Looper are a

Scottish Scottish usually refers to something of, from, or related to Scotland, including: *Scottish Gaelic, a Celtic Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family native to Scotland *Scottish English *Scottish national identity, the Scottish ide ...

electronic music group fronted by

Belle and Sebastian Belle and Sebastian are a Scottish indie pop band formed in Glasgow in 1996. Led by Stuart Murdoch, the band has released twelve studio albums. They are often compared with acts such as the Smiths and Nick Drake. The band took their name from ...

co-founder

Stuart David Stuart David (born 26 December 1969) is a Scottish musician, songwriter and novelist. He co-founded the band Belle and Sebastian and was a member from 1996 to 2000, and then went on to front Looper (1998–present).Strong, Martin C. (2003) ''T ...

. They have been credited with originating two distinct musical genres- ''Folk Hop'', and ''Horror Pop''Bowers, William (2002)
''The Snare''
,

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 ...

, 13 August 2002. Retrieved 25 February 2018 (later termed ''Noir'n'B'' or ''Switchblade Pop'') The band formed in 1998 for a show at the

Glasgow School of Art The Glasgow School of Art (GSA; ) is a higher education art school based in Glasgow, Scotland, offering undergraduate degrees, post-graduate awards (both taught and research-led), and PhDs in architecture, fine art, and design. These are all awa ...

and released their first single "Impossible Things" on the

Subpop Sub Pop is an independent record label founded in 1986 by Bruce Pavitt and Jonathan Poneman. Sub Pop achieved fame in the early 1990s for signing Seattle bands such as Nirvana, Soundgarden, and Mudhoney, central players in the grunge movement. ...

label a few months later. They have released six albums, '' Up a Tree'' (1999), '' The Geometrid'' (2000), '' The Snare'' (2002), '' Offgrid:Offline'' (2015), '' Quiet & Small'' (2018), '' A Luminous Place'' (2023) and a 5-CD box set '' These Things'' (2015), as well as a series of EPs titled The MP3 EPs

Biography

Looper emerged from Belle & Sebastian in 1997, when Stuart David (co-founder and bass player of B&S) and his wife Karn (an artist who directed the early B&S videos) collaborated for a show at Glasgow School of Art. A degree show fundraiser for Stuart’s sister Karla Black – who received a Turner Prize nomination in 2011- the performance was a multi-media affair incorporating TVs, super 8 film, 35mm slides and kinetic sculptures Their first album, '' Up a Tree'', was released in 1999 on the

Sub Pop Sub Pop is an independent record label founded in 1986 by Bruce Pavitt and Jonathan Poneman. Sub Pop achieved fame in the early 1990s for signing Seattle bands such as Nirvana (band), Nirvana, Soundgarden, and Mudhoney, central players in the gru ...

label in the U.S. and by

Jeepster Records Jeepster Records is an English, London-based independent record label, founded in 1995, and specializing in British indie and alternative bands, particularly Glasgow-based acts. It is most notable for its signing of Belle and Sebastian and Snow ...

in the rest of the world. It was followed in 2000 by '' The Geometrid'' on the same labels. After touring the U.S. for three months with

The Flaming Lips The Flaming Lips are an American psychedelic rock band formed in 1983 in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. The band currently consists of Wayne Coyne (vocals, guitars, bass, keyboards), Steven Drozd (guitars, bass, keyboards, drums, vocals), Derek Brown ...

in 2000 they signed to

Mute Records Mute Records is a British independent record label owned and founded in 1978 by Daniel Miller (music producer), Daniel Miller. It has featured several prominent musical acts on its roster such as Depeche Mode, Erasure (duo), Erasure, Einstürze ...

. They have now licensed their full back catalogue to Mute. Since then, Looper have been releasing their music free to the public at their Looperama website, funding this experiment by licensing the use of their songs in high-profile

Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywood ...

films and ad campaigns. Their most recognizable song is "Mondo '77", from their second album, ''The Geometrid''. It has been featured in American television commercials for Xerox and

Partnership for a Drug-Free America Partnership to End Addiction, formerly called The Partnership for a Drug Free America, is a non-profit organization aiming to prevent the misuse of illegal drugs. The organization is most widely known for its TV ad ''This Is Your Brain on Drugs.'' ...

, in numerous films including ''

Vanilla Sky ''Vanilla Sky'' is a 2001 American science fiction psychological thriller film directed, written, and co-produced by Cameron Crowe. It is an English-language remake of Alejandro Amenábar's 1997 Spanish film '' Open Your Eyes'', which was writ ...

'' and '' The Edukators'', and on the ''

American Dad! ''American Dad!'' is an American animated sitcom created by Seth MacFarlane, Mike Barker (producer), Mike Barker and Matt Weitzman for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series premiered on February 6, 2005, following Super Bowl XXXIX, with the r ...

'' episode "

All About Steve ''All About Steve'' is a 2009 American romantic comedy film directed by Phil Traill, and starring Sandra Bullock, Thomas Haden Church and Bradley Cooper as the eponymous Steve. The film is the winner of two Golden Raspberry Awards and has a 7 ...

". Another track from that album, "My Robot", is featured in the film ''The Girl Next Door''. These two songs ("Mondo '77", "My Robot") are also featured in the

Xbox Xbox is a video gaming brand that consists of four main home video game console lines, as well as application software, applications (games), the streaming media, streaming service Xbox Cloud Gaming, and online services such as the Xbox networ ...

video game ''

Project Gotham Racing ''Project Gotham Racing'' (''PGR'') is a series of racing video games published by Microsoft Studios, with four main titles all of which were developed by Bizarre Creations. It is the spiritual successor to Bizarre Creations' previous game ''Metr ...

''. The song "Burning Flies", from the album ''Up a Tree'', is part of the soundtrack to the '' Mission Hill''

pilot episode A television pilot (also known as a pilot or a pilot episode and sometimes marketed as a tele-movie) in United Kingdom and United States television, is a standalone episode of a television series that is used to sell a show to a television netwo ...

. Other films their songs have appeared in include '' Out Cold'', and ''

Dog Park A dog park is a park for dogs to exercise and play off-leash in a controlled environment under the supervision of their owners. Description Dog parks have varying features, although they typically offer a fence, separate double-gated entry an ...

''.

Discography

* '' Up a Tree'' (1999) * '' The Geometrid'' (2000) * '' The Snare'' (2002) * ''The MP3 EPs'' (2003-2006) * ''Offgrid:Offline'' (2015) * ''These Things (5 CD box set)'' (2015) * ''Quiet & Small'' (2018) * ''A Luminous Place'' (2023)

References

External links

BBC News
Story on "Mondo '77" * {{DEFAULTSORT:Looper Scottish electronic music groups Musical groups from Glasgow Bands with fictional stage personas Scottish indie pop groups Mute Records artists Musical groups established in 1998 Sub Pop artists