Stateless (band)

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Stateless
Sony Music (2004)
MembersChris James
kidkanevil
Justin Percival
David Levin
Past membersJames Sturdy
Jon Taylor
Rod Buchanan-Dunlop
Websiteninjatune.net/artist/stateless

Stateless are an English electronic band, founded in 2002 and based in Leeds and London. The group comprises Chris James (vocals, keyboards, guitars), kidkanevil (turntables, sampling, programming), Justin Percival (bass guitar, vocals) and David Levin (drums).

Stateless earned a

!K7 Records. Single "Exit" was released in 2007, followed by their self-titled debut album Stateless. There were two other singles from this album; "Prism No. 1" and "Bloodstream". They toured throughout the UK and Europe in 2007 and 2008, playing both live concerts and acoustic showcases, promoting the album and debuting new material for an upcoming second album. In 2008 the single "Window 23/The Great White Whale" in collaboration with Gavin Castleton was released on First Word Excursions. In 2010, the band signed with independent label Ninja Tune on which their eleven-track second album Matilda
was released on 21 February 2011, taking on a less organic and more electronic feel and direction. The album was accompanied and preceded by single "Ariel" already released on 22 November 2010 and "Assassinations" released on 14 February 2011. Then on 19 September 2011 the I'm On Fire EP was released, with the original version feat. Shara Worden, plus remixes from Blue Daisy and Slugabed, a new song called "Blue Fire" feat. Amenta, and a string quartet version of "Bloodstream".

Their brand of electronic alternative rock is habitually compared to the sound of bands such as Radiohead, Portishead and Massive Attack. Furthermore, Stateless are influenced by many styles of music from classical music to psychedelic rock, dancehall reggae to electronic music and hip hop and artists such as DJ Shadow, Autechre and Björk.[1]

History

Formation and early years (2002–2004)

Stateless met in Leeds in 2002.

Leeds Metropolitan University on the first day of their Creative Music and Sound Technology course in the Leeds Met School of Technology. Buchanan-Dunlop then came into the band as the programmer and Stateless became a five piece.[2]

In February 2003 they released their first demo including demo versions of the songs "Exit" and "Prism No. 1",

Sony Music.[2][5][8]

Record deal and The Bloodstream EP (2004–2006)

They teamed up with manager Martin Hall of Sanctuary Artist Management (

Driv3r (2004) and its standalone album release.[10] When Sony merged with BMG, their contract with the Sony Music label terminated. Stateless lost their record deal but James stated in 2007 it "wasn’t much of a blow to us, it was a bit of a relief."[1][4]

James, kidkanevil and Percival in concert with Stateless in 2007

A compilation called The Studio Sessions with live and unmixed studio versions of the songs "Down Here", "Horizon" and "Running Out", recorded between November 2003 and March 2004, was made available as a free download on the bands' official website, alongside a video directed by kidkanevil. In April 2005 Stateless raised £1280 for

Leeds Metropolitan Students' Union, a night jointly organised by Stateless and the Events Department at Leeds Metropolitan University. Leeds Met provided the venue and promotional material free of charge so that the full £5 ticket price could be donated to Amnesty.[11]

On 25 July 2005 Stateless released

high school.[1][3]

New record label and Stateless (2006–2008)

Percival and Buchanan-Dunlop in concert with Stateless in 2007

Stateless signed a new record deal with

mtvU's "The Freshmen".[18] Third and final single taken from the album "Bloodstream" was released 29 October 2007 again as a 12" with remixes, this time from Henrik Schwarz
and Pilooski, and as CD single holding the same remixes. To coincide with the single's release, a promotional music video was released as well.

The album has been receiving airplay on BBC Radio 1 and

The Blacklist. A remixed and digitally remastered version with new piano parts of "Bloodstream" was also featured in the season 1 finale of the American hit television series The Vampire Diaries.[20]
The single "Bloodstream" would also be used in the soundtrack of the 2010 HBO Adaptation of the novel 'Bloodletting and Miraculous Cures'.

In 2006 a collaboration with American

singer–songwriter and musician Gavin Castleton on lead vocals, resulted in the single "Window 23/The Great White Whale". They hooked up with Gavin through the internet and initially planned to do a split EP. They would do 2 tracks with Castleton remixing 2 of his own tracks and James writing vocals over them and 2 tracks with Stateless remixing 2 of their tracks and Castleton writing vocals over them.[14] Eventually only the latter two were finished so they decided on the single format with vocals from Castleton on both tracks with "Window 23" being a remix of Stateless' song "Exit".[14] The single was ready for release in 2006–2007 but release was postponed due to promotional restrictions at that time, set by their newly signed record company !K7, whose main priority was the promotion of their debut album and singles. The single was eventually released as a 7" and a digital package including a new acoustic song "Wade In" on 20 July 2008 on First Word Excursions, the sister label to Leeds-based independent label
First Word Records. The latter being also home to kidkanevil as a solo artist, on which he released three albums to date.

While releasing their debut on !K7, they already started writing new material for a second album.[21] In the autumn of 2007 and 2008 Stateless played venues including festivals and several acoustic sets, throughout the UK and across Europe in countries as Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, France, Italy, Spain and Austria among others.[4][19] Newly written songs as "Junior" and "Whiter Than Snow" for an upcoming album already received their live debut during the tour.[22] In March 2008 they were to play their first gig across the Atlantic at the SXSW music festival in Austin, Texas,[23] but had to cancel eventually.

Matilda (2011–present)

New material was written and debuted at several one-off live performances and acoustic showcases throughout 2008. Recording of the new album started in September 2008 at Strongroom 33 Studios in East London.

MySpace page. A demo of the new album's intro was posted to their MySpace for a free listen as well. In April 2009, it was stated that 13 songs were written and recorded for their then still untitled second studio album. In the following months, they were mixed with a release eventually expected in early 2010.[25] Although the full album was leaked online as early as October 2009. While taking a short break from mixing the upcoming album, Stateless embarked on a small acoustic tour in the Netherlands
in June 2009, playing 4 locations, which they repeated in late October 2009 with another 4 Dutch acoustic showcases.

With a new website still under construction, the band's official Myspace was used as the single instrument for communication whilst the new album was being recorded and mixed. In late November 2009 it was announced on their Myspace-page that mixing of the new album was almost complete and was due for release in the first half of 2010. Buchanan-Dunlop (programming, live FX, keyboards) opted out of the band in December 2009 to pursue a new career, leaving only James and kidkanevil left from the original line-up and thus leaving Stateless a four piece. In early February 2010, the band announced again through their Myspace blog, that mixing of the album was finished and that Stateless was to be back on the scene from autumn 2010 with the release of new material in sight as well as a brand new electronic live show. In addition it was announced James would be playing three stripped down solo acoustic shows in London with two in March and one in April and May 2010.

After signing with independent label Ninja Tune in 2010, Stateless released their first new single "Ariel" on 22 November 2010 followed by "Assassinations" on 14 February 2011. Their eleven track second album Matilda was eventually released on 21 February 2011 on both 2CD which includes an instrumental version of the album and 2LP. The digital release that accompanied the physical media included a bonus track called "Matilda" as well.

Stateless tracked and engineered the record themselves and teamed up with Damian Taylor (

Shara Worden (My Brightest Diamond
) on the track "I'm on Fire".

The song "Miles to Go", was added to the video game Sleeping Dogs, where it was played on the Ninja Tune Radio. This was not the version that incorporated Chris James' vocals, but rather an instrumental version.

[25] Stateless played the HMV Next Big Thing festival in February 2011, followed by a small European tour, playing venues in The Netherlands, Switzerland, Italy, France and the UK among others.

Musical style

Style and main influences

"Exit" (2004)
A sample of the song "Exit" chosen as the first single from Stateless (2007) demonstrates Stateless' blend of hip hop and rock: turntables, samplers, electronic elements go together with more traditional musical instruments as bass guitar and drums.
Problems playing this file? See media help.

Stateless musical style is often described as a cross between Radiohead and DJ Shadow,[11][26] as well as reminiscent to that of bands as Portishead, Coldplay, UNKLE and Massive Attack.[1][27] When growing up they state to have drawn influence from the Britpop movement and many other more guitar-oriented bands.[8] Coming from this more traditional rock background, Stateless got heavily influenced by electronic music, dance music, hip hop and trip hop.[1] It was planned from the start not to be a guitar oriented band. They left guitars behind[2][3] and started playing with turntables and samplers, using them as an instrument as in a regular band[8] and incorporating them next to more conventional instruments as keyboards, bass guitar and drums for creating their sound.[1]

Their blend of several musical styles and many diverse influences makes it challenging to classify them into one particular music genre or scene. They say they try not to restrict themselves to one type of music or try to fit into any scene.[21] This creative approach in making music is according to Levin directly reflected in their name: "Musically we’re stateless, we don’t belong to any particular scene."[1] James states their name reflects where they belong creatively:[16] "It mainly means; Freedom. We want to be free from barriers, borders and any restrictions really."[1] and that it is "reflecting our feelings about the way we make music. No boundaries, no pigeon-holes, no rules."[21]

They state to have drawn their musical style from various styles of music ranging from

Warp Records and similar labels.[1][28] The fact that their tastes in music are very diverse is, according to the band, their main influence.[1] In particular they state to be heavily influenced by Radiohead, DJ Shadow and his highly acclaimed album Endtroducing....., Massive Attack,[16] Autechre, Björk[1] and Aphex Twin.[8]
James' vocal style and in particular his falsetto, has often been compared to that of singers as Thom Yorke (Radiohead), Jeff Buckley and sometimes even mistaken for Chris Martin (Coldplay).[28][29] When asked about this he disregards the direct comparison: "I've been singing all of my life. I never want to base my sound around any other vocalist and I certainly don't ever want to sound exactly like someone else."[25] James himself states to have drawn other notable influences from Nina Simone, Jeff Buckley, Otis Redding, and rap music vocals.[4]

Songwriting and lyrics

While James is the main songwriter and lyricist, all of the band members participate in writing music. Percival also contributed lyrics for second album Matilda.[1] The band has said that songwriting usually begins with James at piano or one member programming a beat. They state to be very beat-oriented and take a lot of time figuring out the rhythmic foundations when writing music.[3]

The band aimed to demonstrate variety in the lyrics on their self-titled debut album, a fact expanded upon by James: "Some songs are inspired by dreams, fantasizing, blurring the lines between reality and fantasy. This Language is an anti-war song, Exit is just an explosion and Bluetrace is trippy, with the second half like a primal scream. We just wanted to make a lot of noise!"[4] In regards to their second album, the band aimed for an increased sense of maturity and self-awareness, and wanted to focus less on "break-ups and such things" and more on "longing, searching, loving, life, death, magic, lust and forgiveness," according to James. "We've also developed our relationships off the stage as well. This album was so much fun because it was like five best mates playing around in a studio."[25]

Discography

See also:
List of Stateless songs
Stateless discography
Studio albums2
Music videos4
EPs1
Singles7

Singles

Year Date Single Album Label Format(s)
2004 5 April "Down Here" Stateless Sony Music 7", CDS
2007 14 May "Exit" !K7 7"
30 July "Prism No. 1" 12", CDS
29 October "Bloodstream" 12", CDS
2008 20 July "Window 23/Great White Whale" (feat. Gavin Castleton) Single-only First Word Excursions 7"
2010 22 November "Ariel" Matilda Ninja Tune Digital
2011 14 February "Assassinations" Digital

Music videos

Year Single Director
2004 "Down Here" Ben Ib[30]
2007 "Prism No. 1" Mo Stoebe[31]
"Bloodstream" Mox[32]
2010 "Ariel" FIELD[33]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r Mück, Michael (July 2007), Stateless - July 2007 English Version, Cuemix Magazine Medienverlag, archived from the original on 17 January 2010, retrieved 20 April 2009
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l "Stateless: no limits" (PDF), Momentum: The Alumni Magazine of Leeds Metropolitan University, Leeds:
    Leeds Metropolitan University
    , pp. 8–9, 2005, retrieved 15 July 2009
  3. ^ a b c d D'Auria, Jonathan, Stateless, The Grixer music magazine, retrieved 16 July 2009
  4. ^ a b c d e f g Davis, Lee (17 August 2007), Stateless - combining break-beat, rock and soulful vocals, inthenews.co.uk, archived from the original on 1 March 2012, retrieved 22 April 2009
  5. ^ a b c d e f g The full story: from demo to record deal, BBC Radio 1 - OneMusic Exposed, 6 November 2003, archived from the original on 7 March 2005, retrieved 22 April 2009
  6. ^ a b "Stateless" (PDF), Leeds Met Matters, Leeds:
    Leeds Metropolitan University, p. 5, May 2004, archived from the original
    (PDF) on 5 September 2006, retrieved 22 April 2009
  7. ^ Stateless and Fulc selected for OneMusic Playlist..., Leeds Music Scene, 3 July 2003, retrieved 17 July 2009
  8. ^ a b c d e Stateless Interview (Video Interview). Fresh Milk. 2007. Archived from the original on 22 June 2011. Retrieved 15 July 2009.
  9. ^ a b Stateless release their debut single on the Sony Music label..., Leeds Music Scene, 18 April 2004, retrieved 17 July 2009
  10. ^ DRIV3R Soundtrack Hits The Streets, IGN Music, 8 June 2004, archived from the original on 6 October 2008, retrieved 22 April 2009
  11. ^ a b Stateless raise £1250 for Amnesty International..., Leeds Music Scene, 14 May 2005, retrieved 17 July 2009
  12. ^ a b Holmes, Thom (17 January 2007), DJ Shadow Interview, Contactmusic.com, retrieved 23 April 2009
  13. ^ Davis, Joshua P. (27 July 2005), Stateless..., archived from the original on 5 April 2007, retrieved 20 April 2009
  14. ^ a b c Strain, Lauren (October 2006), "Stateless", Sandman Magazine, no. 124, Leeds: Mark Roberts, retrieved 26 August 2009[permanent dead link]
  15. ^ a b Wright, Rob (August 2007), "Statement of Intent" (PDF), Sandman Magazine, no. 134, Leeds: Mark Roberts, pp. 20–21, archived from the original (PDF) on 27 September 2011, retrieved 26 August 2009
  16. ^
    !K7 Records
    . Retrieved 22 April 2009.
  17. ^ Stateless - Prism 1 Video, Contactmusic.com, 12 July 2007, retrieved 17 August 2009
  18. ^ Stateless mtvU,
    !K7 Records, July 2007, archived from the original
    on 16 July 2011, retrieved 10 August 2009
  19. ^ a b De Santi, Fabio (4 July 2008), Stateless: i cinque di Leeds on stage sabato 5 a Rovereto per Sentiero di Pace (in Italian), Indie Music, retrieved 11 July 2009
  20. ^ "The Vampire Diaries Soundtrack - Available Now". Archived from the original on 15 October 2010. Retrieved 3 June 2020.
  21. ^ a b c Camarretta, Vito (3 June 2007), Interview Stateless, thevibes.net, archived from the original on 22 November 2008, retrieved 14 July 2009
  22. ^ M, L (19 July 2007), Stateless Album Launch, Leeds five Piece smash it in Camden...,
    MTV (UK & Ireland)
    , retrieved 13 July 2009
  23. ^ Melia, Daniel (8 February 2008), Full Line Up For SXSW Announced,
    Gigwise.com
    , retrieved 17 August 2009
  24. ^ Medhurst, Dan (26 September 2008), Stateless Recording, archived from the original on 7 December 2008, retrieved 13 July 2009
  25. ^ a b c d e D'Auria, Jonathan (27 April 2009), Band of the Week: Stateless, Paste Magazine, archived from the original on 13 April 2014, retrieved 11 July 2009
  26. ^ Perlaki, Mark (June 2007), Stateless: Stateless, Textura, retrieved 17 July 2009
  27. ^ Butler, Nick (19 September 2007), Stateless, Sputnikmusic, retrieved 17 July 2009
  28. ^ a b Southall, Nick (11 August 2005), Stateless - The Bloodstream EP, Stylus Magazine, archived from the original on 24 September 2015, retrieved 17 July 2009
  29. ^ Stateless - 'Stateless' (K7!) Released 18/06/07,
    Gigwise.com
    , 8 June 2007, retrieved 17 July 2009
  30. ^ Ib, Ben (2004), Stateless // 'Down Here', archived from the original on 13 April 2014, retrieved 23 August 2009
  31. ^ Stoebe, Mo (2007), Stateless 'Prism No. 1', MODEFY, archived from the original on 5 April 2008, retrieved 23 August 2009
  32. ^ Band: Stateless, Track: Bloodstream, Mox VJ visuals, 2007, archived from the original on 8 October 2011, retrieved 23 August 2009
  33. ^ Stateless - ariel, 2010, archived from the original on 20 November 2010, retrieved 13 November 2010

External links

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