Fuck Buttons
Encyclopedia
Fuck Buttons are a two-piece electronic
group formed in Bristol
in 2004 by Andrew Hung and Benjamin John Power.
. Hung was influenced by Aphex Twin
, while Power was a fan of Mogwai
. They developed a friendship in 2004 while attending art school in Bristol
, and began working together, initially to create the soundtrack to a film made by Hung. Immediately after forming, they played live whenever possible, and soon gathered a cult following. The duo use a variety of instruments including casiotone
keyboards and children's toys such as a Fisher-Price
karaoke machine. Their name was chosen to sound "playful and abrasive".
Time Out magazine described the band's live sound as "adrenaline pumping, ear purging slab of towering, pristine noise…". The duo signed to All Tomorrow's Parties
-affiliated ATP Recordings
in 2007, and released a limited-edition 7" single named "Bright Tomorrow", which received complimentary reviews from such sources as Drowned in Sound
, Pitchfork Media
(who described it as "something like the sun rising over the ocean... then going supernova"), Mojo
(it became their #1 Mojo Playlist Single for that month) and Stereogum
.
Combined with an upsurge in reviews of their live performances at the Supersonic, Truck
and Portishead-curated ATP festivals in the second half of 2007, this attention resulted in Fuck Buttons being included in many end of year newspaper, magazine and online articles predicting them as a 'Hot Tip' for 2008. These included New-Noise, who said that "rarely have two men sounded so much like the end of the world" and British newspaper The Observer
, which called their sound "a joyous racket of swirling atmospherics and percussive gunfire" in an article highlighting them in a new wave of intelligent, literate British pop music.
They started the year with a tour of slightly larger UK venues, supported by label-mate Alexander Tucker
. This was done to build anticipation for their debut album, Street Horrrsing
, which was released on March 17. Produced by John Cummings
of Mogwai
and mastered by Bob Weston
of Shellac
, it was promoted through festival appearances (including a slot at this May's ATP vs Pitchfork festival) and a North American tour with Caribou
. The band have also started to receive some airplay from mainstream BBC Radio stations, whose DJs often struggle to think of an alternative moniker to announce in place of the band's full name - it usually gets shortened to "F Buttons".
Early reviews of Street Horrrsing were very positive; it was named Underground Album of the Month by Mojo
Magazine, who called it "a 50-minute melange of iridescent synths, psychedelic drone, distorted vocals and tribal rhythm". Pitchfork Media
awarded it with an 8.6 out of 10 rating which placed it in their "best new music" section. Positive reviews also featured in The Times
, The Observer
, The Wire
, NME
, Rock Sound
, Kerrang!
, Uncut
, Sydney Morning Herald, and many other music publications and websites. It was also chosen for the shortlist of The Guardian
s First Album awards.
In September 2008, the second single from Street Horrrsing
was released in the form of a 12"/digital release of "Colours Move" backed by an Andrew Weatherall
remix of "Sweet Love For Planet Earth". The single was launched at London's Rough Trade East
where both Fuck Buttons and Weatherall performed on Monday 1 September. In September and October 2008, they supported Mogwai
on tours of the UK, USA and Canada. A limited split EP
was sold during this tour, containing a Mogwai remix of "Colours Move" and Fuck Buttons' cover of "Mogwai Fear Satan
".
In November 2008, the band participated with other similarly named bands, including Holy Fuck, Fuck
and Fucked Up
in the Festival of the Fuck Bands music festival
in the village of Fucking, Austria
.
In 2009, the band appeared at the Australian All Tomorrow's Parties
event, alongside acts such as Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds
, the Necks
and Spiritualized
. They released their second album, the Andrew Weatherall-produced Tarot Sport
in October 2009. It has been well received, with Rock Sound giving it an 8 out of 10 rating and hailing its consistency ("the continuity gluing them together confirms a genuine full-length article to brandish at all those gun-jumping ‘The album is dead’ doomsayers"), while Allmusic gave it a 4-star rating, describing it as "an impressive step forward for Fuck Buttons". Discussing it with Exclaim!
magazine, the band admitted that "direction is not something we are conscious about because it doesn't fit into our creative process. We just want to keep being content and surprising ourselves". The group are confirmed to play the ATP New York 2010
music festival in Monticello, New York in September 2010. Most recently, the group served as the opener for the entire duration of the Pixies' 2010 Doolittle Tour.
Electronic music
Electronic music is music that employs electronic musical instruments and electronic music technology in its production. In general a distinction can be made between sound produced using electromechanical means and that produced using electronic technology. Examples of electromechanical sound...
group formed in Bristol
Bristol
Bristol is a city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, with an estimated population of 433,100 for the unitary authority in 2009, and a surrounding Larger Urban Zone with an estimated 1,070,000 residents in 2007...
in 2004 by Andrew Hung and Benjamin John Power.
Biography
Hung and Power grew up in WorcesterWorcester
The City of Worcester, commonly known as Worcester, , is a city and county town of Worcestershire in the West Midlands of England. Worcester is situated some southwest of Birmingham and north of Gloucester, and has an approximate population of 94,000 people. The River Severn runs through the...
. Hung was influenced by Aphex Twin
Aphex Twin
Richard David James , best known under the pseudonym Aphex Twin, is an Irish-born electronic musician and composer described as "the most inventive and influential figure in contemporary electronic music"...
, while Power was a fan of 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:...
. They developed a friendship in 2004 while attending art school in Bristol
Bristol
Bristol is a city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, with an estimated population of 433,100 for the unitary authority in 2009, and a surrounding Larger Urban Zone with an estimated 1,070,000 residents in 2007...
, and began working together, initially to create the soundtrack to a film made by Hung. Immediately after forming, they played live whenever possible, and soon gathered a cult following. The duo use a variety of instruments including casiotone
Casiotone
Casiotone refers to a series of home electronic keyboards released by Casio Computer Co. in the early 1980s.These first keyboards used a sound synthesis technique known as Vowel-Consonant synthesis to approximate the sounds of other instruments...
keyboards and children's toys such as a Fisher-Price
Fisher-Price
Fisher-Price is a company that produces toys for infants and children, headquartered in East Aurora, New York. Fisher-Price has been a wholly owned subsidiary of Mattel since 1993.-History:...
karaoke machine. Their name was chosen to sound "playful and abrasive".
Time Out magazine described the band's live sound as "adrenaline pumping, ear purging slab of towering, pristine noise…". The duo signed to All Tomorrow's Parties
All Tomorrow's Parties (music festival)
All Tomorrow's Parties is a music festival which takes place at Camber Sands holiday camp in East Sussex and Butlin's holiday camp in Minehead, Somerset, England....
-affiliated ATP Recordings
ATP Recordings
ATP Recordings is a record label that was started in 2001 by London concert promoter Barry Hogan of Foundation/All Tomorrow's Parties. It was originally created to bring out a compilation cd after the Tortoise-curated All Tomorrow's Parties event...
in 2007, and released a limited-edition 7" single named "Bright Tomorrow", which received complimentary reviews from such sources as Drowned in Sound
Drowned in Sound
DrownedinSound.com or DiS is a UK based music webzine financed by artist management company Silentway . The site is an editorially independent music website.-History:...
, Pitchfork Media
Pitchfork Media
Pitchfork Media, usually known simply as Pitchfork or P4k, is a Chicago-based daily Internet publication established in 1995 that is devoted to music criticism and commentary, music news, and artist interviews. Its focus is on underground and independent music, especially indie rock...
(who described it as "something like the sun rising over the ocean... then going supernova"), Mojo
Mojo (magazine)
MOJO is a popular music magazine published initially by Emap, and since January 2008 by Bauer, monthly in the United Kingdom. Following the success of the magazine Q, publishers Emap were looking for a title which would cater for the burgeoning interest in classic rock music...
(it became their #1 Mojo Playlist Single for that month) and Stereogum
Stereogum
Stereogum was one of the first MP3 blogs. It was created by Scott Lapatine in January 2002 with a focus on independent and alternative music news, downloads, videos, and gossip. Stereogum has received several awards and citations, including the 2008 Plug Award for best music blog, Blender's...
.
Combined with an upsurge in reviews of their live performances at the Supersonic, 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...
and Portishead-curated ATP festivals in the second half of 2007, this attention resulted in Fuck Buttons being included in many end of year newspaper, magazine and online articles predicting them as a 'Hot Tip' for 2008. These included New-Noise, who said that "rarely have two men sounded so much like the end of the world" and British newspaper The Observer
The Observer
The Observer is a British newspaper, published on Sundays. In the same place on the political spectrum as its daily sister paper The Guardian, which acquired it in 1993, it takes a liberal or social democratic line on most issues. It is the world's oldest Sunday newspaper.-Origins:The first issue,...
, which called their sound "a joyous racket of swirling atmospherics and percussive gunfire" in an article highlighting them in a new wave of intelligent, literate British pop music.
They started the year with a tour of slightly larger UK venues, supported by label-mate Alexander Tucker
Alexander Tucker (musician)
Alexander Tucker is an English musician from Kent who writes, records and performs alone and in collaboration with a varied array of artists. One critic writes that "Tucker sounds like he’s following a tradition that has long been neglected, focusing not on ageless songs and ideas but on ageless...
. This was done to build anticipation for their debut album, Street Horrrsing
Street Horrrsing
Street Horrrsing is the debut album by the English experimental band Fuck Buttons, released on . It was produced by Mogwai guitarist John Cummings...
, which was released on March 17. Produced by John Cummings
John Cummings (musician)
John Cummings is a Scottish musician and record producer, best known for being a member of Glaswegian band Mogwai, mostly playing guitar, as well as programming, keyboards and vocals.-Mogwai:...
of 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 mastered by Bob Weston
Bob Weston
Bob Weston is an American musician, producer, recording engineer, and record mastering engineer. Critic Jason Ankeny declares that "Weston's name and fingerprints are all over the American underground rock of the post-punk era, producing and engineering dates for a seemingly endless number of...
of Shellac
Shellac (band)
Shellac is an American group composed of Steve Albini , Bob Weston and Todd Trainer...
, it was promoted through festival appearances (including a slot at this May's ATP vs Pitchfork festival) and a North American tour with Caribou
Caribou (musician)
Daniel Victor Snaith is a composer, musician and recording artist under stage names Caribou, Manitoba and Daphni. Under the supervision of Kevin Buzzard, he obtained a PhD in mathematics at Imperial College London.- Career:...
. The band have also started to receive some airplay from mainstream BBC Radio stations, whose DJs often struggle to think of an alternative moniker to announce in place of the band's full name - it usually gets shortened to "F Buttons".
Early reviews of Street Horrrsing were very positive; it was named Underground Album of the Month by Mojo
Mojo (magazine)
MOJO is a popular music magazine published initially by Emap, and since January 2008 by Bauer, monthly in the United Kingdom. Following the success of the magazine Q, publishers Emap were looking for a title which would cater for the burgeoning interest in classic rock music...
Magazine, who called it "a 50-minute melange of iridescent synths, psychedelic drone, distorted vocals and tribal rhythm". Pitchfork Media
Pitchfork Media
Pitchfork Media, usually known simply as Pitchfork or P4k, is a Chicago-based daily Internet publication established in 1995 that is devoted to music criticism and commentary, music news, and artist interviews. Its focus is on underground and independent music, especially indie rock...
awarded it with an 8.6 out of 10 rating which placed it in their "best new music" section. Positive reviews also featured in The Times
The Times
The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
, The Observer
The Observer
The Observer is a British newspaper, published on Sundays. In the same place on the political spectrum as its daily sister paper The Guardian, which acquired it in 1993, it takes a liberal or social democratic line on most issues. It is the world's oldest Sunday newspaper.-Origins:The first issue,...
, The Wire
The Wire (magazine)
The Wire is a British avant garde music magazine, founded in 1982 by jazz promoter Anthony Wood and journalist Chrissie Murray. The magazine initially concentrated on contemporary jazz and improvised music, but branched out in the early 1990s to various types of experimental music...
, NME
NME
The New Musical Express is a popular music publication in the United Kingdom, published weekly since March 1952. It started as a music newspaper, and gradually moved toward a magazine format during the 1980s, changing from newsprint in 1998. It was the first British paper to include a singles...
, Rock Sound
Rock Sound
Rock Sound is a British magazine which champions rock music. The magazine aims at being more "underground" and less commercial, whilst also giving coverage to more well known acts.-History:...
, Kerrang!
Kerrang!
Kerrang! is a UK-based magazine devoted to rock music published by Bauer Media Group. It was first published on June 6, 1981 as a one-off supplement in the Sounds newspaper...
, Uncut
UNCUT (magazine)
Uncut magazine, trademarked as UNCUT, is a monthly publication based in London. It is available across the English-speaking world, and focuses on music, but also includes film and books sections...
, Sydney Morning Herald, and many other music publications and websites. It was also chosen for the shortlist of The Guardian
The Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
s First Album awards.
In September 2008, the second single from Street Horrrsing
Street Horrrsing
Street Horrrsing is the debut album by the English experimental band Fuck Buttons, released on . It was produced by Mogwai guitarist John Cummings...
was released in the form of a 12"/digital release of "Colours Move" backed by an Andrew Weatherall
Andrew Weatherall
Andrew Weatherall is a DJ, producer, and remixer.Andrew, Terry Farley, Cymon Eckel and Steve Mayes started Boy's Own initially as a fanzine commenting on fashion, records, football, and other issues...
remix of "Sweet Love For Planet Earth". The single was launched at London's Rough Trade East
Rough Trade Shop
Rough Trade are two independent record shops based in London, UK.The first Rough Trade shop was opened in 1976 by Geoff Travis in the Portobello Road district of west London. In 1978 the shop spawned the famous Rough Trade Records, which was to go on to be home to bands from The Smiths to The...
where both Fuck Buttons and Weatherall performed on Monday 1 September. In September and October 2008, they supported 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:...
on tours of the UK, USA and Canada. A limited split EP
Extended play
An EP is a musical recording which contains more music than a single, but is too short to qualify as a full album or LP. The term EP originally referred only to specific types of vinyl records other than 78 rpm standard play records and LP records, but it is now applied to mid-length Compact...
was sold during this tour, containing a Mogwai remix of "Colours Move" and Fuck Buttons' cover of "Mogwai Fear Satan
Mogwai Fear Satan
"Mogwai Fear Satan" is a song by Scottish post-rock group Mogwai, which ends their 1997 debut studio album, Mogwai Young Team.-Overview:...
".
In November 2008, the band participated with other similarly named bands, including Holy Fuck, Fuck
Fuck (band)
Fuck is an American indie rock band, formed in Oakland, California in 1993. The band consists of Timothy Prudhomme, Geoff Soule, Kyle Statham, and Theodore Ellison. They have recorded for a number of labels including Matador Records and Homesleep Records of Italy.-History:Fuck was formed in...
and Fucked Up
Fucked Up
Fucked Up is a hardcore punk band from Toronto, Canada. The band won the 2009 Polaris Music Prize for the album The Chemistry of Common Life.-History:The band formed and played their first shows in early 2001...
in the Festival of the Fuck Bands music festival
Music festival
A music festival is a festival oriented towards music that is sometimes presented with a theme such as musical genre, nationality or locality of musicians, or holiday. They are commonly held outdoors, and are often inclusive of other attractions such as food and merchandise vending machines,...
in the village of Fucking, Austria
Fucking, Austria
Fucking is an Austrian village in the municipality of Tarsdorf, in the Innviertel region of western Upper Austria. The village is north of Salzburg, east of the German border....
.
In 2009, the band appeared at the Australian All Tomorrow's Parties
All Tomorrow's Parties (music festival)
All Tomorrow's Parties is a music festival which takes place at Camber Sands holiday camp in East Sussex and Butlin's holiday camp in Minehead, Somerset, England....
event, alongside acts such as Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds
Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds
Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds are an Australian alternative rock band, formed in Melbourne in 1983. The band is fronted by Nick Cave and has featured international personnel throughout their career.-Formation and early releases :...
, the Necks
The Necks
The Necks are an experimental jazz trio from Sydney, Australia, comprising Chris Abrahams on piano and Hammond organ, Tony Buck on drums, percussion and electric guitar and Lloyd Swanton on bass guitar and double bass...
and Spiritualized
Spiritualized
Spiritualized are an English space rock band formed in 1990 in Rugby, Warwickshire by Jason Pierce after the demise of his previous outfit, space-rockers Spacemen 3...
. They released their second album, the Andrew Weatherall-produced Tarot Sport
Tarot Sport
Tarot Sport is the second studio album by Fuck Buttons. The album was released on October 14, 2009, in the UK and on October 20 in the US. The album was leaked online on September 14, 2009...
in October 2009. It has been well received, with Rock Sound giving it an 8 out of 10 rating and hailing its consistency ("the continuity gluing them together confirms a genuine full-length article to brandish at all those gun-jumping ‘The album is dead’ doomsayers"), while Allmusic gave it a 4-star rating, describing it as "an impressive step forward for Fuck Buttons". Discussing it with Exclaim!
Exclaim!
Exclaim! is a monthly Canadian music magazine that features in-depth coverage of new music across all genres with special focus on Canadian and cutting-edge artists...
magazine, the band admitted that "direction is not something we are conscious about because it doesn't fit into our creative process. We just want to keep being content and surprising ourselves". The group are confirmed to play the ATP New York 2010
All Tomorrow's Parties (music festival)
All Tomorrow's Parties is a music festival which takes place at Camber Sands holiday camp in East Sussex and Butlin's holiday camp in Minehead, Somerset, England....
music festival in Monticello, New York in September 2010. Most recently, the group served as the opener for the entire duration of the Pixies' 2010 Doolittle Tour.
Discography
- Street HorrrsingStreet HorrrsingStreet Horrrsing is the debut album by the English experimental band Fuck Buttons, released on . It was produced by Mogwai guitarist John Cummings...
(CD / 2×LP, ATPR, 2008) - Tarot SportTarot SportTarot Sport is the second studio album by Fuck Buttons. The album was released on October 14, 2009, in the UK and on October 20 in the US. The album was leaked online on September 14, 2009...
(CD / 2×LP, ATPR, 2009) UK #79, U.S. Dance #9, U.S. Heatseekers #18
Singles
- "Let's See If There Are Any Ghosts In Here, Yeah?" (CD-R Single)
- "Bright Tomorrow" (limited picture Disc 7″ single, ATPR, 2007)
- "Colours Move" (12″/download single, ATPR, 2008)
- "Surf Solar" (7″/download single, ATPR, 2009)
- "Olympians" (12"/download single, ATPR, 2010)
Remixes
- "If I Had a HeartIf I Had a Heart"If I Had a Heart" is a song performed, written and produced by Swedish recording artist Fever Ray. It was released as the lead single from her debut self-titled album, Fever Ray , marking Ray's debut single as a solo artist, after her work with previous band, The Knife...
" - Fever Ray (2008) - "Virginia State Epileptic Colony" - Manic Street PreachersManic Street PreachersManic Street Preachers are a Welsh alternative rock band, formed in 1986. They are James Dean Bradfield, Nicky Wire, Richey Edwards and Sean Moore. The band are part of the Cardiff music scene, and were at their most prominent during the 1990s...
(2009) - "Kaili" - Caribou (2010)
- "Tornado" - JónsiJónsiJónsi may refer to:*Jónsi Birgisson, or Jón Þór Birgisson, Icelandic guitarist and member of the bands Sigur Rós and Jónsi & Alex*Jón Jósep Snæbjörnsson, Icelandic singer, member of the band Í Svörtum Fötum...
(2011)