The Miserable Rich
Encyclopedia
The Miserable Rich are a chamber pop
band, formed in 2007 and based in Brighton
, England
. The band is known for its distinctive, chamber orchestra sound, created using cello
and violin
as the primary lead instruments, augmented by double bass
, acoustic guitar
and occasionally piano
. They have released two album
s, Twelve Ways To Count
(2008) and Of Flight & Fury (2010).
The band's name comes from an experience Will Calderbank and James de Malplaquet had at the wedding of two rich aristocrats.
) joined James de Malplaquet (vocals) to form the band Grape Authority, a live band playing the songs de Malplaquet had written under the pseudonym
James Grape. The pair were playing in Brighton folk
band Shoreline, and the more traditional instrumentation used in this band was taken on board, with inspiration derived from the ex-Zombie Colin Blunstone
's "Say You Don't Mind" and The Balanescu Quartet's Kraftwerk
covers. Together with Mike Siddell (formerly Hope of the States
) on violin, Jim Briffett (of Clearlake
) on guitar
and Rhys Lovell playing double bass they created The Miserable Rich.
They recorded their debut album, Twelve Ways To Count
, at de Malplaquet's house in Hove
during the summer of 2007. The debut single
from the album received positive reviews, including Leftfield Single of the Month in DJ Magazine and widespread airplay, with the band championed in particular by BBC 6 Music
's Marc Riley
, for whom they have recorded two live sessions. The album itself has received widespread critical acclaim, both in Germany
and the UK
.
They have toured extensively in Europe, both as headliners, and as support for Isobel Campbell
and Mark Lanegan
.
In November 2009 they released an EP
of cover version
s, featuring four reworked 1980s songs: "Golden Brown
" by The Stranglers
, "Gigantic
" by Pixies, "Shades" by Iggy Pop
and "Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)
" by Eurythmics
.
The Miserable Rich self-recorded and produced their second album, Of Flight & Fury, which was then mixed by Al Scott (The Levellers, Eliza Carthy
, Asian Dub Foundation
), and released in June 2010.
The third Miserable Rich album, "Miss You In The Days", due to be released on Halloween 2011, is lyrically based on ghost stories. It was recorded on location at various buildings around the UK that are reputedly haunted, primarily Blickling Hall
in Norfolk.
Baroque pop
Baroque pop, Baroque rock, or English baroque, often used interchangeably with chamber pop/rock, is a pop and rock music subgenre which originated in the mid-1960s in the United Kingdom and United States...
band, formed in 2007 and based in Brighton
Brighton
Brighton is the major part of the city of Brighton and Hove in East Sussex, England on the south coast of Great Britain...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. The band is known for its distinctive, chamber orchestra sound, created using cello
Cello
The cello is a bowed string instrument with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is a member of the violin family of musical instruments, which also includes the violin, viola, and double bass. Old forms of the instrument in the Baroque era are baryton and viol .A person who plays a cello is...
and violin
Violin
The violin is a string instrument, usually with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is the smallest, highest-pitched member of the violin family of string instruments, which includes the viola and cello....
as the primary lead instruments, augmented by double bass
Double bass
The double bass, also called the string bass, upright bass, standup bass or contrabass, is the largest and lowest-pitched bowed string instrument in the modern symphony orchestra, with strings usually tuned to E1, A1, D2 and G2...
, acoustic guitar
Acoustic guitar
An acoustic guitar is a guitar that uses only an acoustic sound board. The air in this cavity resonates with the vibrational modes of the string and at low frequencies, which depend on the size of the box, the chamber acts like a Helmholtz resonator, increasing or decreasing the volume of the sound...
and occasionally piano
Piano
The piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
. They have released two 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...
s, Twelve Ways To Count
Twelve Ways to Count
Twelve Ways to Count is the debut album by British chamber pop band The Miserable Rich. It was released on 24 November 2008. Some of the songs contained were previously performed by James DeMalpaquet under the pseudonym 'James Grape' while in the band 'The Grape Authority' with fellow Miserable...
(2008) and Of Flight & Fury (2010).
The band's name comes from an experience Will Calderbank and James de Malplaquet had at the wedding of two rich aristocrats.
History
In 2006, Will Calderbank (celloCello
The cello is a bowed string instrument with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is a member of the violin family of musical instruments, which also includes the violin, viola, and double bass. Old forms of the instrument in the Baroque era are baryton and viol .A person who plays a cello is...
) joined James de Malplaquet (vocals) to form the band Grape Authority, a live band playing the songs de Malplaquet had written under the pseudonym
Pseudonym
A pseudonym is a name that a person assumes for a particular purpose and that differs from his or her original orthonym...
James Grape. The pair were playing in Brighton folk
Folk music
Folk music is an English term encompassing both traditional folk music and contemporary folk music. The term originated in the 19th century. Traditional folk music has been defined in several ways: as music transmitted by mouth, as music of the lower classes, and as music with unknown composers....
band Shoreline, and the more traditional instrumentation used in this band was taken on board, with inspiration derived from the ex-Zombie Colin Blunstone
Colin Blunstone
Colin Blunstone is an English pop singer-songwriter, best known as a member of the pop group The Zombies, and for his participation on various albums with The Alan Parsons Project.-Biography:...
's "Say You Don't Mind" and The Balanescu Quartet's Kraftwerk
Kraftwerk
Kraftwerk is an influential electronic music band from Düsseldorf, Germany. The group was formed by Ralf Hütter and Florian Schneider in 1970, and was fronted by them until Schneider's departure in 2008...
covers. Together with Mike Siddell (formerly Hope of the States
Hope of the States
Hope of the States were an English post rock-influenced indie band from Chichester.-Members:* Sam Herlihy - vocals, guitar, piano, music boxes, glockenspiels, mellotron, sampler, celeste, harmonium* Michael Hibbert - guitar, harmonica, backing vocals...
) on violin, Jim Briffett (of Clearlake
Clearlake
Clearlake may refer to:* Clearlake , English rock band* Clearlake, California, city in Lake County, California* Angels Camp, California, formerly ClearlakeSee also Clear Lake ....
) on guitar
Guitar
The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
and Rhys Lovell playing double bass they created The Miserable Rich.
They recorded their debut album, Twelve Ways To Count
Twelve Ways to Count
Twelve Ways to Count is the debut album by British chamber pop band The Miserable Rich. It was released on 24 November 2008. Some of the songs contained were previously performed by James DeMalpaquet under the pseudonym 'James Grape' while in the band 'The Grape Authority' with fellow Miserable...
, at de Malplaquet's house in Hove
Hove
Hove is a town on the south coast of England, immediately to the west of its larger neighbour Brighton, with which it forms the unitary authority Brighton and Hove. It forms a single conurbation together with Brighton and some smaller towns and villages running along the coast...
during the summer of 2007. The debut single
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...
from the album received positive reviews, including Leftfield Single of the Month in DJ Magazine and widespread airplay, with the band championed in particular by BBC 6 Music
BBC 6 Music
BBC 6 Music is one of the BBC's digital radio stations, was launched on 11 March 2002 and originally codenamed Network Y. It was the first national music radio station to be launched by the BBC in 32 years....
's Marc Riley
Marc Riley
Marc Riley is a British musician, alternative rock critic and radio DJ on BBC 6 Music. Formerly a member of The Fall, he had his own record label, In-Tape, and also worked as a record plugger...
, for whom they have recorded two live sessions. The album itself has received widespread critical acclaim, both in Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
and the UK
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...
.
They have toured extensively in Europe, both as headliners, and as support for 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...
.
In November 2009 they released an 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...
of cover version
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...
s, featuring four reworked 1980s songs: "Golden Brown
Golden Brown
"Golden Brown" is a song by the English rock band The Stranglers. It was released as a 7" single in December 1981 in the US and in January 1982 in the UK, on Liberty...
" by The Stranglers
The Stranglers
The Stranglers are an English punk/rock music group.Scoring some 23 UK top 40 singles and 17 UK top 40 albums to date in a career spanning five decades, the Stranglers are the longest-surviving and most "continuously successful" band to have originated in the UK punk scene of the mid to late 1970s...
, "Gigantic
Gigantic (song)
"Gigantic" is a song by the American alternative rock band Pixies, co-written by bassist Kim Deal and lead vocalist/guitarist Black Francis . The song appeared on the band's first studio album, Surfer Rosa, released in 1988...
" by Pixies, "Shades" by Iggy Pop
Iggy Pop
Iggy Pop is an American singer, songwriter, musician, and actor. Though considered an innovator of punk rock, Pop's music has encompassed a number of styles over the years, including pop, metal, jazz and blues...
and "Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)
Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)
-Personnel:*Annie Lennox – vocals, keyboards, synthesisers, flute*David A. Stewart – guitar, keyboards, synthesisers, programming, backing vocals-Additional personnel:*Robert Crash - Guitar/ E-Drums/ Synth/ Robotic vocals...
" by Eurythmics
Eurythmics
Eurythmics were a British pop rock duo, formed in 1980, currently disbanded, but known to reunite from time to time. Consisting of members Annie Lennox and David A...
.
The Miserable Rich self-recorded and produced their second album, Of Flight & Fury, which was then mixed by Al Scott (The Levellers, Eliza Carthy
Eliza Carthy
Eliza Carthy is an English folk musician known for both singing and playing fiddle. She is the daughter of English folk musicians singer/guitarist Martin Carthy and singer Norma Waterson.-Life and career:...
, Asian Dub Foundation
Asian Dub Foundation
Asian Dub Foundation are a British electronica band that plays a mix of rapcore, dub, dancehall and ragga, also using rock instruments, acknowledging a punk influence...
), and released in June 2010.
The third Miserable Rich album, "Miss You In The Days", due to be released on Halloween 2011, is lyrically based on ghost stories. It was recorded on location at various buildings around the UK that are reputedly haunted, primarily Blickling Hall
Blickling Hall
Blickling Hall is a stately home in the village of Blickling north of Aylsham in Norfolk, England, that has been in the care of the National Trust since 1940.-History:...
in Norfolk.
Discography
- Twelve Ways To CountTwelve Ways to CountTwelve Ways to Count is the debut album by British chamber pop band The Miserable Rich. It was released on 24 November 2008. Some of the songs contained were previously performed by James DeMalpaquet under the pseudonym 'James Grape' while in the band 'The Grape Authority' with fellow Miserable...
(2008) - Covers (2009)
- Of Flight & Fury (2010)
- Miss You In The Days (2011)