Cat's Eyes are an

alternative pop 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 mainstream or commercial ...

duo formed in early 2011 by vocalist

Faris Badwan Faris Adam Derar Badwan (born 21 September 1986) is an English musician, best known as the lead vocalist of the Horrors, and more recently as half of Cat's Eyes. Early life Born in Bexley, Kent on 21 September 1986 to a Palestinian father and ...

(known for his work with

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

indie rock Indie rock is a subgenre of rock music that originated in the United States, United Kingdom and New Zealand from the 1970s to the 1980s. Originally used to describe independent record labels, the term became associated with the music they produc ...

band

the Horrors The Horrors are an English rock band formed in Southend-on-Sea in 2005, consisting of lead vocalist Faris Badwan, guitarist Joshua Hayward, keyboardist and synthesizer player Tom Furse, bassist Rhys Webb, and drummer and percussionist Joe Spu ...

) and

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

soprano, composer and multi-instrumentalist Rachel Zeffira.

History

The band formed after Badwan introduced Zeffira to 1960s girl group music. Zeffira became intrigued by the likes of

the Ronettes The Ronettes were an American girl group from Washington Heights, Manhattan, New York City. The group consisted of lead singer Veronica Bennett (later known as Ronnie Spector), her older sister Estelle Bennett, and their cousin Nedra Talley. ...

and acts produced by

Joe Meek Robert George "Joe" Meek (5 April 1929 – 3 February 1967) was an English record producer, sound engineer and songwriter who pioneered space age and experimental pop music. He also assisted in the development of recording practices like over ...

and

Phil Spector Harvey Phillip Spector (born Harvey Philip Spector; December 26, 1939January 16, 2021) was an American record producer and songwriter, best known for his innovative recording practices and entrepreneurship in the 1960s, followed decades later by ...

, and soon began work on a

demo Demo, usually short for demonstration, may refer to: Music and film *Demo (music), a song typically recorded for reference rather than release * ''Demo'' (Behind Crimson Eyes), a 2004 recording by the band Behind Crimson Eyes * ''Demo'' (Deafhea ...

version of a track (which eventually became "The Lull") in a similar style, which she sent to Badwan upon completion. Using Zeffira's classical music contacts, the band were able to perform a short performance using a

church organ Carol Williams performing at the United States Military Academy West Point Cadet Chapel.">West_Point_Cadet_Chapel.html" ;"title="United States Military Academy West Point Cadet Chapel">United States Military Academy West Point Cadet Chapel. ...

and choir at the

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, in front of several important

cardinals Cardinal or The Cardinal may refer to: Animals * Cardinal (bird) or Cardinalidae, a family of North and South American birds **''Cardinalis'', genus of cardinal in the family Cardinalidae **''Cardinalis cardinalis'', or northern cardinal, the ...

. Following positive press on the performance, they offered free downloads of two songs via their website, "Not a Friend" and a cover/remix of

Grinderman Grinderman was an Australian-American rock band that formed in London, England, in 2006. The band included Nick Cave (vocals, guitar, organ, piano), Warren Ellis (tenor guitar, electric mandolin, violin, viola, guitar, backing vocals), Martyn ...

's "When My Baby Comes". On 28 February 2011, the duo released the '' Broken Glass'' EP on the

Polydor Polydor Records Ltd. is a German-British record label that operates as part of Universal Music Group. It has a close relationship with Universal's Interscope Geffen A&M Records label, which distributes Polydor's releases in the United States ...

label A label (as distinct from signage) is a piece of paper, plastic film, cloth, metal, or other material affixed to a container or product, on which is written or printed information or symbols about the product or item. Information printed ...

. It was recorded at Peter Gabriel's RealWorld Studios with

record producer A record producer is a recording project's creative and technical leader, commanding studio time and coaching artists, and in popular genres typically creates the song's very sound and structure. Virgil Moorefield"Introduction" ''The Producer as ...

Steve Osborne. The ''Broken Glass'' EP featured three original compositions and a

cover Cover or covers may refer to: Packaging * Another name for a lid * Cover (philately), generic term for envelope or package * Album cover, the front of the packaging * Book cover or magazine cover ** Book design ** Back cover copy, part of co ...

of a previously unreleased demo song by the Horrors, "Sunshine Girls". It met with positive press and was followed by the release of full-length album '' Cat's Eyes'' on 11 April 2011. Also recorded at RealWorld Studios, ''Cat's Eyes'' received positive reviews, with a 4-star review from ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'' and a score of 7.9 from

Pitchfork A pitchfork (also a hay fork) is an agricultural tool with a long handle and two to five tines used to lift and pitch or throw loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves. The term is also applied colloquially, but inaccurately, to ...

, and yielded two singles, "Face in the Crowd" (on 2 May 2011) and "Over You" (on 25 July 2011). The duo recorded the soundtrack (released in February 2015) for Peter Strickland's 2014 film ''

The Duke of Burgundy ''The Duke of Burgundy'' is a 2014 British erotic romance drama film written and directed by Peter Strickland, and starring Sidse Babett Knudsen as Cynthia and Chiara D'Anna as Evelyn. The film was screened at various film festivals, includin ...

'', for which they won the

European Film Award for Best Composer The European Film Award for Best Composer is one of the awards presented by the European Film Academy. It was first presented as a Special Jury Award in 1998 received by Yuri Khanon for the music of '' Days of Eclipse''. A set of nominees was pre ...

. Preceded by the singles "Chameleon Queen" and "Drag", both issued in February 2016, the band's second album, '' Treasure House'', was released on 3 June 2016 on the

Kobalt Label Services Kobalt Music Recordings is a division of Kobalt Music Group. KLS provides record label services to artists, receiving a share of revenues, while allowing artists to retain ownership of their master recordings. The company was founded in 2012 wh ...

record label. In March 2016, they unofficially performed "We'll Be Waiting" at a private evening event at the

Queen's Gallery The Queen's Gallery is the main public art gallery of Buckingham Palace, home of the British monarch, in London. It exhibits works of art from the Royal Collection (the bulk of which works have since its opening been regularly displayed, s ...

, part of Buckingham Palace, under the pretence of being a Renaissance music ensemble.

Discography

Studio albums

* '' Cat's Eyes'' (2011,

) * '' Treasure House'' (2016,

)

Soundtracks

* ''

'' (2015, RAF/

Caroline International Caroline may refer to: People *Caroline (given name), a feminine given name * J. C. Caroline (born 1933), American college and National Football League player * Jordan Caroline (born 1996), American (men's) basketball player Places Antarctica * ...

)

Singles and EPs

* '' Broken Glass'' EP (2011, Polydor) * "Face in the Crowd" (2011, Polydor) * "Over You" (2011, Polydor) *"The Duke of Burgundy" (2015, Raf Records) *"Names on the Mountains" (2016, Raf Records) * "Chameleon Queen" (2016, Kobalt Label Services) * "Drag" (2016, Kobalt Label Services) *"Be Careful Where You Park Your Car" (2016, Raf Records)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Cat's Eyes British classical music groups British pop music duos European Film Award for Best Composer winners Music in Southend-on-Sea Musical groups established in 2011