Cinerama (band)
Encyclopedia
Cinerama were a UK
indie pop
band
, headed up by David Gedge
, the frontman for The Wedding Present
.
of Gedge and his then-girlfriend Sally Murrell. The initial releases were a break from previous Gedge records as they featured soundtrack
-like arrangement
s and string
and woodwind
accompaniment. Live performances included a lot of musician
s to play these orchestra
l/pop
song
s. Over the years though the sound changed back to more of a rock
sound, especially once some of The Wedding Present songs were incorporated into the live set. Cinerama employed a shifting line-up of collaborators and full-blown members. 1998's Va Va Voom featured the help of The Church
's Marty Wilson-Piper, Cousteau's Davey Ray Moor and Emma Pollock
of The Delgados
. Gedge rescued the rhythm section
of the disbanded Goya Dress (Terry de Castro and Simon Pearson) in 1999, employing them as members, and former Wedding Present guitarist
, Simon Cleave, was in the line-up since the group's first show.
Cinerama released a clutch of multi-format singles
in support of their debut album
, as well as a number of intervening releases prior to 2000's Steve Albini
recorded, Disco Volante. Also notable was the band's inaugural release, on their own Scopitones record label
on Valentine's Day 2000 ("Manhattan"), which featured a cover
of The Smiths
' song, "London". This Is Cinerama was released just weeks after Disco Volante and they were a frequent guest on John Peel
's BBC Radio 1
program. In 2002, the dark, guitar-driven Torino was released and in the following spring the release of Cinerama Holiday collected the entirety of the group's fifth through eighth singles.
Around 2003 Murrell and Gedge split up and she then left the band. Eventually during the recording
of what became Take Fountain
, Gedge decided that the sound had changed so much that it would be better released under The Wedding Present name, and so Cinerama were finished although the same musicians carried on.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
indie pop
Indie pop
Indie pop is a genre of alternative rock music that originated in the United Kingdom in the mid 1980s, with its roots in the Scottish post-punk bands on the Postcard Records label in the early '80s, such as Orange Juice, Josef K and Aztec Camera, and the dominant UK independent band of the mid...
band
Musical ensemble
A musical ensemble is a group of people who perform instrumental or vocal music. In classical music, trios or quartets either blend the sounds of musical instrument families or group together instruments from the same instrument family, such as string ensembles or wind ensembles...
, headed up by David Gedge
David Gedge
David Gedge is an English musician and songwriter. He is the main songwriter and vocalist in the bands The Wedding Present and Cinerama...
, the frontman for The Wedding Present
The Wedding Present
The Wedding Present are a British indie rock group based in Leeds, England, formed in 1985 from the ashes of the Lost Pandas. The band's music has evolved from fast-paced indie rock in the vein of their most obvious influences The Fall, Buzzcocks and Gang of Four to more varied forms...
.
Career
Originally formed in 1998 while on a break from The Wedding Present, Cinerama started as a duoDuet (music)
A duet is a musical composition for two performers. In classical music, the term is most often used for a composition for two singers or pianists; with other instruments, the word duo is also often used. A piece performed by two pianists performing together on the same piano is referred to as...
of Gedge and his then-girlfriend Sally Murrell. The initial releases were a break from previous Gedge records as they featured soundtrack
Soundtrack
A soundtrack can be recorded music accompanying and synchronized to the images of a motion picture, book, television program or video game; a commercially released soundtrack album of music as featured in the soundtrack of a film or TV show; or the physical area of a film that contains the...
-like arrangement
Arrangement
The American Federation of Musicians defines arranging as "the art of preparing and adapting an already written composition for presentation in other than its original form. An arrangement may include reharmonization, paraphrasing, and/or development of a composition, so that it fully represents...
s and string
String instrument
A string instrument is a musical instrument that produces sound by means of vibrating strings. In the Hornbostel-Sachs scheme of musical instrument classification, used in organology, they are called chordophones...
and woodwind
Woodwind instrument
A woodwind instrument is a musical instrument which produces sound when the player blows air against a sharp edge or through a reed, causing the air within its resonator to vibrate...
accompaniment. Live performances included a lot of musician
Musician
A musician is an artist who plays a musical instrument. It may or may not be the person's profession. Musicians can be classified by their roles in performing music and writing music.Also....* A person who makes music a profession....
s to play these orchestra
Orchestra
An orchestra is a sizable instrumental ensemble that contains sections of string, brass, woodwind, and percussion instruments. The term orchestra derives from the Greek ορχήστρα, the name for the area in front of an ancient Greek stage reserved for the Greek chorus...
l/pop
Pop music
Pop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...
song
Song
In music, a song is a composition for voice or voices, performed by singing.A song may be accompanied by musical instruments, or it may be unaccompanied, as in the case of a cappella songs...
s. Over the years though the sound changed back to more of a rock
Rock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
sound, especially once some of The Wedding Present songs were incorporated into the live set. Cinerama employed a shifting line-up of collaborators and full-blown members. 1998's Va Va Voom featured the help of The Church
The Church (band)
The Church is an Australian rock band formed in Sydney in 1980. Initially associated with new wave and the neo-psychedelic sound of the mid 1980s, their music later became more reminiscent of progressive rock, featuring long instrumental jams and complex guitar interplay...
's Marty Wilson-Piper, Cousteau's Davey Ray Moor and Emma Pollock
Emma Pollock
Emma Pollock is a Scottish singer, songwriter, and guitarist.-Early life:Pollock studied Physics at the University of Strathclyde and later Archaeology at the University of Liverpool...
of The Delgados
The Delgados
The Delgados were a Scottish indie rock band from Motherwell, North Lanarkshire. The band was composed of Alun Woodward , Stewart Henderson , Paul Savage and Emma Pollock .-Biography:...
. Gedge rescued the rhythm section
Rhythm section
A rhythm section is a collection of musicians who make up a section of instruments which provides the accompaniment section of the music, giving the music its rhythmic texture and pulse, also serving as a rhythmic reference for the rest of the band...
of the disbanded Goya Dress (Terry de Castro and Simon Pearson) in 1999, employing them as members, and former Wedding Present guitarist
Guitarist
A guitarist is a musician who plays the guitar. Guitarists may play a variety of instruments such as classical guitars, acoustic guitars, electric guitars, and bass guitars. Some guitarists accompany themselves on the guitar while singing.- Versatility :The guitarist controls an extremely...
, Simon Cleave, was in the line-up since the group's first show.
Cinerama released a clutch of multi-format singles
Single (music)
In music, a single or record single is a type of release, typically a recording of fewer tracks than an LP or a CD. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats. In most cases, the single is a song that is released separately from an album, but it can still appear...
in support of their debut album
Album
An album is a collection of recordings, released as a single package on gramophone record, cassette, compact disc, or via digital distribution. The word derives from the Latin word for list .Vinyl LP records have two sides, each comprising one half of the album...
, as well as a number of intervening releases prior to 2000's Steve Albini
Steve Albini
Steven Frank Albini is an American singer, songwriter, guitarist, audio engineer and music journalist. He was a member of Big Black, Rapeman, and Flour, and is currently a member of Shellac...
recorded, Disco Volante. Also notable was the band's inaugural release, on their own Scopitones record label
Record label
In the music industry, a record label is a brand and a trademark associated with the marketing of music recordings and music videos. Most commonly, a record label is the company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the production, manufacture, distribution, marketing and promotion,...
on Valentine's Day 2000 ("Manhattan"), which featured a cover
Cover version
In popular music, a cover version or cover song, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording of a contemporary or previously recorded, commercially released song or popular song...
of The Smiths
The Smiths
The Smiths were an English alternative rock band, formed in Manchester in 1982. Based on the song writing partnership of Morrissey and Johnny Marr , the band also included Andy Rourke and Mike Joyce...
' song, "London". This Is Cinerama was released just weeks after Disco Volante and they were a frequent guest on John Peel
John Peel
John Robert Parker Ravenscroft, OBE , known professionally as John Peel, was an English disc jockey, radio presenter, record producer and journalist. He was the longest-serving of the original BBC Radio 1 DJs, broadcasting regularly from 1967 until his death in 2004...
's BBC Radio 1
BBC Radio 1
BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation which also broadcasts internationally, specialising in current popular music and chart hits throughout the day. Radio 1 provides alternative genres after 7:00pm including electronic dance, hip hop, rock...
program. In 2002, the dark, guitar-driven Torino was released and in the following spring the release of Cinerama Holiday collected the entirety of the group's fifth through eighth singles.
Around 2003 Murrell and Gedge split up and she then left the band. Eventually during the recording
Sound recording and reproduction
Sound recording and reproduction is an electrical or mechanical inscription and re-creation of sound waves, such as spoken voice, singing, instrumental music, or sound effects. The two main classes of sound recording technology are analog recording and digital recording...
of what became Take Fountain
Take Fountain
Take Fountain is the seventh studio album by The Wedding Present. It was released in the UK on February 14, 2005, through Scopitones Records, and a day later in the US through Manifesto Records....
, Gedge decided that the sound had changed so much that it would be better released under The Wedding Present name, and so Cinerama were finished although the same musicians carried on.
Singles
- "Kerry Kerry" (Cooking VinylCooking VinylCooking Vinyl is a UK-based independent record company, founded in 1986. Its original orientation was toward contemporary folk music—notably Billy Bragg, and Michelle Shocked's Texas Campfire Tapes, recorded on a Sony Walkman, one of its first releases...
1998) - UK Singles ChartUK Singles ChartThe UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...
#71 - "Dance, Girl, Dance" (Cooking Vinyl 1998)
- "Pacific/King's Cross" (double a-sideA-side and B-sideA-side and B-side originally referred to the two sides of gramophone records on which singles were released beginning in the 1950s. The terms have come to refer to the types of song conventionally placed on each side of the record, with the A-side being the featured song , while the B-side, or...
7" vinylGramophone recordA gramophone record, commonly known as a phonograph record , vinyl record , or colloquially, a record, is an analog sound storage medium consisting of a flat disc with an inscribed, modulated spiral groove...
/ Elefant 1999) - "Manhattan" (Scopitones 2000)
- "Wow" (Scopitones 2000)
- "LollobrigidaGina LollobrigidaGina Lollobrigida is an Italian actress, photojournalist and sculptress. She was one of the most popular European actresses of the 1950s and early 1960s. She was also an iconic sex symbol of the 1950s. Today, she remains an active supporter of Italian and Italian American causes, particularly the...
" (Scopitones 2000) - "Your Charms" (Scopitones 2000)
- "Superman" (Scopitones 2001)
- "Health and Efficiency" (Scopitones 2001)
- "Quick, Before It Melts" (Scopitones 2002)
- "Careless" (Scopitones 2002)
- "Don't Touch That Dial" (Scopitones 2003)
- "It's Not You, It's Me" (GoMetric! Records 2004)
Albums
- Va Va Voom (Cooking Vinyl 1998)
- Disco Volante (Scopitones 2000)
- This Is Cinerama (compilationCompilation albumA compilation album is an album featuring tracks from one or more performers, often culled from a variety of sources The tracks are usually collected according to a common characteristic, such as popularity, genre, source or subject matter...
, Cooking Vinyl 2000) - John Peel Sessions (compilation, Scopitones 2001)
- Live in Los Angeles (Scopitones 2002)
- TorinoTorino (album)Torino is an album by the UK band Cinerama. It was released on July 2, 2002 on Manifesto Records.-Track listing:# And When She Was Bad - 2:53# Two Girls - 2:43# Estrella - 3:15# Cat Girl Tights - 5:03# Airborne - 2:06# Quick, Before It Melts - 5:03...
(Scopitones 2002) - Cinerama Holiday (compilation, Scopitones 2002)
- John Peel Sessions: Season 2 (compilation, Scopitones 2003)
- Live in Belfast (Scopitones 2003)
- The Complete Peel Sessions (triple album box set compilation, SanctuarySanctuary RecordsSanctuary Records Group Limited was a record label based in the United Kingdom and a subsidiary of Universal Music Group. Until June 2007, it was the largest independent record label in the UK and the largest independent music management company in the world...
2007) - John Peel Sessions: Season 3 (compilation, Sanctuary 2007)
- Live In New York (Download Album 2010)