Lo Fidelity Allstars
| Lo Fidelity Allstars | |
|---|---|
| Origin | London, England |
| Genres | Electronica, big beat, house, trip hop, drum and bass |
| Years active | 1996–present |
| Labels |
Skint Records Corsair Records |
| Website | Official MySpace |
| Members |
Phil Ward Andy Dickinson Martin Whiteman Del Vegas Johnny Machin |
| Past members |
Dave Randall John Stone |
The Lo Fidelity Allstars are a British electronica group who have recorded since the late 1990s.[1]
Career
Their members originate from various cities in Northern England where they were formed in Leeds, before relocating first to London where they came to the attention of major record labels. After signing to Skint Records the band relocated to Brighton on the south coast, where that label is based. Subsequent to parting company with Skint, the band liquidated their Brighton studio complex 'The Brainfarm', and the personnel are now based variously in Brighton, The Midlands and New York.
Their earlier work is noted for genre-crossing stylings, distorted, morose, and at times alien lyrics, distinctive funk bass lines, and extensive use of lo-fi recording practices. This work is best exemplified by their 1998 debut album How to Operate with a Blown Mind on Skint Records. At this time, the Lo Fidelity Allstars were credited by pseudonyms rather than their actual names. After its release, the band's lead vocalist David Randall (credited as The Wrekked Train) left,[1] shortly followed by the keyboard player "Sheriff" John Stone. For their second studio album, Don't Be Afraid of Love, the members of the band discarded their pseudonyms in favor of using their real names.
Before the split, they recorded a mix album On the Floor at the Boutique (a follow-up to Fatboy Slim's mix album of the same name) containing an eclectic selection of tracks, including two short tracks recorded by the original line-up especially for the mix: "You're Never Alone With A Clone," and "Bootsy Call". Another track, "Many Tentacles Pimping on the Keys," was also included which was released previously as "Disco Machine Gun Part 2" on the "Disco Machine Gun" EP in September 1997.[1]
The 2002 album Don't Be Afraid of Love included a number of guest vocalists, including funk legend Bootsy Collins.
2007 saw the release on Skint Records of the double CD Warming Up the Brain Farm: The Best of, a compilation featuring tracks from the first two albums along with rare and unreleased tracks.
The group's third studio album Northern Stomp was released on 27 July 2009,[2] on Corsair Records, preceded by the single "Smash & Grab World" which was released worldwide in April, and was the band's first new material for four years.
Northern Stomp was widely well received, with DJ Magazine giving 4 stars, saying "This is a fully-blown band album dripping with (northern) soul. The Lo-Fis are back and they deserve adoration all over again"[3] and the world's best selling music monthly Q, calling it "a dance-tinged hybrid that becomes more fascinating with each listen".[4]
The second single taken from the album was "Your Midnight" which featured remixes from Phil Ward's alter ego Lord Warddd, and label mate IDC, and was released on 31 August 2009.
Solo work and individual projects
When Randall and Stone left they briefly set up as a new group called The Big Sleep, and recorded a live mix for BBC Radio 1's Mary Anne Hobbs show. In the gap between work on the second and third albums, the Lo Fidelity Allstars took on another set of pseudonyms to perform live as the group 'Technically Men'. A ten-track album of the same name received a limited release.
In 2008, Ward launched a solo project as Lord Ward, releasing the singles "Brooklyn Blister" and "Rich Boys In Strip Clubs" on Corsair Records. In 2009 he added some extra 'd's to become Lord Warddd, and released several remixes for artists including Matt and Kim, Cubic Zirconia, and Hollywood Undead. He continues to play DJ sets around the world under both the Lo-Fidelity Allstars and Lord Warddd banners.
Members
- Phil Ward - vocals, bass (1996-present)
- Andy Dickinson - keyboards, programming, production (1996-present)
- Martin Whiteman - co-production, engineering, mixing (1996-present)
- Del Vegas - guitars (2002-present)
- Johnny Machin - drums (1996-present)
Former members
- Dave Randall - guitars - (1996-1999, now with Faithless)
- John Stone - guitars (2000-2002)
Discography
Albums
| Year | Title | UK[5] | US |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1998 | How to Operate with a Blown Mind | 15 | 115 |
| 2000 | On the Floor at the Boutique | ||
| 2002 | Don't Be Afraid of Love | ||
| 2003 | Abstract Funk Theory | ||
| 2007 | Warming Up the Brain Farm: The Best of | ||
| 2009 | Northern Stomp | ||
EPs
- Ghostmutt (2000) #8 UK Budget Albums Chart
Singles
| Year | Title | Peak chart positions | Certifications (sales thresholds) | Album | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UK[5] | US Modern Rock [6] |
US Dance | ||||||||||||
| 1997 | "Kool Roc Bass" | — | — | — | How to Operate with a Blown Mind | |||||||||
| 1997 | "Disco Machine Gun" | 50 | — | — | ||||||||||
| 1998 | "Vision Incision" | 30 | — | — | ||||||||||
| 1998 | "Battle Flag (featuring Pigeonhed)" | 36 | 6 | — | ||||||||||
| 1998 | "Blisters on My Brain" | — | — | — | ||||||||||
| 2001 | "Lo Fi's in Ibiza" | — | — | — | Don't Be Afraid of Love | |||||||||
| 2002 | "Sleeping Faster" | — | — | 4 | ||||||||||
| 2003 | "Feel What I Feel" | — | — | — | ||||||||||
| 2009 | "Smash & Grab World" | — | — | — | Northern Stomp | |||||||||
| 2009 | "Your Midnight" | — | — | — | ||||||||||
| 2016 | "Darkness Rolling" | — | — | — | ||||||||||
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released in that country. | ||||||||||||||
References
- 1 2 3 Strong, Martin C. (2000). The Great Rock Discography (5th ed.). Edinburgh: Mojo Books. pp. 2–3. ISBN 1-84195-017-3.
- ↑ "Its a Date!! van Lo Fidelity Allstars op Myspace". Blogs.myspace.com. Retrieved 2012-04-14.
- ↑ Loben, Carl. DJ Magazine Issue 476, August 2009
- ↑ Aizlewood, John. Q Magazine Issue 278, Sept 2009
- 1 2 Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 326. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
- ↑ "Lo Fidelity Allstars - Chart history". Billboard. Retrieved 2014-04-19.