controller.controller are a

Canadian Canadians () 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 their being ''C ...

indie rock Indie rock is a Music subgenre, subgenre of rock music that originated in the United Kingdom, United States and New Zealand in the early to mid-1980s. Although the term was originally used to describe rock music released through independent reco ...

band from

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

. The band consisted of vocalist Nirmala Basnayake, guitarists Colwyn Llewellyn-Thomas and Scott Kaija, bassist Ronnie Morris and drummer Jeff Scheven. The band took its name from a song by Shotmaker.

History

The band formed in 2002, and played their first shows using the name The Prefix. Their rhythmic

post-punk Post-punk (originally called new musick) is a broad genre of music that emerged in late 1977 in the wake of punk rock. Post-punk musicians departed from punk's fundamental elements and raw simplicity, instead adopting a broader, more experiment ...

style had been compared by critics to

Joy Division Joy Division were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Salford in 1976. The group consisted of vocalist, guitarist and lyricist Ian Curtis, guitarist and keyboardist Bernard Sumner, bassist Peter Hook and drummer Stephen Morris (musici ...

The Slits The Slits were a punk/post-punk band based in London, formed there in 1976 by members of the groups the Flowers of Romance and the Castrators. The group's early line-up consisted of Ari Up (Ariane Forster) and Palmolive (a.k.a. Paloma Rom ...

and Public Image Ltd. Their debut album, ''

History History is the systematic study of the past, focusing primarily on the Human history, human past. As an academic discipline, it analyses and interprets evidence to construct narratives about what happened and explain why it happened. Some t ...

'', was released on

Paper Bag Records Paper Bag Records is a Canadian independent record label, artist management company, and music publishing company founded in 2002 and based in Toronto. History The label was created to focus on the Toronto-area indie rock music scene. Initial si ...

in 2004."Controller.Controller reunites for Wavelength, talk future and that time Bahamas opened for them"
''Post City'', February 11, 2015. The follow-up album, '' X-Amounts'', was released October 11, 2005. Also in 2005, Basnayake participated in Ladeez Quire, an improvisational music show that also featured

Sook-Yin Lee Sook-Yin Lee is a Canadian broadcaster, musician, film director, actress and multimedia artist. She is a former MuchMusic VJ and a former radio host on CBC Radio. She has appeared in films, notably in the John Cameron Mitchell movie ''Shortbus' ...

and Elisha Lim. After the release of ''X-Amounts'', the band went on a tour around North America and the UK to support the album."Ronnie Morris Recovery"
by Kevin Ritchie May 21, 2015 In October 2006, Basnayake decided to leave the band, and this resulted in its disbanding. Members Jeff Scheven and Ronnie Morris formed the new band Lioness with vocalist Vanessa Fischer in 2007,"controller.controller Have Reunited And It Feels So Good"
''

Noisey ''Vice'' (stylized in all caps) is a Canadian-American magazine focused on lifestyle, arts, culture, and news/politics. It was founded in 1994 in Montreal as an alternative punk magazine, and its founders later launched the youth media company ...

'', January 8, 2015. while Scott Kaija formed the new band Medallions with vocalist/guitarist John Hunter, drummer Mick Jackson and Daniel Brooks. Basnayake remained an occasional contributor to one-off musical projects, most notably Toronto band Stop Die Resuscitate's 2009 single "Measurements". The band reunited in February 2015 for a reunion show at

Sneaky Dee's Sneaky Dee's is a concert venue and Tex-Mex restaurant in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Originally opened in 1987 on the north west corner of Bloor Street and Bathurst, it moved to its present location at College and Bathurst in 1990. History 562 ...

, as part of the 15th anniversary of Toronto's influential Wavelength concert series. Shortly thereafter Morris suffered a disabling stroke. The band reunited again in February 2024 for a show at

Drake Hotel Drake Hotel may refer to: ;in Canada *Drake Hotel (Toronto), Ontario ;in the United States (by state) * Drake Hotel (Chicago, Illinois), listed on the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) * Drake Hotel (Gallup, New Mexico), NRHP-listed in ...

, curated by

Brendan Canning Brendan Canning (born 1969) is a Canadian indie rock Indie rock is a Music subgenre, subgenre of rock music that originated in the United Kingdom, United States and New Zealand in the early to mid-1980s. Although the term was originally used ...

. Morris has rejoined the band after recovering from strokes.

Discography

*''

'' (2004) *'' X-Amounts'' (2005)

References

External links

* AllMusicGuide Entry {{DEFAULTSORT:Controller Controller Musical groups established in 2002 Musical groups disestablished in 2006 Canadian indie rock groups Musical groups from Toronto Paper Bag Records artists 2002 establishments in Ontario 2006 disestablishments in Ontario

History

Discography

See also

References

External links