Total Control is an Australian post-punk band that formed in Melbourne,

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

in 2008. The band's line-up includes Mikey Young (guitar, keyboards), Dan Stewart (vocals), Al Montfort (guitar), Zephyr Pavey (bass), and James Vinciguerra (drums). After a series of singles, the band's debut album, '' Henge Beat'', was released in August 2011. Their second album, ''Typical System'', was released in June 2014.

History

Total Control was formed in 2008 by

Eddy Current Suppression Ring Eddy Current Suppression Ring (sometimes seen as ECSR) are an Australian rock band formed in 2003. By 2004 their line-up was Daniel Young Danny Current on drums, his brother Michael Young Eddy Current on lead guitar and keyboards, Brendan Hu ...

band member Mikey Young and UV Race's Dan Stewart. The pair, who came together over a shared interest of early 1980s acts such as

Devo Devo (, originally ) is an American rock band from Akron, Ohio, formed in 1973. Their classic line-up consisted of two sets of brothers, the Mothersbaughs (Mark and Bob) and the Casales (Gerald and Bob), along with Alan Myers. The band had a ...

Gary Numan Gary Anthony James Webb (born 8 March 1958), known professionally as Gary Numan, is an English musician. He entered the music industry as frontman of the new wave band Tubeway Army. After releasing two albums with the band, he released his d ...

, The Screamers, and The Adolescents, recorded some songs using a

sampler Sampler may refer to: * Sampler (signal), a digital signal processing device that converts a continuous signal to a discrete signal * Sampler (needlework), a handstitched piece of embroidery used to demonstrate skill in needlework * Sampler (surna ...

and

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 ...

s at Young's home studio. They gained a following over the next few years after releasing a series of 7-inch singles and playing only a handful of live shows. Total Control became a quintet with the additions of guitarist Al Montfort, bassist Zephyr Pavey, and drummer James Vinciguerra. Young explained the reason for the expansion to '' The Washington Post'': "Bands with drum machines and three synths are just not as much fun to watch as bands with drummers and guitars," he said. "We realized it couldn't be good live, so we tried to adapt the songs to work in a rock-and-roll band." The band released their debut full-length album, '' Henge Beat'', in August 2011 on Seattle's Iron Lung Records. They went on a US tour with San Francisco-based band Thee Oh Sees, with whom they also released a split EP, and performed at the All Tomorrow's Parties music festival in

Minehead Minehead is a coastal town and civil parish in Somerset, England. It lies on the south bank of the Bristol Channel, north-west of the county town of Taunton, from the boundary with the county of Devon and in proximity of the Exmoor National P ...

, Somerset in December 2011. The single "Scene From a Marriage" was released by

Sub Pop Sub Pop is a record label founded in 1986 by Bruce Pavitt and Jonathan Poneman. Sub Pop achieved fame in the early 1990s for signing Seattle bands such as Nirvana, Soundgarden, and Mudhoney, central players in the grunge movement. They are often ...

in October 2012. The group released their second album, ''Typical System'', in June 2014.

Discography

Studio albums

7" singles

* "Stare Way"/"Meds"/"Total Control"/"Full Moon" - Aarght! Records (2008) * "Retiree"/"Meds II" - Iron Lung Records (2009) * "Paranoid Video"/"Real Estate" - Smartguy Records (2010) * "Pyre Island"/"Mineshaft" - Hustle Muscle (2011) * "Scene From A Marriage"/"Contract" -

(2012)

Compilations

*''7"s'' (collects tracks from first four 7"s) - Blinded Records (2013)

EPs

*''Thee Oh Sees/Total Control'' plit EP- Castle Face (2011) *''Carpet Rash'' - Home Loan Records (2012)

Awards and nominations

AIR Awards

The Australian Independent Record Awards (commonly known informally as AIR Awards) is an annual awards night to recognise, promote and celebrate the success of Australia's Independent Music sector. , - , AIR Awards of 2014 , ''Typical System'' , Best Independent Album ,

Australian Music Prize

The Australian Music Prize (the AMP) is an annual award of $30,000 given to an Australian band or solo artist in recognition of the merit of an album released during the year of award. The commenced in 2005. , - , 2014 , ''Typical System'' , Australian Music Prize , , -

J Award

The J Awards are an annual series of Australian music awards that were established by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation's youth-focused radio station Triple J. They commenced in 2005. , - , J Awards of 2014 , ''Typical System'' , Australian Album of the Year , , -

Music Victoria Awards

The Music Victoria Awards, are an annual awards night celebrating Victorian music. They commenced in 2005. , - , rowspan="3",

2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...

, ''Typical System'' , Best Album , , - , themselves , Best Band , , - , "Flesh War" , Best Song , , - ,

2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses during the 2016 Nagorno-Karabakh ...

, Al Montfort , Best Male Artist , , -

References

{{Authority control Australian post-punk groups Australian indie rock groups Musical groups from Melbourne Musical groups established in 2008 Sub Pop artists