Hitechjet
Encyclopedia
Hitechjet were a British
rock
band
from Uxbridge
, London
formed in 2001 and consisted of Brian Ayers (lead vocals), Aydogan Mehmet (guitar, vocals), Paul Lefley-Evans (bass, vocals), Micky Wyle (drums, vocals) and Adam Gardner (guitar). Hitechjet released one mini album "If you take anything..." and one full length album "600 miles from..." through In At The Deep End Records (Gallows
, Send More Paramedics
, Architects, Beecher) . Hitechjet has been on hiatus since 2006.
song 99 Red Balloons.
Hitechjet were known for mixing different styles of rock. In early interviews they commented that the first and only rule they had agreed was that they wouldn't restrict themselves to a musical style. They believed this approach lead to an unrestrictive creative process as they were influenced by bands ranging from Slayer
to Jeff Buckley
.
Hitechjet recorded their first demo with John Hannon (Hundred Reasons
, Kids Near Water
) engineering and producing. The demo contained the songs 'The Score', 'If my best is not enough' and 'All this time'. The demo received positive reviews from dozens of fanzines and interest from several record labels interested in releasing their material.
Nottingham based label In At the Deep End Records were due to attend their band The Killerest Expression's show in Leeds when Hitechjet were added to the bill. In At The Deep End had heard their demo previously and although this was only their second show, based on their performance that night offered Hitechjet a contract for one mini album and one full length.
(9/10). This led to shows with Lagwagon
, Get Cape. Wear Cape. Fly
, Kasabian, Instruction
, Red Animal War
, Million Dead
amongst others.
A 14 date UK tour was booked for Feb 2005 to coincide with the release of the album. This would be their first tour as a headlining act. Artwork problems delayed the release of the album and this led to Hitechjet leaving for their tour with their friends Driving on the Right without the album they were due to promote. This was their most successful tour to date with several shows selling out.
As In At the Deep End Records had other albums due on their release schedule, Hitechjet had to wait for a gap to appear. Finally in October 2005 '600 miles from...' was released. Although Hitechjet were known for their "genre hopping" style, '600 miles from...' explored new areas for Hitechjet with elements of post rock, electronica and post punk and contained heavy use of samples.
The album was greeted with more critical acclaim receiving 8/10 in Rock Sound
, 5/5 Big Cheese, 5/5 Zero Magazine, 4.5/5 Punktastic.com amongst them.
After playing 'Making Movies' regularly on his show, Radio One DJ Mike Davies (broadcaster) then invited Hitechjet to record a session for the Lock Up show at the end of 2005. They played live '(I should have left you at the) Roadside', 'Perfect Video (full band version)', 'This Lift goes down' and 'As though nothing happened'.
In April 2006, after touring with The Once Over Twice, Hitechjet felt their frustrations with their label and the band's direction was beginning to cause tension within the band. Not wanting to damage long term friendships, Hitechjet decided to go on an "indefinite hiatus".
Additional musicians
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...
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...
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...
from Uxbridge
Uxbridge
Uxbridge is a large town located in north west London, England and is the administrative headquarters of the London Borough of Hillingdon. It forms part of the ceremonial county of Greater London. It is located west-northwest of Charing Cross and is one of the major metropolitan centres...
, London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
formed in 2001 and consisted of Brian Ayers (lead vocals), Aydogan Mehmet (guitar, vocals), Paul Lefley-Evans (bass, vocals), Micky Wyle (drums, vocals) and Adam Gardner (guitar). Hitechjet released one mini album "If you take anything..." and one full length album "600 miles from..." through In At The Deep End Records (Gallows
Gallows
A gallows is a frame, typically wooden, used for execution by hanging, or by means to torture before execution, as was used when being hanged, drawn and quartered...
, Send More Paramedics
Send More Paramedics
Send More Paramedics were a horror film-influenced crossover thrash band from Leeds in the north of England.-Biography:The name is a reference to the 1985 horror/comedy Return of the Living Dead...
, Architects, Beecher) . Hitechjet has been on hiatus since 2006.
Formation
Hitechjet formed in Autumn 2001 by Paul Lefley-Evans (bass), Adam Gardner (guitar), Aydogan Mehmet (guitar) and Micky Wyle (drums). They were joined at the beginning of 2002 by Brian Ayers(vocals) and became Hitechjet after a line from the NenaNena
Gabriele Susanne Kerner , better known by her stage name Nena, is a German singer and actress. She rose to international fame in 1983 with the New German Wave song "99 Luftballons". In 1984, she re-recorded this song in English as "99 Red Balloons". Nena was also the name of the band with whom she...
song 99 Red Balloons.
Hitechjet were known for mixing different styles of rock. In early interviews they commented that the first and only rule they had agreed was that they wouldn't restrict themselves to a musical style. They believed this approach lead to an unrestrictive creative process as they were influenced by bands ranging from Slayer
Slayer
Slayer is an American thrash metal band formed in Huntington Park, California, in 1981 by guitarists Jeff Hanneman and Kerry King. Slayer rose to fame with their 1986 release, Reign in Blood, and is credited as one of the "Big Four" thrash metal acts, along with Metallica, Megadeth and...
to Jeff Buckley
Jeff Buckley
Jeffrey Scott "Jeff" Buckley , raised as Scotty Moorhead, was an American singer-songwriter and guitarist. He was the son of Tim Buckley, also a musician...
.
Hitechjet recorded their first demo with John Hannon (Hundred Reasons
Hundred Reasons
Hundred Reasons are an English rock band from Farnborough, Hampshire, composed of Colin Doran , Larry Hibbitt , Andy Gilmour , Andy Bews and Ben Doyle . Originally, the band was signed to Columbia Records in mid April 2001, after fourteen months of near-constant touring...
, Kids Near Water
Kids Near Water
Kids Near Water were an English emo, punk and hardcore band from Exeter who formed in late 2000. The band was composed of lead vocalist and guitarist Brian Read, guitarist and vocalist Simon Joyce, bassist John Asbury and drummer Nik Finch...
) engineering and producing. The demo contained the songs 'The Score', 'If my best is not enough' and 'All this time'. The demo received positive reviews from dozens of fanzines and interest from several record labels interested in releasing their material.
Nottingham based label In At the Deep End Records were due to attend their band The Killerest Expression's show in Leeds when Hitechjet were added to the bill. In At The Deep End had heard their demo previously and although this was only their second show, based on their performance that night offered Hitechjet a contract for one mini album and one full length.
If you take anything
In June 2003 Hitechjet released, 'If you take anything...', a 7 track mini-album which received critical acclaim in many magazines and fanzines including Kerrang (4K), Big Cheese (4/5) and Drowned in SoundDrowned 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:...
(9/10). This led to shows with Lagwagon
Lagwagon
Lagwagon is an American punk rock band originally from Goleta, just outside Santa Barbara, California. They formed in 1990 and went on hiatus and reunited several times over the years...
, Get Cape. Wear Cape. Fly
Get Cape. Wear Cape. Fly
Get Cape. Wear Cape. Fly is the stage name of English artist Sam Duckworth and his band. He is sometimes referred to as Get Cape, Cape, GCWCF and Slam Dunkworth . According to Duckworth, his stage name comes from a ZX Spectrum magazine...
, Kasabian, Instruction
Instruction (band)
Instruction were an alternative rock band that formed in 2002 in Brooklyn, New York. The band consisted of lead vocalist Arthur Shepherd, bassist Adam Marino, lead guitarist Tom Capone and drummer Ti Kreck.-Band history:...
, Red Animal War
Red Animal War
Red Animal War is a rock band from Dallas, Texas that started in 1998 as Jeff Wilganoski, Jamie Shipman, Matt Pittman, and Justin Wilson. During the recording of their first album, Brian Pho replaced Jamie Shipman. Jeff Davis replaced Brian Pho in 2004, and Tony Wann came on as second drums later...
, Million Dead
Million Dead
Million Dead were a hardcore punk band from London, UK, active between 2001 and 2005.-History:The band was founded in 2000 by Cameron Dean and Julia Ruzicka, after both came to London from Australia. They were joined by Ben Dawson, who had worked with Dean in a record shop in the city...
amongst others.
600 miles from...
At the beginning of 2004, Hitechjet took a 6 month break from playing live as their touring schedule had started to impact on writing their first full length album. Hitechjet used this time to experiment with different arrangements and started to incorporate keyboards into their sound. The album was recorded, engineered and produced by long time cohort John Hannon over 6 weeks doing shifts around day jobs. The album was then presented to In At the Deep End Records in Oct 2004.A 14 date UK tour was booked for Feb 2005 to coincide with the release of the album. This would be their first tour as a headlining act. Artwork problems delayed the release of the album and this led to Hitechjet leaving for their tour with their friends Driving on the Right without the album they were due to promote. This was their most successful tour to date with several shows selling out.
As In At the Deep End Records had other albums due on their release schedule, Hitechjet had to wait for a gap to appear. Finally in October 2005 '600 miles from...' was released. Although Hitechjet were known for their "genre hopping" style, '600 miles from...' explored new areas for Hitechjet with elements of post rock, electronica and post punk and contained heavy use of samples.
The album was greeted with more critical acclaim receiving 8/10 in 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:...
, 5/5 Big Cheese, 5/5 Zero Magazine, 4.5/5 Punktastic.com amongst them.
After playing 'Making Movies' regularly on his show, Radio One DJ Mike Davies (broadcaster) then invited Hitechjet to record a session for the Lock Up show at the end of 2005. They played live '(I should have left you at the) Roadside', 'Perfect Video (full band version)', 'This Lift goes down' and 'As though nothing happened'.
In April 2006, after touring with The Once Over Twice, Hitechjet felt their frustrations with their label and the band's direction was beginning to cause tension within the band. Not wanting to damage long term friendships, Hitechjet decided to go on an "indefinite hiatus".
Line-up
- Adam Gardner - guitars
- Aydogan Mehmet (aka "Mem") - guitar, vocals, keyboards ('600 Miles from...' album)
- Brian Ayers - lead vocals
- Michael Wyle (aka "Micky") - drums, vocals, guitar ('600 Miles from...' album)
- Paul Lefley-Evans (aka "Bev") - bass, vocals
Additional musicians
- Mark Fraser- guitar, vocals, keyboards (additional live musician, '600 Miles from...' album)
- John Hannon- keyboards ('600 Miles from...' album)
- Robin Willott- bass (temporary)
- Matt Oliver- drums (temporary)
- Nick Mighall - bass (temporary)