Ultrafox is an

electropop Electropop is a hybrid music genre combining elements of electronic and pop genres. Writer Hollin Jones has described it as a variant of synth-pop with heavy emphasis on its electronic sound. The genre was developed in the 1980s and saw a re ...

band formed by German twins Claudia and Connie Holzer. Liam Howe and Joe Wilson of Sneaker Pimps were also involved in the band's creation. The band was formed in 2001, and their only album, ''Ice Skating'', was released in June 2004. Since then, Howe and Wilson have stopped playing with the band due to other commitments, and David Westlake, also of Sneaker Pimps, has been working with them.

Creation

Ultrafox formed when the Holzers met Howe and Wilson "somewhere in Europe" and decided to make an album as quickly as possible, since all their favourite albums had been made in a short time. The album, ''Ice Skating'', was made in two weeks in

Munich Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the States of Germany, German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the List of cities in Germany by popu ...

and

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 ...

. The name, a take on the 1980s new wave band

Ultravox Ultravox (earlier styled as Ultravox!) were a British new wave band, formed in London in April 1974 as Tiger Lily. Between 1980 and 1986, they scored seven Top Ten albums and seventeen Top 40 singles in the UK, the most successful of which was ...

, was decided on by Howe and Wilson, since Howe is a great fan of the band.

Touring

Ultrafox has undertaken one European tour. They played in the Notting Hill Arts Club in London on 8 June 2004 (their first ever live performance), and the following day in "Shelter" in

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. Before the event they had only 20 hours practice - most big bands have up to a month before live performances. This was the first time David Westlake performed with them, playing drums. The tour was a success, although problems plagued both nights. In London, since the stage had recently been repositioned, the sound system was incorrectly set up resulting in the backing track being too quiet (at one point the band stopped playing and listened to the crowd's conversation instead until the sound engineer could adjust the volume). In Vienna, excessive rain threatened to flood the venue, and indeed succeeded in flooding the toilets. The performance nevertheless went ahead and was well received. Ultrafox later played in Client's gig "Being Boiled" in November 2004, again at the Notting Hill Arts Club.

Style

Ultrafox has been said to have a unique sound, described by Connie as "dark, sophisticated electronic sounds" and Claudia as "minimalistic, catchy and groovy". Their songs have a mix of

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and

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lyrics, and are usually based around a broken drum beat and a strong bass line. (On the track "I Get Lifted", the bass line is taken from Jeff Wayne's musical version of The War of the Worlds). They have been influenced by the likes of

Kraftwerk Kraftwerk (, "power station") is a German band formed in Düsseldorf in 1970 by Ralf Hütter and Florian Schneider. Widely considered innovators and pioneers of electronic music, Kraftwerk were among the first successful acts to popularize the ...

Michael Jackson Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the "King of Pop", he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century. Over a ...

Def Leppard Def Leppard are an English rock band formed in 1976 in Sheffield. Since 1992, the band has consisted of Rick Savage (bass, backing vocals), Joe Elliott (lead vocals), Rick Allen (drums, backing vocals), Phil Collen (guitar, backing vocals), a ...

Daft Punk Daft Punk were a French electronic music duo formed in 1993 in Paris by Thomas Bangalter and Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo. Widely regarded as one of the most influential acts in dance music history, they achieved popularity in the late 1990s as p ...

and

The Beach Boys The Beach Boys are an American Rock music, rock band that formed in Hawthorne, California, in 1961. The group's original lineup consisted of brothers Brian Wilson, Brian, Dennis Wilson, Dennis, and Carl Wilson, their cousin Mike Love, and frie ...

Current plans

Ultrafox moved to London sometime after making ''Ice Skating'', where recording studios and facilities for photography are more accessible. They stated they had begun working on a second album, but it has yet to materialise.

Discography

*''Ice Skating'' 2004 (album) *''Cloakroom Girl'' (single) *''The Black Label'' (remixes)

References

{{Authority control German electronic music duos Electro musicians Musical groups established in 2001