• Released: 16.06.2008
• Plays: 256
• Label: Rough Edge

Biog

18/10/2008 By OFA

Out From Animals are not a normal band. They’re a highly evolved beast that has passed through a long and winding evolutionary chain, from primeval ska through metal and indie into electronica and mutated into a genre-munching ubermensch. They’re a category-defying proposition existing a million years ahead of most bands. They’re the sound of 2008, when 2008 finally catches up with them. “We got bored of being just an indie band” vocalist, guitarist and programmer Andy says of their multiple transformations, “so one day we put a couple of horns in, then we put some electronic sounds in. The ska punk kids didn’t like it. We were getting older and they were staying the same age. So we fucked off our old band and left it a good year, then completely wrote what we wanted to do and took it out again.” Out From Animals are a joint product of their fearless experimentation and their natural habitat – that cultural vacuum known as Chester. They developed amongst the city's frenetic free party/illegal rave scene, which ranged from huge out-of-town all-nighters to their own DIY parties. “There’s nowhere to go, so we make places to go where you don’t have to deal with the Chester drinking culture.” Andy explains, “everyone’s up for all-nighters rather than getting pissed and having a fight. All our friends write dance music, from psytrance to techno, and we take a lot from them.” Having played two unofficial shows at In The City 06 music convention, they were invited back in 2007 for an official gig. Since then the band have been fervently gigging across the UK, including a high profile slot at the largest electronica show for Liverpool Music Week 07, sessions for BBC local radio and XFM then going on to become victors of the renowned XFM Manchester’s ‘Exposure’ 2007. They’re a genre-twisting rock-rave monolith influenced as much by RX Bandits as they are by Chemical Brothers, Soulwax or The Faint, and have bagged themselves several celeb fans already. During their tenure on T4’s Mobile Act Unsigned they wooed Calvin Harris and were told by Jo Whiley they were the most relevant thing she’d heard all day. Blur’s Alex James meanwhile thought the debut single ‘National Curriculum’ was “the best thing he’d heard all year”. Oh yes, ‘National Curriculum’. The math-rocking post-hardcore electro new single that lassoes everyone from Foals to Men, Women and Children was released on June 16th. It’s a dense mass of sine waves and pounding drums, a multi-layered monster that began life – like most of their tracks – during laborious sessions in front of the computer, but is destined for the dancefloor Thanks to many years of trial and error - and unerring musical obsession - Out From Animals hit 2008 a fully-formed being that’s perfected every aspect of being in a band, right down to the website and t-shirts, designed of course by themselves. They don’t have any grand goals, except for finding “somewhere to rehearse where the neighbours aren’t keeping a noise complaint list”. “We write music to entertain the people we know” Andy says, “but if it can reach beyond our little group in Chester, then great”. Chester is only the beginning. After their summer festival performances at Leeds and Reading Out From Animals began work with producer James Lewis. OFA entered the studio in September to begin work on tracks for their forthcoming album and the track ‘Helicopter Parents’ has already been snapped up by Absolute Radio and added to their playlist.