Chew Lips was an English
dance-pop
Dance-pop is a Music genre, genre of electronic dance music that originated in the late 1970s to early 1980s. It is generally uptempo music intended for nightclubs with the intention of being danceable but also suitable for contemporary hit ra ...
trio, formed in spring of 2008.
It consisted of singer 'Tigs' and multi-instrumentalists James Watkins and Will Sanderson
Career
2008–2009: First steps
Formed in London as a three piece band in the summer of 2008, Huerta, Watkins and Sanderson armed themselves with a slew of electro-pop hooks and set about establishing Chew Lips as one of the most exciting new acts in the capital.
With Tigs developing into a charismatic whirlwind of a front woman who it was impossible to take your eyes off, Chew Lips increasingly compelling live performances grabbed the attention of uber-cool French label
Kitsuné who insisted on putting out the band's debut single, "Solo".
Released in March 2009, "Solo" sold out almost instantly, causing a storm in the blogosphere and beyond, with
Pitchfork
A pitchfork or hay fork is an agricultural tool used to pitch loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves. It has a long handle and usually two to five thin tines designed to efficiently move such materials.
The term is also applie ...
calling the track "….classic, pristine,"
and ''
The Fly'' magazine labelling it "one of the most magnificent debuts of the year".
2009–2010: Second Kitsuné single and ''Unicorn''
A relentless schedule of touring followed into 2009 as Chew Lips honed their sound into a sleek, sophisticated beast.
Kitsuné released a second sold out single, "Salt Air" in July 2009 – NME called it "an addictive slice of heart-wrenching
disco-pop
Pop music is a genre of popular music that originated in its modern form during the mid-1950s in the United States and the United Kingdom. The terms ''popular music'' and ''pop music'' are often used interchangeably, although the former describes ...
" – before the band begun work in summer '09 on their full-length debut with
Bat For Lashes
Natasha Khan (born 25 October 1979), known professionally as Bat for Lashes, is an English singer, songwriter, producer, and multi-instrumentalist. She has released six studio albums: '' Fur and Gold'' (2006), ''Two Suns'' (2009), '' The Haunt ...
collaborator
David Kosten
David Kosten, better known by his stage name, Faultline is a British DJ, and producer.
Career
He has produced the largely instrumental debut ''Closer, Colder'' and the follow-up ''Your Love Means Everything'', which featured guest vocals fro ...
.
The fruits of their labour came with the self-released album ''
Unicorn
The unicorn is a legendary creature that has been described since Classical antiquity, antiquity as a beast with a single large, pointed, spiraling horn (anatomy), horn projecting from its forehead.
In European literature and art, the unico ...
'' in January 2010, such a giant leap forward for their sound that they were confident enough to leave off both of the previous singles. It was easy to see why – in the likes of "Play Together", "Karen" and "Slick", they had outdone themselves. The press agreed: the
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...
called it "startling",
NME
''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming and culture website, bimonthly magazine, and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a "Rock music, rock inkie", the ''NME'' would be ...
"mesmeric", whilst a 4/5 review in ''
The Guardian
''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...
'' said it "drags you straight in."
Another stretch of touring followed and by the time the European festival season came round, and after a successful appearance at
SXSW
South by Southwest (SXSW) is an annual conglomeration of parallel film, interactive media, and music festivals and Convention (meeting), conferences organized jointly that take place in mid-March in Austin, Texas. It began in 1987 and has conti ...
in Texas (''
Elle
Elle may refer to:
Arts, entertainment and media
* Elle (magazine), ''Elle'' (magazine), a fashion publication
** Elle Style Awards
* Elle (India), ''Elle'' (India), the Indian edition
* Elle (film), ''Elle'' (film), a 2016 French film
* ''Elle: ...
US described them as the best new act at the festival), Chew Lips were on top of their game. Topping off their tour they headlined the packed
BBC Introducing Stage at
Glastonbury Festival
The Glastonbury Festival of Contemporary Performing Arts (commonly referred to as simply Glastonbury Festival, known colloquially as Glasto) is a five-day festival of contemporary performing arts held near Pilton, Somerset, England, in most su ...
.
Other touring highlights include support slots with
The Killers
The Killers are an American Rock music, rock band formed in Las Vegas, Nevada, in 2001 by Brandon Flowers (lead vocals, keyboards, bass) and Dave Keuning (lead guitar, backing vocals). After the band went through a number of short-term bas ...
,
Delphic,
We Are Scientists
We Are Scientists is a New York City-based rock music, rock band that formed in Berkeley, California, in 1999. It consists primarily of guitarist and vocalist Keith Murray and bass guitarist Chris Cain, with drummer Keith Carne joining the band ...
,
The Virgins
The Virgins were an American indie rock band formed in 2006 in New York City. The band split up in November 2013.
History 2006–2007: Formation
Frontman Donald Cumming began writing music by himself in his New York apartment. He then recruite ...
,
Joy Formidable,
Howling Bells
Howling Bells are an Australian indie rock band that formed in Sydney in 2004. The band obtained popularity following the release of its 2006 self-titled debut album. The lineup consists of Juanita Stein (vocals, rhythm guitar), Glenn Moule (dr ...
, three sold out UK tours and a sold out European tour in 2011.
Split
Huertas announced on Twitter in 2015 that she was now only writing material for other artists,
implying that Chew Lips had disbanded.
Discography
Studio albums
Singles and EPs
Chew Lips remixing
*
Bernard Sumner
Bernard Sumner (born 4 January 1956) is an English musician. He is a founding member of the bands Joy Division, New Order, Electronic, and Bad Lieutenant. Sumner was an early force in several areas, including the post-punk, synth-pop, and ...
,
Hot Chip
Hot Chip is an English synth-pop band formed in London in 2000. The group consists of multi-instrumentalists Alexis Taylor, Joe Goddard (musician), Joe Goddard, Al Doyle, Owen Clarke, and Felix Martin. They are occasionally joined by former memb ...
and Hot City – Didn't Know What Love Was
*Party Horse – Lazer Beam
*Tape The Radio – Stay Inside
*
Amanda Blank
Amanda Blank (born Amanda Mallory McGrath; March 10, 1983) is an American singer, rapper and member of the performance art band Sweatheart based in Philadelphia.
Early life
Amanda Blank was born in Germantown, a neighborhood in northwest Phila ...
– Make It Take It
*
Plastiscines
The Plastiscines are a French all-female rock band who perform their songs in both French and English. They have released three albums, spanning from garage rock revival and pop punk to disco-orientered pop music.
History
The Plastiscines are ...
– Barcelona
*The Brute Chorus – Heaven
Chew Lips remixes
''Solo''
*David E Sugar
*Tepr (
Yelle
Yelle is a French electronic band founded by lead singer and namesake Yelle (Julie Budet) and GrandMarnier (Jean-François Perrier). A third member, Tepr (Tanguy Destable), joined the band before the recording of their debut album. Yelle and G ...
)
''Salt Air''
*
Alex Kapranos
Alexander Paul Kapranos (born 20 March 1972) is a Scottish musician. He is the lead singer and lead guitarist of Scottish rock band Franz Ferdinand. He has also been a part of the supergroups FFS and BNQT.
Early life
Alexander Paul Kapranos ...
*Dekker & Johan
*Jupiter
*
Plastician
Chris Reed (born 30 October 1982), also known as Plastician (formerly Plasticman), is an Englishelectronic musician from Thornton Heath in the London Borough of Croydon.
History
Plastician, real name Chris Reed is a DJ from Croydon in South ...
*
Two Door Cinema Club
Two Door Cinema Club are a British rock band formed in Bangor, County Down, Bangor, Northern Ireland in 2007. The band is composed of three members: Alex Trimble (vocals, rhythm guitar, beats, synths), Sam Halliday (lead guitar, backing vocals), ...
''Play Together''
*WaWa
''Karen''
*Analogue People in a Digital World
*Mark Otten
*
Netsky
*We Are Enfant Terrible
''Slick''
*
FC Kahuna
FC Kahuna (also known as FC/Kahuna) was a British DJ and electronic music production duo, consisting of Jon Nowell and Daniel Ormondroyd. The group released only one album, '' Machine Says Yes'', in the spring of 2002. It had a number of sin ...
Soundtracks and syncs
*''
Pretty Little Liars
''Pretty Little Liars'' is an American Mystery fiction, mystery teen drama television series created by I. Marlene King, which aired on Freeform (TV channel), Freeform from June 8, 2010 to June 27, 2017, based on the novel series Pretty Little L ...
'' (US TV series)
*''
The Vampire Diaries
''The Vampire Diaries'' is an American supernatural fiction, supernatural teen drama television series developed by Kevin Williamson (screenwriter), Kevin Williamson and Julie Plec, based on the The Vampire Diaries (novel series), book series ...
'' (US TV series)
*
MTV
MTV (an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable television television channel, channel and the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group sub-division of the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global. Launched on ...
(Various)
*''
Paris Connections'' (UK film)
*''
Skins'' (UK TV series)
*''
Made in Chelsea
''Made in Chelsea'' (abbreviated ''MIC'') is a British Scripted reality, structured-reality television series broadcast by E4 (TV channel), E4. ''Made in Chelsea'' chronicles the lives of affluent young people in the West London and South West a ...
'' (UK TV series)
Live appearances
UK highlights
*
Glastonbury Festival
The Glastonbury Festival of Contemporary Performing Arts (commonly referred to as simply Glastonbury Festival, known colloquially as Glasto) is a five-day festival of contemporary performing arts held near Pilton, Somerset, England, in most su ...
*
The Great Escape Festival
The Great Escape Festival is a four-day music festival held in Brighton and Hove, England every year in May. It is operated by MAMA Festivals and showcases new music from a variety of genres. The festival was founded in 2006 and hosts roughly ...
*
Wakestock
*
Latitude Festival
Latitude Festival is an annual music and arts festival set within the grounds of Henham Park, near Southwold, Suffolk, England.
The first edition of the festival took place in 2006 and has continued annually (apart from 2020 when it was cancel ...
*
Lovebox Festival
Lovebox is a three-day music festival. In 2018 the event moved to Gunnersbury Park, London. The move came after Tower Hamlets turned down its application to continue in Victoria Park and Lambeth residents objected to its move to Brockwell Park ...
*
Secret Garden Party
The Secret Garden Party, often colloquially shortened to the SGP, is an independent music festival, arts and music festival held in Abbots Ripton, England. The location is on part of the grounds of a Georgian farmhouse and has its own lakes, river ...
*
Truck Festival
Truck Festival is an annual independent music festival in Oxfordshire, England. Truck Festival started in 1998, founded by the Bennett family (including the brothers Robin and Joe of the band Goldrush). The Bennett family decided that mainstr ...
*
Kendal Calling
Kendal Calling is a music and arts festival, held annually at Lowther Deer Park in the Lake District, Cumbria in the North West of England. It has grown from a two-day, 900 capacity event in 2006 to a 40,000 capacity 4-day music festival. Kend ...
*
Standon Calling
*
Rip Curl
Rip Curl is an Australian designer, manufacturer, and retailer of Surfing#Equipment, surfing sportswear (also known as ''boardwear'') and accompanying products, and a major athletic sponsor. Rip Curl has become one of the largest surfing compan ...
Boardmasters Festival
*
Jersey Live
Jersey Live Music Festival (alternatively Jersey Live) was a music festival held annually at The Royal Jersey Showground in the parish of Trinity, Jersey between 2004 and 2016.
Overview
Jersey Live started out as a 4,000-capacity, one-day even ...
*
Bestival
Bestival was a four-day music festival held in the south of England. The name Bestival is a portmanteau of the words best and festival. It had been held annually in the late summer since 2004 at Robin Hill on the Isle of Wight. In 2017 the festi ...
United States
*
SXSW
South by Southwest (SXSW) is an annual conglomeration of parallel film, interactive media, and music festivals and Convention (meeting), conferences organized jointly that take place in mid-March in Austin, Texas. It began in 1987 and has conti ...
European festivals
*
Electric Picnic
Electric Picnic is an annual arts-and-music festival which has been staged since 2004 at Stradbally Hall in Stradbally, County Laois, Ireland.
Overview
It is organised by Pod Concerts and Festival Republic, who purchased the majority sh ...
*
London Calling Festival, the Netherlands
*Les InRocks Festival & Ground Zero Festival, France
*
Dockville Festival, Germany
*
Paredes de Coura Festival, Portugal
*Gjon Sports Dome, Spain
*Cupola Festival, Switzerland
*Summer Well Festival, Romania
*Bažant Pohoda Festival, Slovakia
*
Off Festival
OFF Festival is an alternative music festival series held annually since 2006. Until 2009 it was held at Słupna Park in Mysłowice, Poland in August and lasts four days. OFF Festival from 2010 takes place in Katowice in Dolina Trzech Stawow.
Th ...
gości
Electronic Beats Telekom Electronic Beats (TEB) is an international music marketing program of Deutsche Telekom focusing on electronic music and international club culture. The program was founded in 2000. It comprises a media portfolio and has been organizing event ...
, Poland
Press
''Unicorn''
*''"4/5 – an accomplished first offering"'' –
Q
*''"4/5 – sharp-edged, sharp-witted electro rock...success looks like an open goal"'' –
Mojo
Mojo may refer to:
* Mojo (African-American culture), a magical charm bag used in Hoodoo
Arts, entertainment and media Film and television
* ''Mojo'' (2017 film), a 2017 Indian Kannada drama film written and directed by Sreesha Belakvaadi
* '' ...
*''"4/5 – a spine tinglingly awesome debut"'' –
Time Out
*''"4.5/5 – it deserves to be massive...make it so"'' –
The Fly
*''"4/5 – brilliant...a record that gets better over time"'' –
MusicOMH
''MusicOMH'' (stylized as ''musicOMH'') is a London-based online music magazine which publishes independent reviews, features and interviews from across all genres including classical, metal, rock and R&B.
History
''MusicOMH'' was founded an ...
*''"4/5 – Synth heaven!"''
New!
''New!'' is a British weekly magazine, specialising in celebrity news and is published by Reach plc, which also oversees ''OK!'' magazine, the ''Daily Mirror'', ''Daily Express'' and '' Daily Star''.
Profile
''New!'' was first published in Ma ...
*''"Beautiful...clattering electronic pop with big melodies"'' –
The Independent
''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...
*''"Wistful, discoid confections... like Blondie backed by Simian Mobile Disco"'' –
The Observer
''The Observer'' is a British newspaper published on Sundays. First published in 1791, it is the world's oldest Sunday newspaper.
In 1993 it was acquired by Guardian Media Group Limited, and operated as a sister paper to ''The Guardian'' ...
*''"A band to look out for this year… absolutely superb"'' –
Sunday Mail
*''"Our new favourite"'' –
NME
''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming and culture website, bimonthly magazine, and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a "Rock music, rock inkie", the ''NME'' would be ...
*''"An utterly peerless work; ten tracks to completely lose yourself in"'' –
NME.com
*''"Catchy electro tunes...you'll love 'em"'' –
Grazia
''Grazia'' (; ; stylized in all caps) is a weekly women's magazine that originated in Italy with international editions printed in Albania, Argentina, Australia, Bahrain, Bulgaria, China, Croatia, Colombia, France, Germany, Greece, Indonesia, In ...
*''"Unicorn is that rarest of things; a record imbued with genuine talent and emotion which wipes the floor with the majority of its makers' contemporaries... quite startling"'' –
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...
*''"Chew Lips confidently reveal their crossover potential... the rhythms are edgy and the songwriting is something you can really get your teeth into"'' –
Metro
Metro may refer to:
Geography
* Metro City (Indonesia), a city in Indonesia
* A metropolitan area, the populated region including and surrounding an urban center
Public transport
* Rapid transit, a passenger railway in an urban area with high ...
*''"Chew Lips' blending of electronic punk ala 'Yeah Yeah Yeahs go 8-bit' is so infective it's dangerous"'' – Super Super
References
External links
*
*
{{Authority control
English electronic music duos
English pop music duos
English dance music groups
Kitsuné Musique artists