Laura is a
post-rock band from
Melbourne
Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...
,
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...
.
History
Laura formed in
2001 and released their debut
EP - ''Photographs...'' in 2002. Although it received positive reviews on the whole, it failed to gain the band a significant following. However, with their follow up album
Mapping Your Dreams (produced by noted Japanese engineer
Naomune Anzai) in
2004
2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and Its Abolition (by UNESCO).
Events January
* January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 60 ...
, they became world-renowned for their loud live shows and
post-rock sound.
The album garnered high-rotation airplay and promotional support from independent radio stations
FBi Radio and
2ser in
Sydney
Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...
as well as
3RRR
3RRR (pronounced "Three Triple R", or simply "Triple R") is an Australian community radio station, based in Melbourne.
3RRR first commenced broadcasting in 1976 from the studios of 3ST, the student radio station of the Royal Melbourne Instit ...
and
3PBS in
Melbourne
Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...
. It was critically successful notably in the naming of self-released single ''We Should Keep This Secret'' (from their
Mapping Your Dreams album) as
Beat Magazine's single of the week in 4 September, and later becoming the magazine's single of that year.
''Radio Swan Is Down'', their second album, was released in 2006 and was supported by a national tour.
In February 2007, Laura supported US band
Isis on their tour of Australia. ''(re)capitulate'', released in October 2007, is a live recording that was recorded at the
HiFi Bar in Melbourne during this tour. The live version of 'Radio Swan Is Down part 1' was voted Beat Single of the week as well as receiving much critical acclaim for its intensity and power.
Their second
EP ''Yes Maybe No'', released in 2008 on US label
Elevation Recordings, was limited to 2000 copies.
Having released a Japanese edition of ''Radio Swan is Down'' the previous year, Laura toured Japan in 2008 to promote the album, playing shows in Tokyo, Osaka and Hiroshima. In 2009, they supported Swedish band
Cult of Luna and Japanese band
Mono on their tours of Australia.
The band play live shows occasionally and continue to write new material.
In 2018, Andrew, Ben and Carolyn starting writing and recording some new material for their side project, Sens Dep (Sensory Deprivation). Their album Lush Desolation is being released on 30 November 2020.
Members
*Nathan Biggin (
piano
A piano is a keyboard instrument that produces sound when its keys are depressed, activating an Action (music), action mechanism where hammers strike String (music), strings. Modern pianos have a row of 88 black and white keys, tuned to a c ...
,
synthesizer
A synthesizer (also synthesiser or synth) is an electronic musical instrument that generates audio signals. Synthesizers typically create sounds by generating waveforms through methods including subtractive synthesis, additive synthesis a ...
s,
guitar
The guitar is a stringed musical instrument that is usually fretted (with Fretless guitar, some exceptions) and typically has six or Twelve-string guitar, twelve strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming ...
s)
*Andrew Chalmers (
guitar
The guitar is a stringed musical instrument that is usually fretted (with Fretless guitar, some exceptions) and typically has six or Twelve-string guitar, twelve strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming ...
s,
vocals
Singing is the art of creating music with the voice. It is the oldest form of musical expression, and the human voice can be considered the first musical instrument. The definition of singing varies across sources. Some sources define sing ...
)
*Carolyn Gannell (
cello
The violoncello ( , ), commonly abbreviated as cello ( ), is a middle pitched bowed (sometimes pizzicato, plucked and occasionally col legno, hit) string instrument of the violin family. Its four strings are usually intonation (music), tuned i ...
)
*Andrew Yardley (
bass guitar
The bass guitar (), also known as the electric bass guitar, electric bass, or simply the bass, is the lowest-pitched member of the guitar family. It is similar in appearance and construction to an Electric guitar, electric but with a longer nec ...
s)
*Ben Yardley (
guitar
The guitar is a stringed musical instrument that is usually fretted (with Fretless guitar, some exceptions) and typically has six or Twelve-string guitar, twelve strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming ...
s)
Discography
Singles
*''We Should Keep This Secret'' (2004)
*''I Hope'' (2006)
*''Radio Swan Is Down part 1 - Live'' (2007)
*''Mark the Day'' (2010)
*''This Grey Earth'' (2011)
*''The Slow'' (2012)
EPs
*''Photographs...'' (2002)
*''Yes Maybe No'' (2008)
Albums
*''Mapping Your Dreams'' (2005)
*''Radio Swan Is Down'' (2006)
*''Live Album - (re)capitulate'' (2007)
*''
Twelve Hundred Times'' (2011)
External links
Band Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Laura (Band)
Victoria (state) musical groups
Australian post-rock groups