Institut Polaire
Encyclopedia
Institut Polaire were an indie
band originating from Perth
, Western Australia
.
In recent times the collective have shared the stage with acclaimed artists and bands including Camera Obscura, The Clientele, Architecture in Helsinki
, Jens Lekman
, Lou Barlow
, Gerling
, New Buffalo, Starky
, The Panics
and The Lucksmiths
.
Institut Polaire's debut 7" single "City Walls and Empires" (released through Love Is My Velocity
Records) won them the Western Australian Music Industry
's 'Song of the Year
' Award for 2006 and has since received national airplay.
In 2007 Institut Polaire performed at the Perth
leg of the Big Day Out
having won Triple J
's Unearthed competition for Western Australia
. They also performed with Bob Evans
and Bobby Blackbird & The Bluejays at the WAMi-styled Triple J
Live at the Wireless
gig at the Rosemount Hotel.
The band were nominated for 'Best Indie Pop Act', at the 2007 WAMi
Awards and also undertook their first national tour supporting Camera Obscura
.
In February 2007 Institut Polaire announced that they have been signed as the first Australian artist on Popfrenzy Records
.
Their first release was an EP called The Fauna and the Flora which was released on 1 October 2007. The EP was Drum Media
's 'single of the week'. Insitut Polaire have also been named as one of Triple J
's Next Crop featured artists for Aus Music Month (November 2007) and have been nominated as for a 2007 J Award
(Unearthed new artist category). The EP also debuted at #19 on the AIR (Association of Independent Record Labels) singles chart
. "City Walls and Empires" entered the Australian Top 40 Countdown chart at #40 in May 2008.
In early 2008, the band relocated to Melbourne for the foreseeable future and quickly undertook a national tour with Sydney's Cuthbert & The Night Walkers (presented by Triple J
's 'Home and Hosed') in May.
In early December it was announced that long-time member Ben Blakeney had left the band on completely amicable terms to concentrate on his own projects. Original guitarist Ash Blakeney rejoined the band as lead guitarist.
Amidst this lineup switch the band also recruited Toby Lang (ex-Veruca Salt
and currently of dual-ARIA award
winners The Audreys
) as their new drummer.
The band recorded their debut album with Craig Pilkington at Melbourne's Audrey Studios. Craig's previous resume included several releases for The Lucksmiths, a co-producing credit on The Blackeyed Susans
ARIA-nominated 'Shangri-La
' and engineering 2008's ARIA-winning 'Gurrumul' by Geoffrey Gurrumul Yunupingu
.
The LP, titled 'Make Your Own Mayflower', was released in 2010.
The band announced its separation in January 2011.
Samantha Wass and David Thirkettle-Watts currently play in the band Jack on Fire.
Erik Hecht is currently writing and recording for his upcoming Alpen Blitz project.
) released by Love Is My Velocity
Records in May 2006.
released by Popfrenzy Records
on 2 October 2007
Indie (music)
In music, independent music, often shortened to indie music or "indie" is a term used to describe independence from major commercial record labels or their subsidiaries, and an autonomous, Do-It-Yourself approach to recording and publishing....
band originating from Perth
Perth, Western Australia
Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia and the fourth most populous city in Australia. The Perth metropolitan area has an estimated population of almost 1,700,000....
, Western Australia
Western Australia
Western Australia is a state of Australia, occupying the entire western third of the Australian continent. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Great Australian Bight and Indian Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east and South Australia to the south-east...
.
History
Institut Polaire formed as a three piece in 2004 by an American ex-pat (Erik Hecht), an English born scientist (David Thirkettle-Watts) and a country boy moved to the big city (Ash Blakeney; who left the band in 2005, handing over his role to cousin Ben). Institut Polaire has grown from three piece roots into a full-blown collective who currently number between seven and nine members toting everything from vintage Wurlitzer pianos to violins, banjos, trumpets, MacBooks and glockenspiels.In recent times the collective have shared the stage with acclaimed artists and bands including Camera Obscura, The Clientele, Architecture in Helsinki
Architecture in Helsinki
Architecture in Helsinki is an Australian indie pop band which consists of Cameron Bird, Gus Franklin, Jamie Mildren, Sam Perry, and Kellie Sutherland...
, Jens Lekman
Jens Lekman
Jens Martin Lekman is a Swedish musician. His music is guitar-based pop with heavy use of samples and strings, with lyrics that are often witty, romantic, and melancholic. The English lyrics reflect an advanced knowledge of the language and its idioms...
, Lou Barlow
Lou Barlow
Louis Knox Barlow is an American alternative rock musician and songwriter. A founding member of the groups Deep Wound, Dinosaur Jr., Sebadoh and The Folk Implosion. Barlow is credited with helping to pioneer the lo-fi style of rock music in the late 1980s and early 1990s...
, Gerling
Gerling
Gerling were an alternative guitar and electronic act from Australia. They formed in 1993, and are based in Sydney.-History:The band formed in 1993 with the line-up of Darren Cross , Presser and Brad Herdson...
, New Buffalo, Starky
Starky
Starky were a band from Sydney, Australia, formed in 1998. The band consisted of Beau Cassidy , Nick Neal , and Jonny Wilson ....
, The Panics
The Panics
The Panics are an ARIA Award–winning indie rock band originally from Perth, Western Australia, and currently based in Melbourne, Victoria.-History:...
and The Lucksmiths
The Lucksmiths
The Lucksmiths were an indie pop band from Melbourne, Australia known for witty, intelligent lyrics, a strong melodic sense and a jangly pop sound harkening back to early-80's bands such as The Smiths and The Go-Betweens.-History:...
.
Institut Polaire's debut 7" single "City Walls and Empires" (released through Love Is My Velocity
Love Is My Velocity
Love Is My Velocity is a Perth, Australia-based independent record label. Originally started as an indie club night in 2003, it became a record label representing mainly Perth bands in 2006...
Records) won them the Western Australian Music Industry
West Australian Music Industry Awards
The Western Australian Music Industry Awards are annual awards presented to the local contemporary music industry, put on by the Western Australian Music Industry Association Inc...
's 'Song of the Year
WAM Song of the Year
WAM was originally formed as the Western Australian Rock Music Industry Association Inc. in 1985, with its main aim to develop and run annual awards recognising achievements within the music industry in Western Australia...
' Award for 2006 and has since received national airplay.
"It was a fantastic confidence boost," Hecht said about the band's win in X-Press Magazine, "To see how much things have evolved in the band dynamic, instrumentation and songwriting since recording the debut single is exciting. I think most of us would agree that we are far more proud of the music we've been writing since. And I really suspect we may take some people by surprise with the records we put out this year."
In 2007 Institut Polaire performed at the Perth
Perth, Western Australia
Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia and the fourth most populous city in Australia. The Perth metropolitan area has an estimated population of almost 1,700,000....
leg of the Big Day Out
Big Day Out
The Big Day Out is an annual music festival held in several cities in Australia and New Zealand in late January. It started in Sydney in 1992, spread to Adelaide, Melbourne and Perth by 1993, with the Gold Coast and Auckland joining in 1994...
having won Triple J
Triple J
triple j is a nationally networked Australian radio station intended to appeal to listeners between the ages of 18 and 30. The government-funded station is a division of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation...
's Unearthed competition for Western Australia
Western Australia
Western Australia is a state of Australia, occupying the entire western third of the Australian continent. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Great Australian Bight and Indian Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east and South Australia to the south-east...
. They also performed with Bob Evans
Kevin Mitchell (musician)
Kevin Edward Mitchell , is an Australian musician, known for his role as the vocalist and guitarist of the alternative rock band Jebediah and also his solo work under the stage name of Bob Evans....
and Bobby Blackbird & The Bluejays at the WAMi-styled Triple J
Triple J
triple j is a nationally networked Australian radio station intended to appeal to listeners between the ages of 18 and 30. The government-funded station is a division of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation...
Live at the Wireless
Live at the Wireless
Live at the Wireless is a radio show, and now a long standing tradition, of Triple J, an Australian radio station. Live music is one of the central philosophies of the station....
gig at the Rosemount Hotel.
The band were nominated for 'Best Indie Pop Act', at the 2007 WAMi
West Australian Music Industry Awards
The Western Australian Music Industry Awards are annual awards presented to the local contemporary music industry, put on by the Western Australian Music Industry Association Inc...
Awards and also undertook their first national tour supporting Camera Obscura
Camera Obscura (band)
Camera Obscura are an indie pop band from Glasgow, Scotland. The band formed in 1996 and have released four albums to date.-History:Camera Obscura were formed in 1996 by Tracyanne Campbell, John Henderson, and Gavin Dunbar. Several other members performed with the band before David Skirving joined...
.
In February 2007 Institut Polaire announced that they have been signed as the first Australian artist on Popfrenzy Records
Popfrenzy
Popfrenzy is an independent record label and touring/events agency created by Chris Wu based in Sydney, Australia.They begun in the late 1990's putting on various underground parties/nights. Between 2000 and 2006 they booked such renowned Sydney clubs/venues as the Spanish, Mandarin, Taxi and...
.
"I think the main goal for 2007 is to continue to evolve and make some great records,"
Their first release was an EP called The Fauna and the Flora which was released on 1 October 2007. The EP was Drum Media
Drum Media
Drum Media is a free weekly tabloid-sized music and lifestyle magazine established in 1990 and based in Sydney, Australia. It is distributed throughout Sydney, Wollongong, Newcastle and Canberra, and surrounding districts. A separate weekly issue began circulating in Perth in September 2006. The...
's 'single of the week'. Insitut Polaire have also been named as one of Triple J
Triple J
triple j is a nationally networked Australian radio station intended to appeal to listeners between the ages of 18 and 30. The government-funded station is a division of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation...
's Next Crop featured artists for Aus Music Month (November 2007) and have been nominated as for a 2007 J Award
J Award
The J Award is an award given by influential Australian youth radio station Triple J to Australian Album of the Year. It is judged by a panel of members of the music industry, led by Richard Kingsmill...
(Unearthed new artist category). The EP also debuted at #19 on the AIR (Association of Independent Record Labels) singles chart
AIR Charts
The AIR Charts are the official sales charts for Australian independent music released by Australian owned, independent record labels. Presented by AIR, the Australian Independent Record Labels Association, the charts are calculated according to official sales figures provided by the ARIA Charts,...
. "City Walls and Empires" entered the Australian Top 40 Countdown chart at #40 in May 2008.
In early 2008, the band relocated to Melbourne for the foreseeable future and quickly undertook a national tour with Sydney's Cuthbert & The Night Walkers (presented by Triple J
Triple J
triple j is a nationally networked Australian radio station intended to appeal to listeners between the ages of 18 and 30. The government-funded station is a division of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation...
's 'Home and Hosed') in May.
In early December it was announced that long-time member Ben Blakeney had left the band on completely amicable terms to concentrate on his own projects. Original guitarist Ash Blakeney rejoined the band as lead guitarist.
Amidst this lineup switch the band also recruited Toby Lang (ex-Veruca Salt
Veruca Salt (band)
Veruca Salt is an alternative rock band founded in 1993 in Chicago, Illinois. Since its inception, the band's line-up has included vocalist-guitarist Louise Post. Guitarist Stephen Fitzpatrick has been with the band since 1999 and drummer Kellii Scott has worked with the group on and off since 1999...
and currently of dual-ARIA award
ARIA Music Awards
The Australian Recording Industry Association Music Awards is an annual series of awards nights celebrating the Australian music industry, put on by the Australian Recording Industry Association...
winners The Audreys
The Audreys
The Audreys are an ARIA Award-winning Australian five-piece blues/roots band who formed in Adelaide, South Australia in 2004.-Biography:The pre-cursor to The Audreys started in Melbourne as a duo consisting of lead singer Taasha Coates and guitarist Tristan Goodall...
) as their new drummer.
The band recorded their debut album with Craig Pilkington at Melbourne's Audrey Studios. Craig's previous resume included several releases for The Lucksmiths, a co-producing credit on The Blackeyed Susans
The Blackeyed Susans
The Blackeyed Susans are an Australian rock band, formed in Perth in 1989, based in Melbourne since 1992.-Perth 1989-1990:The original line-up consisted of David McComb on vocals and guitar, Alsy MacDonald on drums , Phil Kakulas on bass guitar , Rob Snarski on vocals and guitar, and...
ARIA-nominated 'Shangri-La
Shangri-La (Blackeyed Susans album)
Shangri-La is the sixth and most recent studio album by The Blackeyed Susans, released in July 2003. After initial writing sessions in mid-1999, recording of the album was scheduled for 2000. It was postponed when the band’s then record company, Mds, was bought by Festival Records...
' and engineering 2008's ARIA-winning 'Gurrumul' by Geoffrey Gurrumul Yunupingu
Geoffrey Gurrumul Yunupingu
Geoffrey Gurrumul Yunupingu is an Indigenous Australian musician, who sings in the Yolngu language.He was born in Galiwin'ku , off the coast of Arnhem Land, Northern Australia about 350 miles from Darwin. He is from the Gumatj clan of the Yolngu and his mother from the Galpu nation...
.
The LP, titled 'Make Your Own Mayflower', was released in 2010.
The band announced its separation in January 2011.
Samantha Wass and David Thirkettle-Watts currently play in the band Jack on Fire.
Erik Hecht is currently writing and recording for his upcoming Alpen Blitz project.
Band members
- Ash Blakeney - guitar, vocals
- Elliott Brannen - trumpet, flugelhorn, vocals, keys
- Catherine Colvin - violin, vocals
- Erik Hecht - vocals, guitar, banjo, keys
- Toby Lang - drums, percussion
- Rebecca May - keys, flute, vocals
- David Thirkettle-Watts - bass
- Samantha Wass - acoustic guitar, vocals, keys, piano accordion
City Walls and Empires
"City Walls and Empires" is a split 7" single (w/ The Bank HolidaysThe Bank Holidays
The Bank Holidays are an indie pop band from Perth, Western Australia.-Biography:The Bank Holidays were conceived by James Crombie and Wibekke Reczek whilst holidaying in Norway , who several weeks later in London enlisted old school friend Nat Carson to form the band...
) released by Love Is My Velocity
Love Is My Velocity
Love Is My Velocity is a Perth, Australia-based independent record label. Originally started as an indie club night in 2003, it became a record label representing mainly Perth bands in 2006...
Records in May 2006.
- "City Walls and Empires" (Institut Polaire)
- "Bird" (The Bank Holidays)
The Fauna and the Flora
The Fauna & The Flora is the debut EPExtended 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...
released by Popfrenzy Records
Popfrenzy
Popfrenzy is an independent record label and touring/events agency created by Chris Wu based in Sydney, Australia.They begun in the late 1990's putting on various underground parties/nights. Between 2000 and 2006 they booked such renowned Sydney clubs/venues as the Spanish, Mandarin, Taxi and...
on 2 October 2007
- "Kentucky Society Drought"
- "The Fauna and the Flora Are Too Closely Allied"
- "East, West & I"
- "Lullaby For A Warmonger"
- "City Walls & Empires" (bonus track)
Reviews
Awards
- 2006 WAM Song of the YearWAM Song of the YearWAM was originally formed as the Western Australian Rock Music Industry Association Inc. in 1985, with its main aim to develop and run annual awards recognising achievements within the music industry in Western Australia...
("City Walls and Empires") - 2006 WAM Song of the YearWAM Song of the YearWAM was originally formed as the Western Australian Rock Music Industry Association Inc. in 1985, with its main aim to develop and run annual awards recognising achievements within the music industry in Western Australia...
'Pop' Category ("City Walls and Empires") - 2008 WAMI Award ("Best Indie Pop Act")
Nominations
- 2007 Triple JTriple Jtriple j is a nationally networked Australian radio station intended to appeal to listeners between the ages of 18 and 30. The government-funded station is a division of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation...
- J AwardJ AwardThe J Award is an award given by influential Australian youth radio station Triple J to Australian Album of the Year. It is judged by a panel of members of the music industry, led by Richard Kingsmill...
(Unearthed category) - 2007 WAMiWest Australian Music Industry AwardsThe Western Australian Music Industry Awards are annual awards presented to the local contemporary music industry, put on by the Western Australian Music Industry Association Inc...
Award nomination - 'Best Indie Pop Act' - 2008 WAMiWest Australian Music Industry AwardsThe Western Australian Music Industry Awards are annual awards presented to the local contemporary music industry, put on by the Western Australian Music Industry Association Inc...
Award nomination - 'Most Popular EP/Single' - 2008 WAMiWest Australian Music Industry AwardsThe Western Australian Music Industry Awards are annual awards presented to the local contemporary music industry, put on by the Western Australian Music Industry Association Inc...
Award nomination - 'Most Popular Music Video' - 2008 WAMiWest Australian Music Industry AwardsThe Western Australian Music Industry Awards are annual awards presented to the local contemporary music industry, put on by the Western Australian Music Industry Association Inc...
Award nomination - 'Best Indie Pop Act' - 2008 WAMiWest Australian Music Industry AwardsThe Western Australian Music Industry Awards are annual awards presented to the local contemporary music industry, put on by the Western Australian Music Industry Association Inc...
Award nomination - 'Best Drummer'