Cannon were a five-piece, instrumental post-rock

Post-rock

Post-rock is a subgenre of rock music characterized by the influence and use of instruments commonly associated with rock, but using rhythms and "guitars as facilitators of timbre and textures" not traditionally found in rock...

 band, based in Glasgow

Glasgow

Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...

, Scotland

Scotland

Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...

.

History

Cannon was formed in early 1999 by guitarists David Philp, Stuart Henderson, and Jonny Williamson. The band lineup was completed by the addition of Andrew Gifford of Fiddlers' Bid

Fiddlers' Bid

Fiddlers' Bid are a Shetland based instrumental group known for playing contemporary arrangements of traditional Shetland fiddle tunes. The seven piece line-up consists of four fiddles, acoustic guitar, bass guitar and piano/Clàrsach....

 on bass and drummer Tom Pettigrew.

Gigging throughout Scotland, Cannon played alongside bands such as Interpol

Interpol (band)

Interpol is an American indie rock and post-punk revival band from New York City. Formed in 1997, the band's original line-up consisted of Paul Banks , Daniel Kessler , Carlos Dengler and Greg Drudy . Drudy left the band in 2000 and was replaced by Sam Fogarino...

, Bis

Bis (band)

Bis are a Scottish indie pop band composed of Steven Clark , John Clark , and Amanda MacKinnon . Formed in 1994, the band broke up in 2003, but reformed briefly in 2007 for a series of concerts.-History:...

, The Cooper Temple Clause

The Cooper Temple Clause

The Cooper Temple Clause were an English six-piece alternative rock band originating from Wokingham, Berkshire. Formed in 1998, the band quickly gained a following through their live concerts, and have produced three albums, the latest being Make This Your Own...

 and Medal

Medal (band)

-History:The band grew out of earlier band The Daisies, who had been active since the early 1990s and released the album "Kowloon House" in the US on Capitol Records and the single "If I Was Barry White" in 1996 on Regal Recordings in the UK. They also toured the US in 1995 supporting fellow Oxford...

, as well as appearances at music festivals such as Truck

Truck Festival

Truck Festival is an annual independent music festival in Oxfordshire, England. It was started in 1998 by the Bennett family , who decided that mainstream festivals such as Glastonbury had become too commercial and predictable. It is held in July at Hill Farm in Steventon, near Abingdon...

 in 2001 and T in the Park

T in the Park

T in the Park is a major British music festival that has been held annually since 1994. It is named after its main sponsor, the brewing company Tennents. It was originally held at Strathclyde Park, Lanarkshire but since 1997 has been held at a disused airfield in Balado, Kinross-shire...

 in 2002. The band were championed by DJ Vic Galloway

Vic Galloway

Michael "Vic" Galloway is a DJ on BBC Radio Scotland and BBC Radio 1, Vic presents a self-titled show on Radio Scotland every Monday from 8:05pm-10pm and does the BBC Introducing Scotland Radio 1 programme Wednesday evenings/Thursday mornings from 12:00-2:00am...

, their records getting regular play on his BBC Radio Scotland

BBC Radio Scotland

BBC Radio Scotland is BBC Scotland's national English-language radio network. It broadcasts a wide variety of programming, including news, sport, light entertainment, music, the arts, comedy, drama, history and lifestyle...

 show, "Air", and they were invited to record a live session for the show.

Pettigrew left the band in late 2001 and was replaced by former Juliet Turner

Juliet Turner

Juliet Turner is a singer/songwriter from Tummery, near Omagh, County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. She has been a part of the Dublin music scene since she started recording in 1996. In the course of her career she has opened for such artists as Bob Dylan, U2 and Bryan Adams and toured with Roger...

 and Duke Special

Duke Special

Duke Special, real name Peter Wilson, is a songwriter and performer based in Belfast, Northern Ireland. A piano-based songwriter with a romantic style and a warm, distinctly accented voice, he has a distinctive look, with his long dreadlocks, eyeliner and outfits he describes as "hobo chic"...

 sideman Tim Harbinson. Gifford left several months later, and was replaced by Craig Sinclair.

Cannon disbanded in 2003. Philp went on to play in Glasgow 'horror blues' band, Uncle John & Whitelock

Uncle John & Whitelock

Uncle John & Whitelock were a 'horror blues' band from Glasgow. They were active from 2001 to 2006 and were noted for their live shows which incorporated elements of performance art.-History:...

, and was guitarist on Isobel Campbell

Isobel Campbell

Isobel Campbell is a Scottish singer, cellist and composer in the indie and rock genres.-History:Campbell was a member of Belle & Sebastian from their formation in Glasgow in 1996 until 2002, when she departed the band for personal reasons. She played cello and keyboards with the band, and sang...

 and Mark Lanegan

Mark Lanegan

Mark Lanegan is an American rock musician and songwriter. Lanegan began his music career in the 1980s, forming the grunge group Screaming Trees with Gary Lee Conner, Van Conner and Mark Pickerel. During his time in the band Lanegan would start a low-key solo career...

's 2008 European tour. Harbinson went on to join electronica

Electronica

Electronica includes a wide range of contemporary electronic music designed for a wide range of uses, including foreground listening, some forms of dancing, and background music for other activities; however, unlike electronic dance music, it is not specifically made for dancing...

 band Laki Mera

Laki Mera

-History:Formed in 2004 as a recording project by Andrea Gobbi and Laura Donnelly , Laki Mera took their name from the Chimaera of Greek mythology...

 along with Trevor Helliwell, Cannon's sound engineer. Philp, Gifford and Pettigrew later formed Adopted as Holograph, playing gypsy influenced folk music.

Music

Cannon's music, by virtue of its instrumental nature and the relative complexity of its arrangements has been described as post-rock

Post-rock

Post-rock is a subgenre of rock music characterized by the influence and use of instruments commonly associated with rock, but using rhythms and "guitars as facilitators of timbre and textures" not traditionally found in rock...

 or math rock

Math rock

Math rock is a rhythmically complex guitar-based style of experimental rock that emerged in the 1980s and that was very influenced by progressive rock like King Crimson, Frank Zappa, Henry Cow - and 20th century composers such as Steve Reich and John Cage...

. Comparisons have been made with bands such as Mogwai

Mogwai

The word mogwai is the transliteration of the Cantonese word 魔怪 meaning "monster", "evil spirit", "devil" or "demon".-Mogwai/Mogui in Chinese culture:...

 and Slint

Slint

Slint was an American rock band consisting of Brian McMahan , David Pajo , Britt Walford , Todd Brashear and Ethan Buckler...

 but also with 1980s alternative rock band the Cocteau Twins

Cocteau Twins

Cocteau Twins were a Scottish alternative rock band active from 1979 to 1997, known for innovative instrumentation and atmospheric, non-lyrical vocals...

.