Red Snapper are a British
instrumental
An instrumental or instrumental song is music without any vocals, although it might include some inarticulate vocals, such as shouted backup vocals in a big band setting. Through Semantic change, semantic widening, a broader sense of the word s ...
band founded in London in 1993 by Ali Friend (double bass), Richard Thair (drums), and David Ayers (guitar). The three core members are also joined by various guest musicians and vocalists on different
records. Since the 2007 reunion Tom Challenger (saxophone) has also been a member of the band. According to
music journalist
Music journalism (or music criticism) is media criticism and reporting about music topics, including popular music, classical music, and traditional music. Journalists began writing about music in the eighteenth century, providing commentary on ...
Jason Ankeny of
AllMusic
AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...
, "the British
acid jazz
Acid jazz (also known as club jazz, psychedelic jazz, or groove jazz) is a music genre that combines elements of funk, soul music, soul, and hip hop music, hip hop, as well as jazz and disco. Acid jazz originated in clubs in London during the 1 ...
trio renotable for their pioneering synthesis of
acoustic instruments
Instrument may refer to:
Science and technology
* Flight instruments, the devices used to measure the speed, altitude, and pertinent flight angles of various kinds of aircraft
* Laboratory equipment, the measuring tools used in a scientific lab ...
and
electronic textures".
Career
The band released three
EPs
An extended play (EP) is a Sound recording and reproduction, musical recording that contains more tracks than a Single (music), single but fewer than an album. Contemporary EPs generally contain up to eight tracks and have a playing time of 1 ...
on Flaw Recordings before signing to
Warp Records
Warp Records is a British independent record label that specialises in Electronic music, electronic, indie rock and experimental music. It was founded in Sheffield in 1989 by Steve Beckett, Robert Mitchell and Robert Gordon. It has released recor ...
for their debut album, ''Prince Blimey'' (1996).
The band were a somewhat unusual feature of Warp Records' 1990s roster: in contrast to the studio-oriented
IDM the record label primarily dealt in, the band had a live and organic sound: a smoky mixture of dub, jazz and all tempos of
breakbeat
Breakbeat is a broad type of electronic music that uses drum breaks, often sampled from early recordings of funk, jazz, and R&B. Breakbeats have been used in styles such as Florida breaks, hip-hop, jungle, drum and bass, big beat, breakbeat ...
from
trip hop
Trip hop is a musical genre that has been described as a psychedelic music, psychedelic fusion of hip hop music, hip hop and electronica with slow tempos and an atmospheric sound. The style emerged as a more experimental music, experimental var ...
to
drum and bass
Drum and bass (commonly abbreviated as DnB, D&B, or D'n'B) is a genre of electronic dance music characterised by fast Break (music)#Breakbeat (element of music), breakbeats (typically 165–185 Tempo, beats per minute) with heavy Bass (music) ...
.
In 1997, Red Snapper (along with the
Foo Fighters
The Foo Fighters are an American Rock music, rock band formed in Seattle in 1994. Initially founded as a one-man project by former Nirvana (band), Nirvana drummer Dave Grohl, the band comprises vocalist/guitarist Grohl, bassist Nate Mendel, gu ...
) supported
the Prodigy
The Prodigy are an English electronic music band formed in Braintree, Essex, in 1990 by producer, keyboardist, and songwriter Liam Howlett. The original line-up also featured
Rapping, MC and vocalist Maxim (musician), Maxim, dancer and occasi ...
on their
Fat of the Land tour in the UK.
For their follow-up ''Making Bones'' they were joined by
jungle
jungle is land covered with dense forest and tangled vegetation, usually in tropical climates. Application of the term has varied greatly during the past century.
Etymology
The word ''jungle'' originates from the Sanskrit word ''jaṅgala'' ...
MC Det, trumpeter
Byron Wallen and singer Alison David. The latter was replaced by Karim Kendra by their third album, ''
Our Aim Is to Satisfy'' (2000).
In early 2002, Red Snapper announced their dissolution.
In interviews since the reunion the band said a reason for splitting was too much discussing what to play, rather than playing. Each member wanted to try a different musical direction.
Also in 2002, the various artists compilation album ''It's All Good'' was released. It included a previously unreleased track, "Ultraviolet", which was also included on ''Red Snapper'', a compilation of unreleased and rare Red Snapper tracks released by
Lo Recordings
Lo Recordings is a label founded in 1995 by Jon Tye. They are noted for their strong visual style thanks to Non-Format, with whom they work very closely and won a D&AD award for several of their releases sleeves.
Musical style
Lo recordings m ...
in 2003.
Later in 2003, an album of
remix
A remix, also sometimes called reorchestration or rework, is a piece of media which has been altered or contorted from its original state by adding, removing, or changing pieces of the item. A song, piece of artwork, book, poem, or photograph ca ...
es was released, ''Redone'', which included tracks remixed by the Snapper themselves. Ayers and Felix Tod were credited as The Creation, Thair remixed "Ultraviolet", and the "Odd Man Out" (Odd Man remix) was done by Friend, Gavin Clark and Ted Barnes. The last track included vocals. Later the Flameboy Records (owned by Jake Williams, former RS keyboard player) released a four-track vinyl called "RedOne", which included three tracks from ''Redone'' and a previously unreleased Red Snapper track entitled "Drill", featuring MC Det.
Reunion
Red Snapper reformed in 2007 – this was posted on their MySpace page:
''After 6 years apart concentrating on different projects, Red Snapper return. Ali has been working with Beth Orton
Elizabeth Caroline Orton (born 14 December 1970) is an English musician known for her "folktronica" sound, which mixes elements of folk and electronica. She was initially recognised for her collaborations with William Orbit, Andrew Weatherall ...
and his new band Clayhill. David has been focusing on writing music for TV with his work featuring on the highly acclaimed BBC show 'The Tribe'. Rich has been working with Jakeone on their band Toob, with Rennie Pilgrem and the TCR Allstars and Bomb the Bass
Bomb the Bass is an electronic music alias of English musician and producer Timothy Simenon (born June 1967).
As a name, Bomb the Bass came from Simenon's approach to collaging and mixing sounds whilst DJing in the mid- to late 1980s; he says ...
.''
In late 2007, the band decided to rejoin after a
jam session
A jam session is a relatively informal musical event, process, or activity where musicians, typically instrumentalists, play improvised solos and vamp over tunes, drones, songs, and chord progressions. To "jam" is to improvise music without ...
. They returned to the recording studio to work on new material for their sixth album. Saxophonist Tom Challenger played at the sessions and became a member of the band.
Red Snapper appeared at the
Bloc Weekend in March 2008. The band released ''Pale Blue Dot'' (Lo Recordings) on 2 October 2008.
They appeared on the Glade Stage at Glastonbury 2009.
In May 2011 the band released ''Key'', their seventh album on
V2 Benelux with band members Rich Thair (drums), Ali Friend (double bass/vocals) and David Ayers (guitar) – this time, they are joined by jazz saxophonist Tom Challenger and guest vocalists Gavin Clarke (
UNKLE
Unkle (often stylised as U.N.K.L.E. or UNKLE, occasionally known as UNKLE Sounds) is a British musical outfit founded in 1992 by James Lavelle. Originally categorised as trip hop, the group once included producer DJ Shadow and have employed a ...
, Clayhill) and
Mercury Prize
The Mercury Prize, formerly called the Mercury Music Prize, is an annual Music award, music prize awarded for the best album released by a musical act from the Music of the United Kingdom, United Kingdom or Music of Ireland, Ireland. It was cre ...
nominee
Eliza Carthy
Eliza Amy Forbes Carthy, MBE (born 23 August 1975) is an English folk musician known for both singing and playing the fiddle. She is the daughter of English folk musicians Martin Carthy and Norma Waterson.
Life and career
Carthy was born i ...
. The band followed up the album with an extensive tour of Europe throughout the summer of 2011.
On 1 September 2014, Red Snapper released the album ''Hyena'' on
Lo Recordings
Lo Recordings is a label founded in 1995 by Jon Tye. They are noted for their strong visual style thanks to Non-Format, with whom they work very closely and won a D&AD award for several of their releases sleeves.
Musical style
Lo recordings m ...
. It features music inspired by a soundtrack that the group composed to accompany the film ''
Touki Bouki
''Touki Bouki'' (, Wolof for ''The Journey of the Hyena'') is a 1973 Senegalese drama film written and directed by Djibril Diop Mambéty. It was screened at the 1973 Cannes Film Festival and the 8th Moscow International Film Festival.
In 20 ...
''.
In 2016, the band toured
Belarus
Belarus, officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Russia to the east and northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Belarus spans an a ...
and played at the
Canary Wharf
Canary Wharf is a financial area of London, England, located in the Isle of Dogs in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. The Greater London Authority defines it as part of London's central business district, alongside Central London. Alongside ...
Jazz Festival.
NUMBER
In 2019, Friend and Thair formed Number (stylised as NUMBER), a post-punk/disco-funk band also featuring vocals by Dan Carney, Heloise Gerstein and Luisa Tunstall-Behrens. Their debut single "Face Down in Ecstasy" was released in April 2019 with their album ''BINARY'' released a year later by Sunday Best Recordings.
Discography
Albums
*''Prince Blimey'' (Warp 1996) –
UK No. 60
*''Making Bones'' (Warp/Matador Records 1998) – UK No. 59
*''
Our Aim Is to Satisfy'' (Warp/Matador Records 2000)
*''Key'' (
V2 Benelux 2011)
*''Hyena'' (Lo Recordings 2014)
*''Everybody Is Somebody'' (Lo Recordings 2022)
Singles and EPs
*''The Snapper EP'' (Flaw Recordings, 1994)
*''The Swank EP'' (Flaw Recordings, 1994)
*''Hot Flush'' (Flaw Recordings, 1995)
*''A Pale Blue Dot'' (Lo Recordings, 2008)
*''Chris Smith EP'' (Lo Recordings, 2009)
*''Card Trick EP'' (Lo Recordings, 2014)
Compilations and remixes
*''Reeled and Skinned'' (Warp 1995)
*''It's All Good'' (2002)
*''Red Snapper'' (Lo Recordings 2003)
*''Redone'' (Lo Recordings 2003)
Singles
*"Image of You" (1998) –
UK No. 60
*"Love Boat" (
V2 Benelux 2011)
References
External links
Official website*
{{Authority control
English dance music groups
British electronic music groups
Trip hop groups
Warp (record label) artists