La Roux

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
This article is about the musical act. For their self-titled album, see La Roux (album). For the former Belgian town of La-Roux and other meaning, see Roux (disambiguation).
Not to be confused with LaRue / La Rue or LeRoux (band).

La Roux
Cherrytree
  • Interscope
  • Supercolour
    • MembersElly Jackson
    Past membersBen Langmaid

    La Roux (/lɑːˈruː/ lah-ROO) is an English synth-pop act formed in 2008 by singer Elly Jackson and record producer Ben Langmaid. The act's debut album La Roux (2009) was a critical and commercial success, winning a Grammy Award and producing hit singles such as "In for the Kill" and "Bulletproof". Recording of a follow-up album was marred by unsuccessful collaborations, the cancellation of two planned release dates, and reported conflict between the duo.[1]

    Langmaid ultimately left the group in 2012, and Jackson released a second album, Trouble in Paradise, in 2014, maintaining the former duo's name as her stage persona. The album was a critical, but not a commercial success, and La Roux subsequently parted ways with Polydor Records. She released her third album, Supervision, independently in 2020.

    History

    2006–2011: Beginnings and self-titled album

    Elly Jackson and Ben Langmaid were introduced by a mutual friend in 2006. Initially, they performed largely acoustic music under the moniker Automan due to Elly's great admiration of acts like Nick Drake and Joni Mitchell.[2] Their style later shifted to electronic music and the name was changed to La Roux which referred to both the act and Jackson's stage persona; the name alludes to the singer's red hair and tomboyish appearance, mingling the masculine ("le roux") and feminine ("la rousse") French terms.[3]

    La Roux's debut single, "

    Hot Dance Club Songs chart, peaked at number 8 on the Billboard Hot 100, and went on to sell over 2 million copies in the United States. The band's debut album, La Roux, was released on 26 June 2009 to generally favourable reviews.[7][8] It peaked at number 2 in the UK and number 70 on the Billboard 200,[9] among others. The fourth single, "I'm Not Your Toy", was released on 29 September 2009[10] and reached number 27 on the UK chart. "As If by Magic" and "Tigerlily" were mooted as next singles,[11][12]
    but the release plans were later cancelled.

    La Roux's Elly Jackson performing at Piccadilly Gardens in Manchester, 2010

    In order to promote La Roux, the band was the supporting act on Lily Allen's UK tour of March 2009.[13] La Roux then headlined the NME Radar Tour alongside Magistrates and Heartbreak,[14] performed at the Glastonbury and Reading and Leeds festivals[15] as well as London's Scala.[6] In July and August 2009, La Roux toured North America. The eight-city tour included performances at Osheaga Festival, All Points West Music & Arts Festival and Lollapalooza.[16] The group returned to North America for a seven-date tour in October.[17] Their two Australian dates sold out within minutes forcing an upgrade in venues.[18] In November, the duo embarked on an eleven-date UK and Ireland tour.[19] La Roux gained fifth position on the BBC Sound of 2009 poll.[20] The Guardian website featured La Roux on the New Band of the Day column,[21] having previously featured them as one of the Best New Acts of 2009.[22] The album has been nominated for a Mercury Prize,[23] and was eventually certified platinum in the UK and Ireland, and gold in Australia.

    Sales of "In for the Kill" spiked 600 per cent when Skream's "Let's Get Ravey" remix of the song appeared on the

    Best Dance Recording.[30]

    2012–2017: Departure of Langmaid and Trouble in Paradise

    In a January 2012 interview, the second La Roux album was described as "a lot cheekier" and "sexier".[31] The material, which the duo had been working on intermittently for over two years,[32] was said to draw more on acoustic sounds and instruments. It had been reported that La Roux were writing the second album with an indie rock band whose members are friends of Jackson.[33] Langmaid left La Roux at some point later in 2012, although his departure was officially confirmed two years later.

    La Roux started a low-key comeback tour on 28 March 2013 in Brighton during which she premiered four new songs. Early reactions to the new material were positive.[34] In April 2014, La Roux announced that her second studio album, Trouble in Paradise, would be released in the UK on 21 July. It was preceded by the song "Let Me Down Gently", which premiered on BBC Radio 1 on 12 May, and the first official single "Uptight Downtown", released on 28 May 2014. The latter was a moderate success in the UK, peaking at number 63. On 9 June, "Tropical Chancer" was released as another promotional single. During the promotions for the album, Jackson revealed that she and Langmaid had parted ways, and she was now the sole member of La Roux.[1] Langmaid responded that he was "truly saddened" by the split.[35] Trouble in Paradise met with favourable critical reception,[36][37] but did not repeat the commercial success of the predecessor, peaking at number 6 in the UK, where it stayed on the chart for only four weeks, and failing to enter the top 10 anywhere else. "Kiss and Not Tell", released as a single on 20 October 2014, failed to make an impact on the charts.

    La Roux toured North America in July 2014, including two opening shows for New Order in San Francisco and Los Angeles.[38] She then continued the tour alternating between Europe and North America, before embarking on the Australian leg at the end of the year. In early 2015, the tour proceeded to South America. La Roux then performed additional dates in Europe, including Croatia's INmusic Festival, UK's Glastonbury, and Germany's Melt! Festival. Her touring band consisted of four musicians, including keyboardist and backing vocalist Mickey O'Brien. Jackson provided joint lead vocals for the tracks "Tutti Frutti" and "People on the High Line", along with backing vocals on "Plastic", for New Order's album Music Complete, released in September 2015.[39] She also filmed a cameo appearance for the film Absolutely Fabulous, released the following year, in which she performed "Sexotheque" and "Uptight Downtown". In 2016, La Roux's live lineup comprised Seye Adelekan, Olugbenga Adelekan from Metronomy and Jay Sharrock from Miles Kane's band.[40] During that time, La Roux was recording new music, but decided to scrap the entire material in 2017.[41]

    2018–present: Supervision

    La Roux performing at Fabric in London, 2020

    In 2018, La Roux provided vocals for Whyte Horses' "The Best of It". The following year, she featured on their cover of "Mr. Natural" and provided background vocals for Tyler, the Creator's track "Thank You" on his album Igor. In the meantime, she composed and recorded material for her third studio album, Supervision, which was her first recorded entirely as a solo act. It was released on 7 February 2020 through Jackson's own independent label Supercolour Records.[42] The album was preceded by the singles "International Woman of Leisure" on 31 October 2019, "Gullible Fool" on 5 December 2019, and "Automatic Driver" on 23 January 2020. None of the singles made impact on the charts and the album met with mixed to positive reviews upon its release. Commercially, the record achieved only moderate success, reaching number 20 in the UK and number 85 in Germany. La Roux announced a concert tour in Europe in February and North America in March 2020 to support Supervision, having recruited new touring musicians. The American leg of the tour was postponed until November and eventually cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[43]

    La Roux featured on Boulevards' single "Too Far" and

    CASisDEAD's single and video "Park Assist". In 2021, she released a cover of Gang of Four's "Damaged Goods" which was included in the compilation The Problem of Leisure: A Celebration of Andy Gill & Gang of Four. She also appeared in the Sky Arts documentary Blitzed: The 80's Blitz Kids' Story in which she discussed the cultural effects of the New Romantic movement on younger performers like herself.[44]

    In 2022, La Roux’s musical style branched out further when she released “Feedback,” a single featuring rapper Baby Tate and heavily influenced by R&B.

    In July of 2023, La Roux posted a previously-unreleased track, Malibu Barbie , exclusively on her YouTube account.

    Artistry

    Elly Jackson's first interest was in

    Madonna, Prince, Depeche Mode, Eurythmics, Jenny Wilson, and The Knife[47] as her influences. She made her performing debut at the Half Moon Pub in Herne Hill, London, at the age of 17.[48]

    In July 2010, La Roux curated and mixed a volume of Sidetracked, a compilation series from Renaissance that allows artists from the electronic field free rein to showcase their musical interests. The eclectic mix featured the likes of Japan, Heaven 17, Joyce Sims, Fever Ray (lead singer of The Knife), Doris Troy, Tears for Fears, Gerry Rafferty and many more of her influences. It also includes an exclusive recording of The Rolling Stones' "Under My Thumb", a cover La Roux had been featuring in her then-recent live sets.[49]

    Jackson is unhappy with what she perceives as a "normality" fashion trend among a majority of today's musical acts.[50][51] Her androgynous clothing and hair style has been compared to the 1980s group A Flock of Seagulls.[52][53] Jackson strongly opposes stylists who try to make her appearance more classically feminine.[54]

    Members

    • Eleanor Kate "Elly" Jackson (born 12 March 1988) is the lead singer, songwriter and sole member of La Roux, formerly a
      Pimlico School, Sydenham High School, and Royal Russell School. She was frequently bullied in school because of her appearance and weight.[57] She has expressed discomfort with revealing her sexuality to the public.[58][59]

    Touring members

    • Michael Greene – keyboards; left the band in 2012 to release music as Fort Romeau[63]
    • Mickey O'Brien – keyboards and backing vocals (2008–2016)
    • William Bowerman – percussion (2009–2016)
    • Ed Seed – bass (2013–2016)
    • Matthew "Matty" Carroll – bass (2013–2016)
    • Seye Adelekan – bass (2016)
    • Olugbenga Adelekan – bass (2016)
    • Jay Sharrock – percussion (2016)
    • Fernando Sanchez – bass (2019–2020)[64]
    • Louis Sommer – bass (2020)[64]
    • Karl Bossche – percussion (2020)[64]

    Discography

    Main article: La Roux discography

    Awards

    Year Award Category Nominated work Result
    2009 O2 Silver Clef Awards Best Newcomer La Roux Won[65]
    Studio8 International Music Awards Best Female Newcomer Elly Jackson Won
    Studio8 Song of July 2009 "Bulletproof" Won
    Mercury Prize – La Roux Nominated[23]
    MTV Europe Music Awards Best New Act La Roux Nominated
    Best Push Artist Nominated
    Best UK & Ireland New Act Nominated
    Žebřík Music Awards Best International Discovery Nominated[66]
    Virgin Media Music Awards Best Newcomer La Roux Nominated
    Best Album La Roux Nominated
    mtvU Woodie Awards
    		 Breaking Woodie La Roux Nominated
    Q Awards Breakthrough Artist Nominated
    UK Festival Awards Best Breakthrough Act Nominated
    Popjustice £20 Music Prize 5th "In for the Kill" Nominated
    The Record of the Year 7th "In for the Kill" Nominated
    UK Music Video Awards Best Styling in a Video "Quicksand" Nominated
    iTunes 2009 UK Music Awards Single of the Year "In for the Kill" Won
    Best Art Vinyl Best Art Vinyl 2009 La Roux 9th[67]
    2010 Brit Awards British Breakthrough Act La Roux Nominated
    British Single "In for the Kill" Nominated
    Glamour Women of the Year Awards Band of the Year La Roux Nominated
    Sheer Infusion Newcomer La Roux Nominated
    NME Awards Best Dancefloor Filler "In for the Kill" (Skream Remix) Won
    Best New Band La Roux Nominated
    Best Dressed Elly Jackson Nominated
    Ivor Novello Awards Best Contemporary Song "In for the Kill" Nominated[68]
    MTV Video Music Awards Japan Best Dance Video "I'm Not Your Toy" Nominated
    International Dance Music Awards Best Underground Dance Track "In for the Kill" (Skream Remix) Nominated
    Best Alternative/Rock Dance Track "Bulletproof" Nominated
    Best Electro Track "In for the Kill" (Skream Remix) Nominated
    Best Dubstep/DNB/Jungle Track "In for the Kill" (Skream Remix) Won
    Best Break-Through Artist (Group) La Roux Won
    NewNowNext Awards Brink of Fame: Music Artist La Roux Nominated
    2011 Grammy Awards Best Dance Recording "In for the Kill" Nominated[30]
    Best Electronic/Dance Album La Roux Won[30]
    Billboard Music Awards Top Dance Artist La Roux Nominated[69]
    BMI Pop Awards
    		 Award-Winning Song "Bulletproof" Won[70]
    2014 Popjustice £20 Music Prize Best British Pop Single "Uptight Downtown" Nominated
    Rober Awards Music Poll[71] Best Female Artist La Roux Nominated
    Best Pop Artist Nominated
    2015 NME Awards Best Album Trouble in Paradise Nominated[72]
    Best Solo Act La Roux Nominated
    Best Fan Community Nominated[73]

    References

    1. ^ a b Al Horner (13 May 2014). "Track Review - La Roux's Soul-Purging Comeback Epic 'Let Me Down Gently'". NME. Retrieved 16 May 2014.
    2. ^
      Rovi Corporation
      . Retrieved 28 July 2009.
    3. Nottingham Evening Post. 24 April 2009. Archived from the original
      on 5 May 2013. Retrieved 11 February 2010.
    4. ^ Grundy, Gareth (15 March 2009). "Electronic review: La Roux, In for the Kill (Skream remix)". The Guardian. Retrieved 25 April 2009.
    5. ^ Klapper, Rudy (15 September 2010). "Klap 4 Music: La Roux, In for the Kill (Skrillex Remix)". Klap 4 Music. Archived from the original on 24 July 2012. Retrieved 31 May 2011.
    6. ^ a b "La Roux to play London Scala". NME. 1 June 2009. Retrieved 2 June 2009.
    7. ^ "Reviews for La Roux by La Roux". Metacritic. Retrieved 14 April 2019.
    8. ^ "La Roux by La Roux reviews". AnyDecentMusic?. Retrieved 8 January 2020.
    9. ^ "US sales improve, but nothing to boast about". Music Week. 10 June 2010. Retrieved 10 June 2010.
    10. ^ "La Roux announce new single details". NME. 13 August 2009.
    11. ^ Stéphane Brunet (10 September 2009). "La Roux – As if by magic, nouveau single" (in French). Hall Musique. Archived from the original on 16 September 2009. Retrieved 25 June 2010.
    12. ^ Copsey, Robert (15 July 2010). "La Roux announce new single, video news". Digital Spy. Retrieved 15 July 2010.
    13. ^ Gregory, Jason (21 January 2009). "La Roux To Support Lily Allen on UK Tour". Gigwise. Retrieved 12 April 2009.
    14. ^ "La Roux to headline 2009 Samsung NME Radar Tour". NME. 3 March 2009. Retrieved 25 April 2009.
    15. ^ Jamie Fullerton (9 June 2009). "La Roux, Marmaduke Duke, Big Pink for Reading And Leeds Festivals". NME.
    16. ^ Fiona Byrne (19 June 2009). "La Roux announce North American tour". NME.
    17. ^ Laura Ferreiro (26 August 2009). "La Roux plot North American tour". NME.
    18. ^ "LA ROUX shows sold out - venues upgraded to meet demand!". AltSounds.com. 26 August 2009. Archived from the original on 29 August 2009.
    19. ^ Gregory, Jason (8 July 2009). "La Roux Announces Massive Autumn UK Tour". Gigwise. Retrieved 4 January 2013.
    20. ^ Youngs, Ian (5 January 2009). "BBC Sound of 2009: La Roux". BBC News. Retrieved 7 January 2009.
    21. ^ Lester, Paul (19 November 2008). "New band of the day – No 433: La Roux". The Guardian. Retrieved 7 January 2009.
    22. ^ Lovell, Rebecca (18 January 2009). "The Best New Acts of 2009: La Roux". The Guardian. Retrieved 11 April 2009.
    23. ^ a b "Barclaycard Mercury Prize 2009: nominees announced". NME. 21 July 2009. Archived from the original on 24 July 2009. Retrieved 21 July 2009.
    24. ^ Eric Vilas-Boas (25 August 2010). "La Roux to Tour the U.S." Spin. Retrieved 26 August 2010.
    25. ^ "La Roux goes to New York to revitalize In For The Kill". MTV. 8 October 2010. Archived from the original on 12 October 2010. Retrieved 27 December 2021.
    26. ^ "Kanye West announces La Roux, Jay-Z, MIA will feature on new album". NME. 7 October 2010. Archived from the original on 10 October 2010. Retrieved 7 October 2010.
    27. ^ Gil Kaufman (7 October 2010). "Kanye West Adds M.I.A., La Roux And Alicia Keys To Album". MTV. Archived from the original on 9 October 2010.
    28. ^ Matthew Perpetua (9 August 2011). "Kanye West and Jay-Z's 'Watch the Throne': A Track-by-Track Breakdown". Rolling Stone.
    29. ^ "Chromeo Featuring Elly Jackson - Hot Mess (UK Version)". glasswerk.co.uk. 1 February 2011. Archived from the original on 27 October 2011.
    30. ^ a b c "Nominees And Winners". grammy.com. Archived from the original on 15 February 2011. Retrieved 27 December 2021.
    31. ^ Harmsworth, Andrei (20 January 2012). "La Roux's Elly Jackson: The music on our new album is a lot sexier". Metro. Retrieved 4 January 2013.
    32. ^ Adam Adshead (27 November 2009). "La Roux to begin work on second album". NME. Retrieved 2 December 2009.
    33. ^ Matt Wilkinson (14 January 2011). "La Roux writing second album with 'established' indie band". NME. Retrieved 17 January 2011.
    34. ^ "La Roux's in full-on Get on With It mode, and about time too to be honest". Popjustice. 29 March 2013. Retrieved 29 March 2013.
    35. ^ David Renshaw (18 June 2014). "Ben Langmaid 'truly saddened' by his departure from La Roux". NME. Retrieved 23 June 2014.
    36. ^ "Trouble in Paradise by La Roux reviews". AnyDecentMusic?. Retrieved 27 December 2018.
    37. ^ "La Roux's Elly Jackson chats to Lauren Laverne". YouTube. 9 October 2014. Retrieved 28 December 2021.
    38. ^ Beauchemin, Molly (3 April 2014). "La Roux Announces North American Tour". Pitchfork. Retrieved 8 August 2014.
    39. ^ "New Order Announces European tour & special guests on new album". Mute. 7 July 2015. Retrieved 7 February 2016.
    40. ^ Seye [@SeyeMusic] (5 May 2016). "Seye Adelekan on Twitter" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
    41. ^ Jackson, Elly (2 February 2020). "La Roux: How to Be a Musician When You Hate the Music Industry". Vice Media. Retrieved 7 March 2020.
    42. ^ "La Roux-Supervision -Coloured-" (in Dutch). dejongensvanhemmes.nl. Retrieved 17 October 2019.
    43. ^ "La Roux - CANCELLED — The Commodore Ballroom". commodoreballroom.com. 5 November 2020. Retrieved 18 December 2021.
    44. ^ "RUSTY EGAN: The Blitzed Interview". Electricityclub.co.uk. 22 March 2021. Retrieved 28 December 2021.
    45. ^ "Breaking: La Roux". Rolling Stone. 4 November 2009.
    46. ^ "Elly Jackson: 'It's not just being catchy'". The Independent. 19 May 2010.
    47. ^ Wøien, Kim (4 September 2009). "Et intervju med La Roux" (in Norwegian). Musikknyheter.no.
    48. ^ "Singer La Roux slams 'aggressive' developers in row over future of iconic Half Moon music pub". Evening Standard. 9 April 2016. Retrieved 9 April 2016.
    49. ^ "Renaissance: La Roux - Sidetracked". renaissance.dj. Archived from the original on 26 July 2010. Retrieved 22 March 2020.
    50. ^ Day, Elizabeth (19 April 2009). "Pop's new wave: quirky, stylish girls fashioned from the 80s". The Observer. Retrieved 20 April 2009.
    51. ^ Dingwall, John (1 May 2009). "A Girl Named Roux Leads 80s Revival; Electropop Trendsetter Recaptures the Style of New Romantics for A New Generation of Music Fans". California Chronicle. Archived from the original on 12 March 2012. Retrieved 4 May 2009.
    52. ^ Lester, Paul (24 September 2009). "La Roux: 'Of course Lady Gaga's not my thing'". The Guardian.
    53. ^ "N-Dubz hit out at 'bitter' La Roux". Newsbeat. BBC News. 1 October 2009.
    54. ^ Kennedy, Gerrick D. (14 July 2010). "La Roux takes its best shot". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on 18 July 2010.
    55. ^ Odell, Amy (24 June 2010). "La Roux's Elly Jackson Refused to Wear Heels at Viktor & Rolf's Men's Show". New York.
    56. ^ Fuller, Andy. "Elly Jackson SPG Interview". Student Pocket Guide. Archived from the original on 24 December 2011. Retrieved 26 December 2011.
    57. ^ "La Roux singer tells of bullying". BreakingNews.ie. 8 August 2009. Retrieved 6 April 2013.
    58. ^ "La Roux: 'The gay community are dying for you to label yourself'". The Independent. 5 February 2020. Retrieved 20 April 2020.
    59. ^ Daniel Megarry (25 March 2020). "British pop enigma La Roux is back and bolder than ever". Gay Times. Retrieved 27 March 2020.
    60. ^ a b Mark Savage (19 October 2011). "Why are La Roux and Example writing for girl bands?". BBC News.
    61. ^
      ISBN 1-904994-10-5
      .
    62. ^
      Rovi Corporation
      . Retrieved 28 July 2009.
    63. ^ "La Roux Collaborator Fort Romeau Builds His Own 'Kingdoms'". Spin.com. 21 March 2012.
    64. ^ a b c "La Roux Teases Supervision in Kingston". matuklon.com. 5 February 2020. Retrieved 12 December 2021.
    65. ^ Take That, Madness Win Silver Clefs Billboard Business News 4 July 2009 Archived 1 October 2012 at the Wayback Machine
    66. ^ "2010-2004 – Anketa Žebřík".
    67. ^ "Muse, Florence and the Machine and Laroux among best record sleeves of 2009". The Daily Telegraph. 7 January 2010. Archived from the original on 12 January 2022. Retrieved 13 February 2010.
    68. ^ "Lily Allen". Billboard. 20 April 2010.
    69. ^ "Full 2011 Billboard Music Awards Finalists List". Billboard.com. 13 April 2011. Retrieved 22 March 2020.
    70. ^ "David Foster Named BMI Icon at 59th Annual BMI Pop Music Awards". BMI.com. 18 May 2011. Retrieved 27 April 2020.
    71. ^ "The Rober Awards 2014 Music Poll". Roberawards.com. Retrieved 22 March 2020.
    72. ^ "NME Awards 2015 With Austin, Texas - Meet The Nominees". NME. 17 December 2014. Retrieved 19 January 2016.
    73. ^ "Kasabian, Royal Blood, Jamie T lead nominations for NME Awards 2015 with Austin, Texas - voting open | NME". NME. 16 December 2014. Retrieved 27 April 2020.

    External links

    Wikimedia Commons has media related to La Roux.
    Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=La_Roux&oldid=1213409695"