The Big Pink are an English
electronic rock
Electronic rock (also known as electro rock and synth rock) is a music genre that involves a combination of rock music and electronic music, featuring instruments typically found within both genres. It originates from the late 1960s when rock b ...
band from
London
London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
, consisting of multi-instrumentalists Robertson "Robbie" Furze,
Akiko Matsuura
Akiko Matsuura (also known by the name Keex) is a Japanese drummer and vocalist residing in the United Kingdom. She has worked in numerous bands in the UK.
Career
Matsuura is the front woman of the British art rock band PRE. Matsuura has worked ...
and Charlie Barker. Initially a
duo, they signed to
independent record label
An independent record label (or indie label) is a record label that operates without the funding or distribution of major record labels; they are a type of small and medium-sized enterprise, small- to medium-sized enterprise, or SME. The labels ...
4AD
4AD is a British record label owned by Beggars Group. It was founded in London under the name Axis Records by Ivo Watts-Russell and Peter Kent in 1980 as an imprint of Beggars Banquet Records. The name was changed to 4AD after the release of th ...
in 2009 and won the ''
NME
''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming and culture website, bimonthly magazine, and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a "Rock music, rock inkie", the ''NME'' would be ...
'' Philip Hall Radar Award for best new act.
To date, they have released five singles, with their debut album ''
A Brief History of Love'' released in September 2009
and its follow-up, ''
Future This'' released in January 2012.
History
Beginnings and early singles
Robertson "Robbie" Furze and Milo Cordell started working together as The Big Pink in 2008, taking their name from the
debut album by
The Band
The Band was a Canadian-American rock music, rock band formed in Toronto, Ontario, in 1957. It consisted of the Canadians Rick Danko (bass, guitar, vocals, fiddle), Garth Hudson (organ, keyboards, accordion, saxophone), Richard Manuel (piano, d ...
. Furze used to play guitar for
Alec Empire
Alec Empire (born Alexander Wilke-Steinhof on 2 May 1972)https://www.alec-empire.com/ae Alec Empire official website biography is a German experimental electronic musician who is best known as a founding member of the band Atari Teenage Riot, a ...
and run the record label Hate Channel with Cordell. Cordell (son of
Denny Cordell
Dennis Cordell-Lavarack (1 August 1943 – 18 February 1995), known as Denny Cordell, was an English record producer. He is notable for his mid-1960s and early 1970s productions of hit singles for The Moody Blues, Leon Russell, The Move, Proc ...
and brother of
Tarka Cordell
Tarka Clay Cordell-Lavarack (28 July 1966 – 28 April 2008) was an English musician, writer, record producer, and model.
The son of record producer Denny Cordell, Cordell was born in Westminster, Greater London, and was educated at Harrow School ...
) had also been releasing records through his own label Merok Records, which featured early
noise rock
Noise rock (sometimes called noise punk) is a noise music, noise-oriented style of experimental rock that spun off from punk rock in the 1980s. Drawing on movements such as minimal music, minimalism, industrial music, and New York hardcore, a ...
releases by
Klaxons
Klaxons were an English Rock music, rock band, based in London. Following the release of several Gramophone record, 7-inch singles on different independent record labels, as well as the success of previous singles "Magick (Klaxons song), Magick ...
,
Titus Andronicus
''The Lamentable Tragedy of Titus Andronicus'', often shortened to ''Titus Andronicus'', is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1588 and 1593. It is thought to be Shakespeare's first t ...
, and
Crystal Castles
Crystal Castles was a Canadian electronic music group formed in 2006 in Toronto, Ontario, by songwriter-producer Ethan Kath and singer-songwriter Alice Glass. Crystal Castles was known for their chaotic live shows and lo-fi music, lo-fi melanc ...
. After joining forces in mid-2007, the band issued their first single "
Too Young to Love" on 7" vinyl in October 2008 on the House Anxiety label.
[The Big Pink "Where Can Noise Go?" , Dummy Magazine](_blank)
The single was limited to 500 copies worldwide,
and features a
homoerotic
Homoeroticism is sexual attraction between members of the same sex, including both male–male and female–female attraction. The concept differs from the concept of homosexuality: it refers specifically to the desire itself, which can be tempor ...
photograph by
Dennis Cooper as its cover. Similarly, a limited edition 12" single for "Too Young to Love" released only in Japan features more of Cooper's photography as its cover.
The Big Pink signed with British record label
4AD
4AD is a British record label owned by Beggars Group. It was founded in London under the name Axis Records by Ivo Watts-Russell and Peter Kent in 1980 as an imprint of Beggars Banquet Records. The name was changed to 4AD after the release of th ...
in February 2009. On 25 February 2009, The Big Pink won the prestigious Philip Hall Radar Award for best new act at the
NME Shockwave Awards.
The duo were presented the award by
James Allan and Caroline McKay of
Glasvegas
Glasvegas are a Scottish indie rock band from Glasgow. The band consists of James Allan (musician), James Allan (vocals), Rab Allan (lead guitar) and Paul Donoghue (bass guitar), with Swedish drummer Jonna Löfgren joining the group in 2010 unt ...
, who had won the award in 2008. In April, 4AD issued the duo's first single for the label, "
Velvet
Velvet is a type of woven fabric with a dense, even pile (textile), pile that gives it a distinctive soft feel. Historically, velvet was typically made from silk. Modern velvet can be made from silk, linen, cotton, wool, synthetic fibers, silk ...
," which
Pitchfork Media
''Pitchfork'' (formerly ''Pitchfork Media'') is an American online music magazine founded in 1996 by Ryan Schreiber in Minneapolis. It originally covered Alternative rock, alternative and independent music, and expanded to cover genres includin ...
described as "undeniably immense, but it's a tribute to the Big Pink's skill and maturity that it still manages to sound intimate", and awarded the track a 7 out of 10 rating. The single was again produced by the band and mixed by
Alan Moulder
Alan Moulder (born 11 June 1959) is an English record producer, mixing engineer, and audio engineer.
Early life
Moulder was born on 11 June 1959 in Boston, Lincolnshire. He was educated at Boston Grammar School. He had an interest in music from ...
. A 7-minute remix of "Velvet" by
Gang Gang Dance
Gang Gang Dance is an American band based in Manhattan, New York City. They are known for their distinctive sound which blends elements of psych-rock, ambient electronics, hip-hop, and Eastern music influences with the vocals of singer Lizzi ...
followed as an online-streaming single. The Big Pink provided a cover of "
Lovesong" for
The Cure
The Cure are an English Rock music, rock band formed in Crawley in 1976 by Robert Smith (musician), Robert Smith (vocals, guitar) and Lol Tolhurst (drums). The band's current line-up comprises Smith, Perry Bamonte (guitar and keyboards), Reev ...
tribute album ''Pictures of You: A Tribute to Godlike Geniuses The Cure'', which was made available with the 25 February 2009 issue of ''
NME
''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming and culture website, bimonthly magazine, and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a "Rock music, rock inkie", the ''NME'' would be ...
''. Following the releases, the duo opened for
TV on the Radio
TV on the Radio (TVOTR) is an American rock music, rock band from Brooklyn, New York, formed in 2001. The band consists of Tunde Adebimpe (vocals, loops), Dave Sitek (guitars, keyboards, loops), Kyp Malone (vocals, guitars, bass, loops), and ...
in Europe before embarking on their first headlining UK tour.
[4AD – The Big Pink – Debut 4AD Single, UK Tour, NME Award](_blank)
A second single on 4AD, the non-album track "
Stop the World", was released as a limited edition 7" single on 29 June 2009. It was co-produced with
Paul Epworth
Paul Richard Epworth (born 25 July 1974) is an English record producer, songwriter, musician, and remixer. He has worked with artists including Adele, Florence and the Machine, Rihanna, and Maxïmo Park, among many others. He is a member of th ...
.
''A Brief History of Love''
The Big Pink's debut album ''A Brief History of Love'' was released on 14 September 2009,
the fourth single "
Dominos
Dominoes is a family of tile-based games played with gaming pieces. Each domino is a rectangular tile, usually with a line dividing its face into two square ''ends''. Each end is marked with a number of spots (also called '' pips'' or ''dots'') ...
" having been released a week before. The band produced the album themselves at
Electric Lady Studios
Electric Lady Studios is a recording studio in Greenwich Village, New York City. It was commissioned by rock musician Jimi Hendrix in 1968 and designed by architect John Storyk and audio engineer Eddie Kramer. It was completed by 1970. Hendrix ...
in New York City, and it was mixed by
Rich Costey
Richard Costey is an American music producer, mixer, and engineer. He has worked with musicians across genres including rock, indie, pop, hip-hop, and electronica. Notable collaborators include Fiona Apple, Vampire Weekend, Foo Fighters, Sig ...
. Cordell told
BBC 6 Music
BBC Radio 6 Music is a British digital radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It primarily plays a wide range of alternative music, from established and emerging artists and bands. In 2002 it was the first national music radio station t ...
that the album encompasses "every different aspect of love... The good, the bad, the boring, the exciting, the dreams, the nightmares, the whole thing." Nationwide tours of Europe, Japan, and the United States occurred August through the end of 2009, with dates in Australia and a second North American tour set for spring 2010. They also supported
Muse
In ancient Greek religion and Greek mythology, mythology, the Muses (, ) were the Artistic inspiration, inspirational goddesses of literature, science, and the arts. They were considered the source of the knowledge embodied in the poetry, lyric p ...
on their UK arena tour in November, and in turn, provided a remix of Muse's song "
Undisclosed Desires
"Undisclosed Desires" (also known as "Undisclosed") is a song by English rock band Muse. It was released as the second single from their fifth studio album, '' The Resistance'', on 16 November 2009. The song was written by lead vocalist Matth ...
," which was made available on the single released on 16 November 2009. On 24 February 2010, "Dominos" won Best Track at the NME Awards. The Big Pink appeared at the 2010
Coachella Festival
Coachella (officially called the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival and sometimes known as Coachella Festival) is an annual music and arts festival held at the Empire Polo Club in Indio, California, in the Coachella Valley in the Colorad ...
in April and once again opened for Muse at London's Wembley Stadium on 10 September 2010.
''Future This''
In an interview with ''
NME
''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming and culture website, bimonthly magazine, and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a "Rock music, rock inkie", the ''NME'' would be ...
'', Robbie Furze noted a strong
hip-hop
Hip-hop or hip hop (originally disco rap) is a popular music genre that emerged in the early 1970s from the African-American community of New York City. The style is characterized by its synthesis of a wide range of musical techniques. Hi ...
influence for the recording of the band's second album. However, he later retracted this statement regarding the band's musical direction in a further ''NME'' interview in October 2011 in which he wishes he hadn't made such a claim. He also stated that the band has approached
Nick Launay
Nicolas Launay (born 5 March 1960) is an English record producer, composer and recording engineer, currently residing in Los Angeles, CA. He is one of the most sought after record producers in the world due to his success with recent albums b ...
and
Dave Fridmann
David Lawrence Fridmann is an American record producer and musician.
Career
From 1990 onwards he co-produced most releases by Mercury Rev and The Flaming Lips. Other bands he has worked with include Weezer, Saxon Shore (band), Saxon Shore, Neon ...
as possible producers, and added "I think we've got our heart set on
Alan Moulder
Alan Moulder (born 11 June 1959) is an English record producer, mixing engineer, and audio engineer.
Early life
Moulder was born on 11 June 1959 in Boston, Lincolnshire. He was educated at Boston Grammar School. He had an interest in music from ...
to mix it." The first single "Stay Gold" came out in October 2011, and was featured in
SSX
''SSX'' (standing for "Snowboard Supercross") is a series of Snowboarding video games, snowboarding video games Video game publisher, published by EA Sports, created by Steve Rechtschaffner, who is the inventor of the Olympic Games, Olympic snow ...
.
The band's second album ''
Future This'' was released in January 2012. One of the songs "Lose Your Mind" started with a sample of the single "
Happy House
"Happy House" is a song written by Siouxsie Sioux and Steven Severin and recorded by their band Siouxsie and the Banshees. It was released as a single in March 1980 by record label Polydor, then later included on the band's third album, ''Kaleid ...
" by
Siouxsie and the Banshees
Siouxsie and the Banshees ( ) were a British Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1976 by vocalist Siouxsie Sioux and bass guitarist Steven Severin. Post-punk pioneers, they were widely influential, both over their contemporaries and later ...
to get a certain vibe.
[
] The second single "Hit the Ground (Superman)" heavily sampled
O Superman
"O Superman", also known as "O Superman (For Massenet)", is a 1981 song by performance artist and musician Laurie Anderson. The song became a surprise hit in the United Kingdom after it was championed by DJ John Peel, rising to number 2 on the UK ...
by
Laurie Anderson
Laura Phillips "Laurie" Anderson (born June 5, 1947) is an American avant-garde artist, musician and filmmaker whose work encompasses performance art, pop music, and multimedia projects. Initially trained in violin and sculpting,Amirkhanian, Cha ...
.
[
]
''Empire Underground''
In February 2013, Furze announced on the band's Facebook page that Cordell moved to New York permanently in order to focus on his label Merok Records and would no longer be an active member of The Big Pink. Despite this, production of a third album continued with various musicians and producers including The-Drum, Supreme Cuts, Van Rivers, John O'Mahoney and Andrew Wyatt
Andrew Wyatt Blakemore (born May 15, 1971) is an American musician, singer, songwriter and record producer. Born and raised in Manhattan, New York, he began his career playing in New York bands such as The A.M. and Black Beetle. He gained wider ...
of Miike Snow
Miike Snow ( ) is a Swedish indie pop band formed in 2007. The band consists of producing team Bloodshy & Avant and American singer Andrew Wyatt. The band is often represented by a silhouette image of a jackalope. In their career, the band has re ...
.
On 26 January 2016 Big Pink released a video for the song "Hightimes" followed by a 4-song EP titled ''Empire Underground''.
''The Love That's Ours''
In 2022, the band released the single "No Angels", produced by Tony Hoffer
Tony Hoffer is an American record producer, songwriter, and music mixer.
Career
Hoffer is credited for his work on multiple platinum-selling albums including Travis, The Kooks, The Thrills, Beck, Supergrass, Turin Brakes and Air.
His reco ...
, from their third album ''The Love That's Ours''.
Members
Current members
* Robertson "Robbie" Furze – vocals, guitar, programming
* Akiko Matsuura
Akiko Matsuura (also known by the name Keex) is a Japanese drummer and vocalist residing in the United Kingdom. She has worked in numerous bands in the UK.
Career
Matsuura is the front woman of the British art rock band PRE. Matsuura has worked ...
– drums, backing vocals
* Charlie Barker – bass, backing vocals
Former members
* Milo Cordell – programming, keyboards, synthesizer, vocals
* Lady Mary Charteris
Lady Mary Olivia Charteris Furze (born 23 April 1987) is a British fashion model, DJ, and musician. She was a vocalist and keyboardist in the English electronic rock band The Big Pink.
Early life and family
Lady Mary Olivia Charteris was bo ...
– vocals, programming
Former additional personnel
* Jo Apps (sister of Patrick Wolf
Patrick Wolf (born Patrick Denis Apps; 30 June 1983) is an English singer-songwriter from South London. Wolf uses a wide variety of instruments in his music, most commonly the ukulele, piano, and viola. He is known for combining electronic samp ...
) – backing vocals
* Valentine Fillol-Cordier (model) – backing vocals
* Daniel O'Sullivan (of Ulver
Ulver (Norwegian for "wolves") is a Norwegian Experimental electronic music, experimental electronica band founded in 1993, by vocalist Kristoffer Rygg. Their early works, such as debut album ''Bergtatt – Et eeventyr i 5 capitler, Bergtatt'', ...
, Guapo, Sunn O)))
Sunn O))) (pronounced "sun") is an American drone metal band formed in 1998 in Seattle, Washington (state), Washington. The band is known for its distinctive visual style and slow, heavy sound, which blends diverse genres including doom metal, ...
, et al.) – various instruments
* Vicky Jean Smith – drums
* Leopold Ross
Leopold "Leo" Ross is an English musician, record producer, recording engineer and music programmer. Leopold is a guitarist for LA-based band Io Echo. He is best known for his collaborations with his brother Atticus Ross on various film an ...
– bass
* Adam Prendergast – bass (live)
Discography
Studio albums
Extended plays
* ''This Is Our Time'' (Beggars Japan, 24 June 2009) – Japan-only CD EP
* ''Empire Underground'' (B3SCI Records, 4 March 2016)
Singles
Notes
* – Originally released as non-album tracks, but were later added to the debut album ''A Brief History of Love''.
* – Non-album single; released as a bonus track on the UK digital download edition and the Japanese CD pressing of ''A Brief History of Love''.
Compilations
* "Tapes" – !K7
Appearances on compilations
* ''Fragments from Work in Progress'' (4AD, 17 April 2010)
** A limited edition 12" EP released by 4AD for Record Store Day
Record Store Day is a semi-annual event established in 2008 to "celebrate the culture of the independently owned record store". Held on one Saturday (typically the third) every April and every Black Friday in November, the day brings together f ...
2010, featuring session tracks and demos from five artists on the label's roster; includes "With You" by the band, which was previously released on the Japanese 12" for " Too Young to Love"4AD – News – Limited 12" EP from 4AD for Record Store Day 2010
Remixes
By other artists
* "Velvet" (BDG Remix by
Gang Gang Dance
Gang Gang Dance is an American band based in Manhattan, New York City. They are known for their distinctive sound which blends elements of psych-rock, ambient electronics, hip-hop, and Eastern music influences with the vocals of singer Lizzi ...
)
* "Velvet" (Mount Kimbie Remix)
* "Velvet" (Van Rivers & The Subliminal Kid Remix)
* "Too Young to Love" (Delorean Remix)
* "Too Young to Love" (Too Fast to Die Remix by The Living Eye)
* "Too Young to Love" (
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 ...
Surrender Sounds Session No. 14)
* "Dominos" (Rustie Remix)
* "Dominos" (
Switch
In electrical engineering, a switch is an electrical component that can disconnect or connect the conducting path in an electrical circuit, interrupting the electric current or diverting it from one conductor to another. The most common type o ...
Remix)
* "Dominos" (Switch Remix Instrumental)
* "Tonight" (Coyote Clean Up Dirty Dub)
* "Tonight" (Ghost Hunter Remix)
* "Tonight" (oOoOO 2NITERMX)
* "Tonight" (Von Haze Remix)
;Of other artists
* "
22" (The Big Pink Remix) –
Lily Allen
Lily Rose Beatrice Allen (born 2 May 1985) is an English singer, songwriter, and actress. List of awards and nominations received by Lily Allen, Her accolades include a Brit Award, alongside nominations for a Grammy Award and a Laurence Olivi ...
* "Devil's Trident" (The Big Pink Reality Mix) –
Telepathe
Telepathe (pronounced ''telepathy'' and meant with some literal meaning) are an electronic pop duo from Brooklyn consisting of core members Busy Gangnes and Melissa Livaudais. The band also includes other occasional musicians, such as Ryan Lucero ...
* "Headlock" (The Big Pink Remix) –
Esser
* "
Undisclosed Desires
"Undisclosed Desires" (also known as "Undisclosed") is a song by English rock band Muse. It was released as the second single from their fifth studio album, '' The Resistance'', on 16 November 2009. The song was written by lead vocalist Matth ...
" (The Big Pink Remix) –
Muse
In ancient Greek religion and Greek mythology, mythology, the Muses (, ) were the Artistic inspiration, inspirational goddesses of literature, science, and the arts. They were considered the source of the knowledge embodied in the poetry, lyric p ...
Music videos
Notes
References
External links
* (link broken)
The Big Pink on 4AD's websiteThe Big Pink – Tapes website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Big Pink, The
4AD artists
English electronic music duos
English electronic rock musical groups
Musical groups established in 2007
Electronic music groups from London
Indie rock groups from London
NME Awards winners
English rock music duos
British shoegaze musical groups
2007 establishments in England
Remote Control Records artists