The Transit Kings are a British

electronica Electronica is both a broad group of electronic-based music styles intended for listening rather than strictly for dancing and a music scene that started in the early 1990s in the United Kingdom. In the United States, the term is mostly used to r ...

band consisting of

Alex Paterson Alex Paterson (also known as Dr Alex Paterson, born Duncan Alexander Robert Paterson; 15 October 1959 in Battersea, London) is an English musician and co-founder of ambient house group The Orb, in which he has worked since its inception. Life ...

, Guy Pratt, and Dom Beken.

Jimmy Cauty James Francis Cauty (born 19 December 1956), also known as Rockman Rock, is an English artist and musician, best known as one-half of the duo The KLF, co-founder of The Orb and as the man who burnt £1 million. He is married to artist and mu ...

, co-founder of

the Orb The Orb are an English electronic music group founded in 1988 by Alex Paterson and Jimmy Cauty. Known for their psychedelic sound, the Orb developed a cult following among clubbers "coming down" from drug-induced highs. Their influential 19 ...

with Paterson, was involved in initial recording sessions but does not take part in live sessions. He is currently on "extended leave". The band was named Custerd for a brief period.

History

Ambient house Ambient house is a downtempo subgenre of house music that first emerged in the late 1980s, combining elements of acid house and ambient music. The genre developed in chill-out rooms and specialist clubs as part of the UK's dance music scene. It w ...

pioneers Paterson (The Orb) and Cauty (The Orb, The KLF), joined with Pratt and Beken in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

's Townhouse Studios in the summer of 2001, to begin work on a new project.Transit Kings' official biography, ''passim''
link
Recording later continued in Cauty's

Brighton Brighton () is a seaside resort and one of the two main areas of the City of Brighton and Hove in the county of East Sussex, England. It is located south of London. Archaeological evidence of settlement in the area dates back to the Bronze A ...

studio. In 2003, the group released their first single, "Boom Bang Bombay", under the name Custerd. On

New Year's Day New Year's Day is a festival observed in most of the world on 1 January, the first day of the year in the modern Gregorian calendar. 1 January is also New Year's Day on the Julian calendar, but this is not the same day as the Gregorian one. Wh ...

2004, the Transit Kings appeared live in

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.468 ...

. In 2005, they released the ''Token EP'', and performed live (without Cauty) at the

Big Chill Festival The Big Chill was an annual festival of alternative, dance and chill-out music and comedy, held in the grounds of Eastnor Castle during early August. The 2011 line-up included The Chemical Brothers, Kanye West, Rodrigo Y Gabriela, Jessie J, R ...

. In 2006 they released a limited edition set of three colored vinyl 7" singles on

Malicious Damage Malicious may refer to: Films and video games * ''Malicious'' (1973 film) (''Malizia''), an Italian comedy starring Laura Antonelli * ''Malicious'' (1995 film), an American thriller starring Molly Ringwald * ''Malicious'' (2018 film), an Americ ...

featuring the songs "America Is Unavailable" (Red), "Japanese Cars" (Amber), and "Butterflies and Boom" (Green). They released their first album '' Living in a Giant Candle Winking at God'' in August 2006. The "sample-tastic" house album featured guest appearances from

The Smiths The Smiths were an English rock band formed in Manchester in 1982. They comprised the singer Morrissey, the guitarist Johnny Marr, the bassist Andy Rourke and the drummer Mike Joyce. They are regarded as one of the most important acts to emerg ...

guitarist

Johnny Marr Johnny Marr (born John Martin Maher, 31 October 1963) is an English musician, songwriter and singer. He first achieved fame as the guitarist and co-songwriter of the Smiths, who were active from 1982 to 1987. He has since performed with numerous ...

and comedian

Simon Day Simon William Day (born 7 June 1962) is an English comedian and actor known for his roles in the sketch show '' The Fast Show'' and the sitcom ''Grass''. Career Day was born in Blackheath, London, and rose to fame as a stand-up comic, winning ...

. ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper ''The Sunday Times'' (fou ...

'' called it "Orb-lite" and proclaimed it to be "

Deep Forest Deep Forest is a French musical group originally consisting of two French musicians, Michel Sanchez and Éric Mouquet. They compose a style of world music, sometimes called ethnic electronica, mixing ethnic with electronic sounds and dance b ...

-style sludge". Cauty left the band in 2004 to work on other projects; the official website has him listed as on "Co-Pilot (on extended leave): Graybeard". He is, however, listed as a composer on seven of the Transit Kings' debut album's twelve tracks.''Living in a Giant Candle Winking at God'' entry at

discogs.com Discogs (short for discographies) is a database of information about audio recordings, including commercial releases, promotional releases, and bootleg or off-label releases. While the site was originally created with a goal of becoming the l ...

link

Discography

* "Token" EP (2005, Malicious Damage, Cat: MD602) * "The Red Single" (2006, Malicious Damage, Limited Edition 7" Vinyl Single) * "The Amber Single" (2006, Malicious Damage, Limited Edition 7" Vinyl Single) * "The Green Single" (2006, Malicious Damage, Limited Edition 7" Vinyl Single) * '' Living in a Giant Candle Winking at God'' (2006, Malicious Damage)

References

External links

* Record Labe
Malicious Damage
* * Transit Kings The Orb {{UK-electronic-band-stub