Thom Powers

The Naked and Famous are a New Zealand indie electronic band from Auckland, formed in 2007. The band currently consists of Alisa Xayalith (vocals, keyboards) and Thom Powers (vocals, guitars).

The band has released four studio albums: '' Passive Me, Aggressive You'' (2010), '' In Rolling Waves'' (2013), '' Simple Forms'' (2016) and '' Recover'' (2020). Since 2012, the band has been based in Los Angeles, California.

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 plays—'' This Machine'' and '' No Light''—that they recorded with engineer Aaron Short, a fellow student at Auckland's Music and Audio Institute of New Zealand. The EPs were subsequently released on local independent label 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'', 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
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