True Live is an Australian band formed in
Melbourne, Australia
Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a metropol ...
. They had chart success with "TV" reaching #76 on the ARIA Single Chart and ''The Shape of It'' reaching #85 on the ARIA Albums Chart. The group received regular play on radio and television and were chosen to perform at the
2006 Commonwealth Games
The 2006 Commonwealth Games, officially the XVIII Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Melbourne 2006 (Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm 2006'' or ''Naarm 2006''), was an international multi-sport event for members of the Commonwealth held ...
. The group's early recordings contained strong ties to hip hop but in 2011 have made a significant turn toward rock and classical leanings.
History
True Live was formed in 2003, consisting of 6 diverse musicians. Under the leadership of Ryan Ritchie the band began to play gigs around Melbourne, including regular performances at The Evelyn and Revolver. During this time the group established its recognisable style, including a complete string section.
In 2005 True Live signed with
Shock Records
Shock Records (now part of Shock Entertainment) is an Australian independent record label.
History
The three founding members had all previously worked in music retail or distribution: Williams for a Melbourne distribution company called "Musi ...
and released its debut release, ''Mintons'' EP.
The album was critically acclaimed, and received extensive play on
Triple J
Triple J (stylised in all lowercase) is a government-funded, national Australian Radio in Australia, radio station intended to appeal to listeners of alternative music, which began broadcasting in January 1975. The station also places a greate ...
, the video clip being played regularly on
Rage,
Channel V
Channel '' ("V" standing for the letter, not the Roman numeral "5") is a Chinese and former Asian pay television musical network originally launched by Star TV Hong Kong (now Fox Networks Group Asia Pacific). It was part of the unit of Disney ...
and
Video Hits. Subsequent songs from the record, such as 'Bounce', received similar coverage. During the 2005–2006 period the band toured, performing at the Meredith Music Festival, the Bangalow Jazz Festival and
Big Day Out
The Big Day Out (BDO) was an annual music festival that was held in five Australian cities: Sydney, Melbourne, Gold Coast, Adelaide, and Perth, as well as Auckland, New Zealand. The festival was held during summer, typically in January of eac ...
among others, performing with acts such as
Moby
Richard Melville Hall (born September 11, 1965), known professionally as Moby, is an American musician, songwriter, singer, producer, and animal rights activist. He has sold 20 million records worldwide. AllMusic considers him to be "among the ...
,
Roots Manuva
Rodney Hylton Smith, better known by his stage name Roots Manuva (born 9 September 1972), is a British rapper and producer. Since his debut in 1994, he has produced numerous albums and singles on the label Big Dada, achieving commercial succes ...
and
De La Soul
De La Soul () is an American hip hop trio formed in 1988 in the Amityville area of Long Island, New York. They are best known for their eclectic sampling, quirky lyrics, and their contributions to the evolution of the jazz rap and alternative ...
. In October 2006 the band released its second release "The Shape of it", the lead single 'TV' receiving being played on a range of commercial stations across Australia, including
Nova
A nova (plural novae or novas) is a transient astronomical event that causes the sudden appearance of a bright, apparently "new" star (hence the name "nova", which is Latin for "new") that slowly fades over weeks or months. Causes of the dramati ...
and
The Edge
David Howell Evans (born 8 August 1961), better known as the Edge or simply Edge,McCormick (2006), pp. 21, 23–24 is an English-born Irish musician, singer, and songwriter. He is best known as the lead guitarist, keyboardist, and backing voca ...
and its accompanying video clip appearing on major music programs.
In 2005 Ryan Ritchie and True Live created the musical soundtrack for
RASH
A rash is a change of the human skin which affects its color, appearance, or texture.
A rash may be localized in one part of the body, or affect all the skin. Rashes may cause the skin to change color, itch, become warm, bumpy, chapped, dry, cr ...
['']RASH
A rash is a change of the human skin which affects its color, appearance, or texture.
A rash may be localized in one part of the body, or affect all the skin. Rashes may cause the skin to change color, itch, become warm, bumpy, chapped, dry, cr ...
'' (2005) - Feature-length documentary film about Melbourne street art and graffiti
RASH on Mutiny Media website
/ref> the first feature-length documentary in Australia to focus on the new art form of street art.
In early 2007, True Live received four stars in Rolling Stone Magazine for their album and succeeded in selling out tours across Australia. In 2007 'TV' was used as the music in the Fox Sports
Fox Sports is the brand name for a number of sports channels, broadcast divisions, programming, and other media around the world.
The ''Fox Sports'' name has since been used for other sports media assets. These assets are held mainly by the Fo ...
advertisements and in 2008 'Let Out' was included in the TV mini series 'Underbelly'. In May 2008, True Live released 'The Shape of It' in Japan.
The band has now released its 2nd album 'Found Lost'. In early 2009 True Live signed to Melbourne record label Illusive Sounds
Illusive Group is an Australian independent record label and management and touring company that represents acts including Bliss n Eso, Lowrider, Stonefield, Owl Eyes, Clubfeet, Diafrix, Lurch & Chief and Lila Gold.
History
Founded in 2003 by ...
who are also the home of Bliss N Eso
Bliss n Eso (formerly known as Bliss n' Esoterikizm) are an Australian hip hop trio based in Sydney. They are currently signed to Melbourne record label Illusive Sounds, and are managed and booked by label co-founders Adam Jankie and Matt Gudin ...
& Paris Wells
Paris Wells is an Australian singer-songwriter based in Melbourne. She has released two albums and one EP. Wells has played at festivals such as Falls Festival, Big Day Out, Meredith and Sydney Music Festival. She has supported Justin Timberlak ...
. 'Found Lost' though critically successful, was a sales disaster in Australia, however the single 'Something To Be' received attention in France on both Radio and Television and the album was released and sold well in France and Switzerland, in 2011 the group Signed to Sakifo Records out of Orleans France, and are set to release their 3rd album through Europe in 2014.
Touring
True Live have supported international touring artists such as DJ Shadow
Joshua Paul Davis (born June 29, 1972), better known by his stage name DJ Shadow, is an American DJ, songwriter and record producer. His debut studio album, '' Endtroducing.....'' was released in 1996.
Biography Early years (1989–1995)
DJ Sha ...
, The Roots
The Roots are an American hip hop band formed in 1987 by Tariq "Black Thought" Trotter and Ahmir "Questlove" Thompson in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. The Roots serve as the house band on NBC's ''The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy F ...
, De La Soul
De La Soul () is an American hip hop trio formed in 1988 in the Amityville area of Long Island, New York. They are best known for their eclectic sampling, quirky lyrics, and their contributions to the evolution of the jazz rap and alternative ...
, Roots Manuva
Rodney Hylton Smith, better known by his stage name Roots Manuva (born 9 September 1972), is a British rapper and producer. Since his debut in 1994, he has produced numerous albums and singles on the label Big Dada, achieving commercial succes ...
, Moby
Richard Melville Hall (born September 11, 1965), known professionally as Moby, is an American musician, songwriter, singer, producer, and animal rights activist. He has sold 20 million records worldwide. AllMusic considers him to be "among the ...
and Ozomatli
Ozomatli is an American rock band, formed in 1995 in Los Angeles. They are known both for their vocal activist viewpoints and incorporating a wide array of musical styles – including salsa, jazz, funk, reggae, hip hop, and others. The group ...
on Australia-wide tours, and have
been a successful part of a number of festivals, including:
*The Big Day Out – (V Stage) Melbourne 2005
*Pyramid Rock – Main Stage, Phillip Island 2004, 2006, 2007
*Darling Harbour Jazz Festival - 2007
*Meredith Music festival – 2004, 2005
*We Love Sounds Festival – Opening for DJ Shadow Brisbane 2007
*Woodford Folk Festival – Main Stage 2005/2006, 2008/2009
*MS Fest '06 – Launceston 2006
*Make Poverty History – Geelong/Perth 2007
*Southbound - Bussleton 2006
*The Falls Festival –Marion Bay, Lorne 2005/2006
*The Feelgood Festival – Luna Park, Sydney 2006
*The Great Escape – Sydney 2006, 2007
*The Commonwealth Games – Melbourne 2006
*Groovin' The Moo – Maitland, Albury, Darwin 2006, 2007
*The West Coast Blues and Roots Festival – Fremantle 2007
*East Coast Blues and Roots Festival - 2008
*Kiss My Grass Festival – Melbourne 2007
*Rip Curl Pro World Championship Tour – 2005, 2006
*St Kilda Festival – 2004, 2005, 2008
*BBQ Breaks – Brisbane 2007
*Sound Safari - Melbourne - 2010
*musiques en stock - Cluses - 2011
*Sakifo Music Festival - Reunion - 2010
*Festival de La Cité at Lausanne - Switzerland - 2011
*Fun Festival - Beijing - 2012
Music
True Live combines classical jazz, soul, hip hop and dance music. The group incorporates violin, keyboard, cello, drums and double bass in live performance.
Discography
Albums
Singles
References
{{Authority control
Australian hip hop groups
Australian jazz ensembles
Jazz fusion ensembles
Musical groups established in 2003