The Focus Group
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The Focus Group is a project of experimental electronic musician and graphic designer Julian House. The Focus Group's sound is a blend of influences ranging from old
library music Production music (also known as stock music or library music) is recorded music that can be licensed to customers for use in film, television, radio and other media. Often, the music is produced and owned by production music libraries. Backgroun ...
sounds produced in the 1970s, 1960s-inspired pastiches,
public information film Public information films (PIFs) are a series of government-commissioned short films, shown during television advertising breaks in the United Kingdom. The name is sometimes also applied, ''faute de mieux'', to similar films from other countries, ...
s, and soundtracks to 1970s films and programmes, as well as the
sound collage In music, montage (literally "putting together") or sound collage ("gluing together") is a technique where newly branded sound objects or compositions, including songs, are created from collage, also known as montage. This is often done throu ...
of musique concrète. The Focus Group have released five studio albums on House's own label, Ghost Box: '' Sketches and Spells'' (2004), '' Hey Let Loose Your Love'' (2005), '' We Are All Pan's People'' (2007), ''The Elektrik Karousel'' (2013) and ''Stop-Motion Happening with the Focus Groop'' (2017). ''Hey Let Loose Your Love'' was featured in ''
The Wire ''The Wire'' is an American crime drama television series created and primarily written by author and former police reporter David Simon. The series was broadcast by the cable network HBO in the United States. ''The Wire'' premiered on June 2 ...
s top 50 albums of 2005. Additionally, House collaborated with
indie electronic Indie rock is a 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 music they produc ...
band Broadcast, resulting in the 2009 album '' Broadcast and the Focus Group Investigate Witch Cults of the Radio Age'' (issued by Warp) and the 2010 7-inch EP ''Familiar Shapes and Noises'' (released on Ghost Box). ''Investigate Witch Cults of the Radio Age'' was named ''The Wires top album of 2009.


Graphic design

House is also noted as a graphic designer; his work has included cover art for Broadcast, Oasis, Can,
Stereolab Stereolab are an Anglo- French avant-pop band formed in London in 1990. Led by the songwriting team of Tim Gane and Lætitia Sadier, the group's music combines influences from krautrock, lounge and 1960s pop music, often incorporating a repeti ...
,
Martina Topley-Bird Martina Gillian Topley-Bird (''née'' Topley; born 7 May 1975) is an English singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist who first gained fame as the featured female vocalist on trip hop pioneer Tricky's debut album, '' Maxinquaye'' (1995). S ...
,
Razorlight Razorlight are an English indie rock band, formed in 2002 in London by lead singer and guitarist Johnny Borrell. Along with Borrell, the current line-up of the band is composed of founding members Björn Ågren on guitar and bassist Carl Delemo ...
and Primal Scream.


Discography


Studio albums

*'' Sketches and Spells'' (2004, Ghost Box) *'' Hey Let Loose Your Love'' (2005, Ghost Box) *'' We Are All Pan's People'' (2007, Ghost Box) *'' Broadcast and the Focus Group Investigate Witch Cults of the Radio Age'' with Broadcast (2009, Warp) *''The Elektrik Karousel'' (2013, Ghost Box) *''Stop-Motion Happening with the Focus Groop'' (2017, Ghost Box)


Singles and EPs

*"We Are Coming Back to Dance With You" digital single (2008, Ghost Box) *''Ghost Box Free 3 Track EP'' split digital EP with the Advisory Circle (2008, Ghost Box) *''Familiar Shapes and Noises'' 7-inch EP with Broadcast (2010, Ghost Box)


References


External links


Stylus Magazine review of ''Sketches and Spells''
Ambient musicians English experimental musicians English electronic musicians Ghost Box Music artists {{UK-musician-stub