of the violin family. Its four strings are usually intonation (music), t ...

, a set of

turntables A phonograph, in its later forms also called a gramophone (as a trademark since 1887, as a generic name in the UK since 1910) or since the 1940s called a record player, or more recently a turntable, is a device for the mechanical and analogu ...

and a

synthesizer A synthesizer (also spelled synthesiser) is an electronic musical instrument that generates audio signals. Synthesizers typically create sounds by generating waveforms through methods including subtractive synthesis, additive synthesis and ...

, alongside the more traditional rock instruments. The full line-up of the band last played live headlining the

Green Man Festival The Green Man Festival is an independent music, science and arts festival held annually in mid-August in the Brecon Beacons, Wales. Green Man has evolved into a 25,000 capacity week long event, showcasing predominantly live music (in particular ...

in 2007. Carr took an indefinite break from the band to teach at ATEMS High School in Abilene, Texas, although he is no longer listed as a faculty member (as of December 31, 2020). In 2015, after a long hiatus, The Earlies returned with new material and scheduled live appearances. The band will be performing a one-off festival show at the fift
Cloudspotting Festival
in England, followed by a short tour of the UK in the last week of July. A new EP, ''Message from Home'', is also expected in 2015. The Earlies played and produced parts of

Jinnwoo Ben Webb, known by the stage name Jinnwoo, is a Brighton-based musician, artist and writer. Music career After gigging pubs and clubs for numerous years, Jinnwoo independently released his debut EP ''Your Baby'' in 2014, as well as featuring o ...

's debut album, 'Strangers Bring Me No Light', released September 2016.

Discography

Albums

* ''

These Were the Earlies ''These Were The Earlies'' is the debut studio album by The Earlies, released in 2004 in the UK before releasing in the US the year later. Reception ''These Were the Earlies'' received positive reviews from critics. On Metacritic Metacri ...

'' (2005) * ''

The Enemy Chorus ''The Enemy Chorus'' is the second album by The Earlies, released in 2007. Reception ''The Enemy Chorus'' received positive reviews from critics, although not as favorable compared to their debut album. On Metacritic Metacritic is a we ...

'' (2007)

EPs

* ''Message from Home'' (expected 2015)

Chart singles

* "Morning Wonder" (2004) - UK #67 * "Bring It Back Again" - UK #61 The band also recorded a

cover Cover or covers may refer to: Packaging * Another name for a lid * Cover (philately), generic term for envelope or package * Album cover, the front of the packaging * Book cover or magazine cover ** Book design ** Back cover copy, part of co ...

Tim Buckley Timothy Charles Buckley III (February 14, 1947 – June 29, 1975) was an American musician. His music and style changed considerably through the years. Buckley began his career based in folk music, but his subsequent albums experimented with ja ...

's "I Must've Been Blind", for the 2005 tribute album, '' Dream Brother: The Songs of Tim and Jeff Buckley''.

References

External links

2004 BBC interview with the Earlies

Band page on the Secretly Canadian label website
British rock music groups British folk music groups American rock music groups American folk musical groups 679 Artists artists Secretly Canadian artists Grönland Records artists {{US-band-stub