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The Naked and Famous are a New Zealand
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 from
Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The List of New Zealand urban areas by population, most populous urban area in the country and the List of cities in Oceania by po ...
, formed in 2007. The band currently consists of
Alisa Xayalith Alisa Xayalith (born 24 August 1986) is a New Zealand musician, and is best known as the lead vocalist, guitarist and keyboard player for New Zealand indie electronic band The Naked and Famous. Early life Xayalith was born in New Zealand, an ...
(vocals, keyboards) and Thom Powers (vocals, guitars). The band has released four studio albums: ''
Passive Me, Aggressive You ''Passive Me, Aggressive You'' (stylised as ''Passive Me • Aggressive You'') is the debut studio album by New Zealand indie electronic band The Naked and Famous. It was released on 6 September 2010 by Somewhat Damaged. The album debuted at numb ...
'' (2010), ''
In Rolling Waves ''In Rolling Waves'' is the second studio album by New Zealand indie electronic band The Naked and Famous. It was released on 13 September 2013 by Fiction Records and Island Records. On 23 July 2013, the album's lead single, " Hearts Like Ours" ...
'' (2013), ''
Simple Forms ''Simple Forms'' is the third studio album by New Zealand indie electronic band The Naked and Famous. It was released on 14 October 2016 by Somewhat Damaged in partnership with Kobalt Label Services. " Higher" was released as the album's lead si ...
'' (2016) and '' Recover'' (2020). Since 2012, the band has been based in
Los Angeles, California Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...
.


History

Xayalith (born 1986 in Auckland) is the daughter of Laotian refugees and was raised together with a younger brother. Her father introduced her to his native folk music and, at the age of 13, she taught herself guitar. Powers had been playing in local bands from an early age after he had been taught to play guitar by his father.


2007–2008: Early years

The band formed in 2007 when Powers and Xayalith were working on what became two
extended play An extended play record, usually referred to as an EP, is a musical recording that contains more tracks than a single but fewer than an album or LP record.
s—''
This Machine ''This Machine'' is the debut extended play released by a New Zealand band, The Naked and Famous. It was released on May 5 of 2008. Critical reception '' Sunday Star Times'' reviewer Grant Smithies said "I’ve no doubt these songs will still be ...
'' and '' No Light''—that they recorded with engineer Aaron Short, a fellow student at Auckland's
Music and Audio Institute of New Zealand Music and Audio Institute of New Zealand (MAINZ) is a faculty of the Southern Institute of Technology, focused on contemporary music and music-industry related education. MAINZ offers music and audio courses from Certificates to Graduate Diplomas ...
. The EPs were subsequently released on local
independent label An independent record label (or indie label) is a record label that operates without the funding or distribution of major record labels; they are a type of small- to medium-sized enterprise, or SME. The labels and artists are often represented ...
Round Trip Mars. Powers and Xayalith began performing live with Ben Knapp and Jordan Clark on bass and drums respectively, while Aaron Short became a performing member of the group. Knapp and Clark left the group in 2009 and were subsequently replaced with Jesse Wood and David Beadle.


2009–2011: ''Passive Me, Aggressive You''

After recording "All of This", the group then set about recording the single " Young Blood" and their debut album, recording mostly at home and at Auckland studio The Lab. "Young Blood" debuted on the New Zealand chart at number one on 14 June 2010—the first New Zealand artist in three years to do so. The Naked and Famous released their debut studio album, ''
Passive Me, Aggressive You ''Passive Me, Aggressive You'' (stylised as ''Passive Me • Aggressive You'') is the debut studio album by New Zealand indie electronic band The Naked and Famous. It was released on 6 September 2010 by Somewhat Damaged. The album debuted at numb ...
'', on 6 September 2010 on their own label, Somewhat Damaged. The album was produced by Thom Powers and Aaron Short, and mixed by Billy Bush. On 6 December 2010, the
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
announced that The Naked and Famous had been nominated for BBC's
Sound of 2011 Sound of... is an annual BBC poll of music critics and industry figures to find the most promising new music talent. It was first conducted by the BBC News website in 2003, and is now widely covered by the corporation's online, radio and TV outl ...
poll. In 2011, the band garnered six nominations at the
New Zealand Music Awards The Aotearoa Music Awards (previously called the New Zealand Music Awards), conferred annually by Recorded Music NZ, honour outstanding artistic and technical achievements in the recording industry. The awards are among the most significant that ...
for Album of the Year, Single of the Year, Best Group, Breakthrough Artist of the Year, Best
Alternative Alternative or alternate may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media * Alternative (''Kamen Rider''), a character in the Japanese TV series ''Kamen Rider Ryuki'' * ''The Alternative'' (film), a 1978 Australian television film * ''The Alternative ...
Album and the People's Choice Award. They were also nominated for the NZ On Air Best Music Video and won the MAINZ Best Engineer Award and its Best Producer Award.


2012–2013: ''In Rolling Waves''

The band settled in Los Angeles in mid-2012 after completing touring for ''Passive Me, Aggressive You.'' They had performed over 200 shows in 24 countries between 2010 and 2012. Sharing a home over the back of
Laurel Canyon Laurel Canyon is a mountainous neighborhood in the Hollywood Hills region of the Santa Monica Mountains, within the Hollywood Hills West district of Los Angeles, California. The main thoroughfare of Laurel Canyon Boulevard connects the neighb ...
, they began work on writing and demoing their second album. They intended to record an album that could be played live, not relying on backing tracks—something the group had always eschewed. On 28 February 2013, the band announced '' One Temporary Escape'', a concert film recorded at
The Warfield The Warfield Theatre, colloquially referred to as The Warfield, is a 2,300-seat music venue located in San Francisco, California. It was built as a vaudeville theater and opened as the '' Loews Warfield'' on May 13, 1922. History In the 1920s, ...
in San Francisco in 2012. It was released for free download on 18 March 2013. Entering Los Angeles' Sunset Sound studio in March 2013 with engineer Billy Bush (who had mixed the previous album), they began the process of recording ''
In Rolling Waves ''In Rolling Waves'' is the second studio album by New Zealand indie electronic band The Naked and Famous. It was released on 13 September 2013 by Fiction Records and Island Records. On 23 July 2013, the album's lead single, " Hearts Like Ours" ...
.'' The album sessions were completed in a month and then in June 2013, The Naked and Famous headed for London where
Alan Moulder Alan Moulder (born 11 June 1959) is an English record producer, mixing engineer, and audio engineer. Early life Moulder was born on 11 June 1959 in Boston, Lincolnshire. He was educated at Boston Grammar School. He had an interest in music fro ...
spent a month mixing the album at his Willesden studio, Assault and Battery. The album was mastered at Sterling Sound in New York by Joe LaPorta, who had also mastered ''Passive Me, Aggressive You'', and was produced by Thom Powers with Aaron Short.
Justin Meldal-Johnsen Justin Meldal-Johnsen (born March 26, 1970) is an American musician, record producer, songwriter and musical director. He is best known for his work with artists such as Beck, Paramore, Nine Inch Nails, M83, Air, and St. Vincent. Meldal-Johns ...
co-produced two tracks with Powers. On 23 July 2013, the band revealed their new single " Hearts Like Ours" along with the release date for their second studio album ''
In Rolling Waves ''In Rolling Waves'' is the second studio album by New Zealand indie electronic band The Naked and Famous. It was released on 13 September 2013 by Fiction Records and Island Records. On 23 July 2013, the album's lead single, " Hearts Like Ours" ...
'', on 16 September 2013 in the UK.


2014–present: ''Simple Forms'', '' Recover '' and Xayalith solo career

The Naked and Famous performed at
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 ...
in 2014. On 20 November 2014, the band announced that they had begun working on a third album. The band began tracking for the album in September 2015. In March 2016, they performed at the
Wanderland Music and Arts Festival Wanderland (commonly referred to as Wanderland Music and Arts Festival) is an annual outdoor music and arts festival held in the Philippines organized by Karpos Multimedia. It showcases international and local live music, and art installations. Hi ...
in
Manila Manila ( , ; fil, Maynila, ), officially the City of Manila ( fil, Lungsod ng Maynila, ), is the capital of the Philippines, and its second-most populous city. It is highly urbanized and, as of 2019, was the world's most densely populate ...
. On 3 July 2016, the band announced their new single " Higher" would be released on 7 July. Upon the single's release, the band revealed that their third studio album, ''
Simple Forms ''Simple Forms'' is the third studio album by New Zealand indie electronic band The Naked and Famous. It was released on 14 October 2016 by Somewhat Damaged in partnership with Kobalt Label Services. " Higher" was released as the album's lead si ...
'', was set to be released on 14 October 2016 via their label Somewhat Damaged in conjunction with Kobalt Label Services. On 24 August 2016, they released another single titled "Laid Low". The album was recorded at Powers'
Echo Park Echo Park is a neighborhood in the east-central region of Los Angeles, California. Located to the northwest of Downtown, it is bordered by Silver Lake to the west and Chinatown to the east. The culturally diverse neighborhood has become known fo ...
studio and released as per the announcement. In February 2017, it was announced that the band would perform as opening acts, alongside
Wavves Wavves is an American rock band based in San Diego, California. Formed in 2008 by singer-songwriter Nathan Williams (born June 12, 1986), the band also features Alex Gates (guitar, backing vocals), Stephen Pope (bass guitar, backing vocals) an ...
, in
Blink-182 Blink-182 (stylized as blink-182) is an American Rock music, rock band formed in Poway, California in 1992. Their current lineup consists of bassist/vocalist Mark Hoppus, guitarist/vocalist Tom DeLonge, and drummer Travis Barker. Though their ...
's 2017 spring tour which would visit mostly the
southern United States The Southern United States (sometimes Dixie, also referred to as the Southern States, the American South, the Southland, or simply the South) is a geographic and cultural region of the United States of America. It is between the Atlantic Ocean ...
. The band released an acoustic compilation album titled '' A Still Heart'' on 9 March 2018, at which time they indicated that they were working on their fourth studio album. That same month, it was announced that founding member Aaron Short and Jesse Wood had departed the band. Following their departure, Luna Shadows joined the band on piano. The group released ''A Still Heart (Live)'' on 8 June 2018. Sometime before March 2020, the group parted ways with Beadle and Shadows. In April 2020, the band announced that '' Recover'', their fourth studio album, would be released on 24 July 2020.


Xayalith solo career

In late 2021, lead vocalist
Alisa Xayalith Alisa Xayalith (born 24 August 1986) is a New Zealand musician, and is best known as the lead vocalist, guitarist and keyboard player for New Zealand indie electronic band The Naked and Famous. Early life Xayalith was born in New Zealand, an ...
broadcast a tune called "High Fidelity", the debut song from the singer's forthcoming EP.


Name

The Naked and Famous took their name from English musician Tricky's song " Tricky Kid", which expressed ambivalence about the notion of celebrity. In the song, Tricky quotes the line "everybody wants to be naked and famous", from The Presidents of the United States of America's song " Naked and Famous".


Band members

Current *
Alisa Xayalith Alisa Xayalith (born 24 August 1986) is a New Zealand musician, and is best known as the lead vocalist, guitarist and keyboard player for New Zealand indie electronic band The Naked and Famous. Early life Xayalith was born in New Zealand, an ...
– vocals, keyboards * Thom Powers – vocals, guitars Former * Ben Knapp – bass * Jordan Clark – drums * Jesse Wood – drums * Aaron Short – keyboards * Luna Shadows - keyboards * David Beadle – bass Timeline


Discography

* ''
Passive Me, Aggressive You ''Passive Me, Aggressive You'' (stylised as ''Passive Me • Aggressive You'') is the debut studio album by New Zealand indie electronic band The Naked and Famous. It was released on 6 September 2010 by Somewhat Damaged. The album debuted at numb ...
'' (2010) * ''
In Rolling Waves ''In Rolling Waves'' is the second studio album by New Zealand indie electronic band The Naked and Famous. It was released on 13 September 2013 by Fiction Records and Island Records. On 23 July 2013, the album's lead single, " Hearts Like Ours" ...
'' (2013) * ''
Simple Forms ''Simple Forms'' is the third studio album by New Zealand indie electronic band The Naked and Famous. It was released on 14 October 2016 by Somewhat Damaged in partnership with Kobalt Label Services. " Higher" was released as the album's lead si ...
'' (2016) * '' Recover'' (2020)


Awards and nominations


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Naked And Famous, The 2007 establishments in New Zealand APRA Award winners New Zealand electronic rock musical groups Fiction Records artists Indietronica music groups Island Records artists Musical groups established in 2007 Musical groups from Auckland Musical quartets New Zealand electronic music groups New Zealand indie rock groups New Zealand new wave musical groups Noise pop musical groups Post-punk revival music groups New Zealand synthpop groups