02/09/10, psilogod
[quote author="DiMuTech" date="1265388185"]Cool track. It gives me a feel…
Younger Brother formed in 2005 when Benji Vaughan (Prometheus and The Zap) and Simon Posford (Shpongle and Hallucinogen) were asked to write a track for a charity called Survival International. The charity raises money for indigenous people around the world and they asked Simon and Benji to write an electronica track inspired by a Columbian tribe called The Kogi for a CD they were putting together to raise money. The Kogi call themselves the Elder Brother and those in western civilisation the Younger Brothers, hence how the partnership between the two artists became known as Younger Brother.
Simon and Benji enjoyed working together in the studio so much that one track morphed into their first album, Flock of Bleeps, which the band toured extensively around the world in countries including; Japan, Australia, USA, and Russia. At this early stage the show was performed with only Simon and Benji and their computer equipment they used to mix the tracks live on stage.
When they started work on their second album, Last Days Of Gravity Simon and Benji wanted to move away from the pure electronic sound of Flock Of Bleeps but with no band and only the two of them, Simon and Benji ended up playing all aspects of a band themselves including the drums, synths and all guitar parts. However they hit a stumbling block when they realised they needed someone on vocals, and thats when Rupert Campbell joined.
Ru and Benji were at school together and played in bands during their teenage years until they went their separate ways at college. Before joining Younger Brother in 2007 Ru had worked with electro-giants, Leftfield as well as having a burgeoning solo career with a Major Label.
Once the second album was complete in May 2007, the band quickly realised that the new material wouldnt work well as a live performance with just the two guys on stage with their laptops. So they assembled a band of artists they had worked with in the past to play they’re first own concert with the new Younger Brother sound at Brixton Academy in London (which sold out to over 4000 people) this was quickly followed by touring around the world throughout the summer. The album became the 20th album of the year in 2008 UK mercury prize (UK music Oscars) and missed nomination by only eight places.
Then in spring 08 the band were asked to tour the west coast US, so they contacted Marc Brownstein of the Philedelphia jam band, The Disco Biscuits whos album they were currently producing. Marc dived in and said he'd love to join the band and play bass and also introduced Simon and Benji to Tommy Hamilton (guitar) and Joe Russo (drums).
Together they played at the Boulder Theatre, the Ogden Denver, Fulsom San Francisco and the Roxy LA - all shows sold out and the band was formed. They worked so well together and had such a good vibe going that they decided to record their next album together.
The full band met again at the studio owned by legendary producer Flood in rainy Willesden in North London in November 08, where they started recording the third as yet unnamed Younger Brother album which will hopefully be released on Twisted Records in Spring 2009.
Meanwhile Benji and Simon are working with Philip Ridley on the soundtrack for a film called Heartless, which is set to be one of the UKs biggest movies for 2009 which premiered at Cannes in May 09. The guys are continuing to perform at gigs around the world and have received nearly half a million hits on their My Space page.
The band will play only 4 exclusive live dates in 2009:
July 09th Terminal 5, 610 W. 56th Street, New York, NY, USA.Tickets
July 10th Sonar, 407 East Saratoga, Baltimore, MD, USA.Tickets
July 11th TLA, 334 South Street, Philadelphia , PA, USA.Tickets
July 17th Camp Bisco, Mariaville, NY, USA, Tickets
Last Days Of Gravity
June 2007, sees the launch of the latest album by Younger Brother, created by the psychedelic trance pioneer Simon Posford (Hallucinogen, Shpongle) and Benji Vaughn the mastermind behind Prometheus and The Egg. The pair team up once again to create their second album, a breathtaking album with stunning sound production, that takes listeners on an incredibly varied musical journey.
The Last Days Of Gravity is a unique melee of electronic, acoustic, and vocal music, running the gamut of beautiful, strange, catchy, psychedelic, melancholic, uplifting. Despite its consistently psychedelic tone, the album has a very human element to it, and you can sense the spirit and emotion that have gone into its creation.
The harmonic variety of Last Days is particularly mesmerising. The bindingly riveting melodic lines provide echoes of Posfords earlier work in Shpongle and Celtic Cross, as well as of his more recent collaboration with the legendary Alan Parsons. This album is no retro piece of work, however, with Posford and Vaughn’s legendary innovation resulting in a complex mix of styles that eludes genre-casting. Despite having no obvious dance numbers, “The Last Days Of Gravity” provides enough levity to be the perfect soundtrack to the richness of daily experience.
Top all that off with stunning artwork by the legendary Storm Thorgerson (whose work has graced albums by Pink Floyd, Alan Parsons, and Led Zeppelin, among many others), and there you have it – the outside matches the inside. With The Last Days Of Gravity, you have yourself another trendsetting, description-defying release from Twisted Records!
For the digital version of this release and the complete Twisted catalogue including many exclusive tracks, please visit our download store: www.twisteddownloads.com
Younger Brother 3rd Album Recording Sessions November’08
Younger Brother “All I Want’ Rehearsals in London, May 2007