Suns of the Tundra
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Suns of the Tundra are an English
rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...
band that formed in 2002. Members include Simon Oakes (guitar, vocals), Mark Moloney (guitar), Andy Marlow (bass, backing vocals), Andrew Prestidge (drums), and Rob Havis. They have released four studio albums and one EP which individually span several genres including progressive metal,
progressive rock Progressive rock (shortened as prog rock or simply prog; sometimes conflated with art rock) is a broad genre of rock music that developed in the United Kingdom and United States through the mid- to late 1960s, peaking in the early 1970s. Init ...
,
post rock Post Rock may refer to: * Post-rock, a form of experimental rock music * Post Rock (South Georgia) Elsehul (also Paddocks Cove, Else Cove, Elsie Bay, Elsa Bay, Else's Hole, and Else Bay) is a bay along the north coast of South Georgia Island in th ...
, and
alternative rock Alternative rock, or alt-rock, is a category of rock music that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1970s and became widely popular in the 1990s. "Alternative" refers to the genre's distinction from Popular culture, mainstre ...
. Their fifth studio album, ''The Only Equation,'' was released on 16 June 2023.


History


Early years, ''Suns of the Tundra'', and ''Tunguska''

Suns of the Tundra began as a collaboration in 2002 between Simon Oakes, Rob Havis, and Andrew Prestidge, drawing on influences from
Rush Rush(es) may refer to: Places United States * Rush, Colorado * Rush, Kentucky * Rush, New York * Rush City, Minnesota * Rush Creek (Kishwaukee River tributary), Illinois * Rush Creek (Marin County, California), a stream * Rush Creek (Mono Cou ...
, King Crimson, and
Van der Graaf Generator Van der Graaf Generator are an English progressive rock band, formed in 1967 in Manchester by singer-songwriters Peter Hammill and Judge Smith, Chris Judge Smith and the first act signed by Charisma Records. They did not experience much commerc ...
to
Tool A tool is an object that can extend an individual's ability to modify features of the surrounding environment or help them accomplish a particular task. Although many animals use simple tools, only human beings, whose use of stone tools dates ba ...
and
Mastodon A mastodon ( 'breast' + 'tooth') is any proboscidean belonging to the extinct genus ''Mammut'' (family Mammutidae). Mastodons inhabited North and Central America during the late Miocene or late Pliocene up to their extinction at the end of th ...
. Oakes was inspired to re-explore harder
alternative rock Alternative rock, or alt-rock, is a category of rock music that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1970s and became widely popular in the 1990s. "Alternative" refers to the genre's distinction from Popular culture, mainstre ...
following the successful re-release of the album ''Giving Birth to a Stone'' by his former band Peach which included future
Tool A tool is an object that can extend an individual's ability to modify features of the surrounding environment or help them accomplish a particular task. Although many animals use simple tools, only human beings, whose use of stone tools dates ba ...
bassist Justin Chancellor. Suns of the Tundra released their eponymous first album ''Suns of the Tundra'' in 2004, around which time Tool began to include the Peach songs, ''You Lied'' and ''Spasm'', in their live shows. Havis (bass) left the band in 2005, was replaced by Andy Marlow, and the line-up soon grew to include Mark Moloney and Lazlo Pallagi (additional vocals). The band released their second album ''Tunguska'' in 2006.


''Bones of Brave Ships''

While finishing work on ''Tunguska'', Simon Oakes attended a London film festival showing of ''South'', a silent 1919 documentary chronicling
Ernest Shackleton Sir Ernest Henry Shackleton (15 February 1874 â€“ 5 January 1922) was an Anglo-Irish Antarctic explorer who led three British expeditions to the Antarctic. He was one of the principal figures of the period known as the Heroic Age of ...
's trans-Antarctic expeditions, and said his "eye had been caught" by its "stunning still images" on permanent display at London's
Royal Geographical Society The Royal Geographical Society (with the Institute of British Geographers), often shortened to RGS, is a learned society and professional body for geography based in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1830 for the advancement of geographical scien ...
. The band soon began work on what would become a sprawling and intricate soundtrack written to accompany the movie. Starting from jams in the summer and winter of 2006, a rough demo was recorded in mid-2008. Oakes noted that "writing a film soundtrack was a big breakthrough in sound for us because so much of it was instrumental .... We experimented a lot more with post-rock ambience and bringing in more keyboards, from Moog to piano. We even played back all the ambient tracks ... at loud volume in a 15th-century abbey." The soundtrack was eventually released in 2015 as their third studio album ''Bones of Brave Ships'', a title taken from the diary of expedition member Commander
Frank Worsley Frank Arthur Worsley (22 February 1872 – 1 February 1943) was a New Zealand sailor and explorer who served on Ernest Shackleton's Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition of 1914–1916, as captain of ''Endurance''. He also served in the Royal N ...
, who described wreckage on a
South Georgia South Georgia ( es, Isla San Pedro) is an island in the South Atlantic Ocean that is part of the British Overseas Territory of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands. It lies around east of the Falkland Islands. Stretching in the east†...
beach as the "... bones of brave ships and bones of brave men." It was mastered to be synchronized with the film's DVD or its
British Film Institute The British Film Institute (BFI) is a film and television charitable organisation which promotes and preserves film-making and television in the United Kingdom. The BFI uses funds provided by the National Lottery to encourage film production, ...
website download.


''Murmuration''

Suns of the Tundra released their fourth studio album ''Murmuration'' in 2019. It includes songs developed over the band's long career including ''Pond Life'', the origins of which date back to Simon Oakes' time in Peach. ''Murmuration'' has a "wide palette", exhibiting a "variety of moods and styles", "
psychedelic Psychedelics are a subclass of hallucinogenic drugs whose primary effect is to trigger non-ordinary states of consciousness (known as psychedelic experiences or "trips").Pollan, Michael (2018). ''How to Change Your Mind: What the New Science of ...
vibes", and "reveals a more stripped down and succinct approach to the band's skewed post-metal barrage." Oakes said the band is "... enormously proud of this record. It's another style evolution, particularly in the wide range of different rhythms Andy restidgeis playing, from stately 7/8 uber-prog beats, through to metronomic trance beats and into really heavy stuff with double-pedal kicks."


''The Only Equation''

Suns of the Tundra wrote their fifth studio album during the
COVID-19 lockdown in the United Kingdom The COVID-19 lockdown in the United Kingdom was a series of stay-at-home orders introduced by the British and devolved governments in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. On 23 March 2020, Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced a nationwide lockdo ...
which was recorded between August and December 2022. Simon Oakes attributed a faster writing process due to the lockdown. The album's working title was ''Tundra V'' which Andrew Prestige later called ''The Only Equation''. An intense work of complex sound, it refines the unqiue aesthetic presented in Murmuration, comprising a supremely confident, ambitious, and well executed slice of heavier progressive rock. Al Murray contributed additional drums to tracks 6-8.


Other projects

In 1996, after leaving the band Peach, Simon Oakes co-founded the alt-rock band Geyser (later called Grand Western) with ex-Peach drummer Rob Havis. Over the decades its lineup, including live shows, has included Adam Wolters (bass), Al Murray (drums), Andrew Prestidge, and Mark Moloney. In 2016, the band released the EP ''Babytalk''. In 2017, the band appeared in the same line-up as
Phil Collins Philip David Charles Collins (born 30 January 1951) is an English singer, musician, songwriter, record producer and actor. He was the drummer and lead singer of the rock band Genesis and also has a career as a solo performer. Between 1982 and ...
and Blondie at
British Summer Time Hyde Park British Summer Time Hyde Park (BST Hyde Park) is a series of concerts held over two or three weekends once a year in London's Hyde Park. Since 2013, BST Hyde Park has seen headliners such as Celine Dion, the Rolling Stones, Bon Jovi, Barbra St ...
. Circa 2006 Suns of the Tundra wrote the music for the BAFTA-nominated''Discovering Antarctica''
online education resource developed by the Royal Geographical Society in partnership with the
British Antarctic Survey The British Antarctic Survey (BAS) is the United Kingdom's national polar research institute. It has a dual purpose, to conduct polar science, enabling better understanding of global issues, and to provide an active presence in the Antarctic on ...
. In 2007 Andy Marlow joined the neo-prog band Jadis. In 2013 Prestidge co-founded the band The Osiris Club in which Oakes first appeared as a co-writer and later a co-lead singer. Prestidge has also played with Warning, Lucifer, and Angelwitch. Suns of the Tundra are longtime collaborators with writer and actor Ben Moor, having written scores for many of his live performances, and he having contributed readings to their live performances of ''Bones of Brave Ships''.


Band members


Current members

* Simon Oakes * Mark Moloney * Rob Havis * Andy Marlow * Andrew Prestidge


Former members

* Al Murray * Hanna Pettersson * Laszlo Pallagi


Timeline


Discography


Studio Albums

* Suns of the Tundra (2004) * Tunguska (2006) * Bones of Brave Ships (2015) * Murmuration (2019) * The Only Equation (2023)


EPs

* Illuminate (2009)


Compilations

* Almost the Right People (2009)


References


External links

*
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* {{discogs artist English progressive rock groups English post-rock groups English alternative rock groups Musical groups from London Musical groups established in 2002