Is Tropical | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Background information | |
| Origin | London, England |
| Genres | Indietronica, electronic rock, new rave |
| Years active | 2009–present |
| Labels | Previous Kitsuné/Cooperative Music / Present Axis Mundi Records |
| Members | Simon Milner Gary Barber Dominic Apa Kirstie Fleck |
| Website | www |
Is Tropical are a band from London, England, with members as of 2014 including Simon Milner, Gary Barber, Dominic Apa, and Kirstie Fleck. Formed in 2009 as a trio, in June 2011 they released their debut album Native To, preceded by the single "The Greeks", which had a music video win awards at the UK Music Video Awards. Their first EP, Flags, was released in 2013, while their second album I'm Leaving was released that year on the label Kitsuné. They have toured with bands such as Egyptian Hip Hop, and are signed to Axis Mundi Records in New York. The band's third album, Black Anything, was released in March 2016.
History
2009-13: Native To
Formed in London in 2009, the band released their debut single "When O’ When" on Hit Club Records in January 2010, produced by Al Al Al. They were soon signed to French music and fashion label Kitsuné. The band entered the studio in the autumn of 2010 with Jimmy Robertson to record their debut album, and released the single "South Pacific" in Jan 2011. This second release and first for their new label Kitsuné / Cooperative Music, was mixed by LEXXX. Around this time they toured the UK and Europe as special guests of Klaxons, The Big Pink, Mystery Jets, Good Shoes and also co-headlined a tour with Egyptian Hip Hop.
In June 2011 they released their debut album Native to, preceded by the single "The Greeks". "The Greeks" was accompanied by a video directed by French directors Megaforce, which quickly went viral (almost 3,500,000 plays to date on YouTube, and over 10,000,000 on Chinese YouTube). The video was critically praised and has won several awards such as The Antville Music Video Awards 2011, UK Music Video Awards 2011, D&AD Yellow Pencil Award 2012, and an Artrocker Award. After the release of Native to and of single "Lies", the band spent rest of 2011 and part of 2012 touring Europe, USA (with Crystal Fighters), Japan, South America and the Far East.
2013-14: Flags and I'm Leaving
In January 2013, Is Tropical released an EP, titled Flags, featuring artists Get People, Visions, Drugzndreamz, Goodbye Leopold and Owen Pratt.
The band released their second album I’m Leaving on 20 May 2013 on Kitsune / Pias. The album was produced by Luke Smith. The first single taken from the album is "Dancing Anymore", accompanied by a video by previous collaborators Megaforce, which gained notoriety and was removed from YouTube within hours of its release due to its graphic depiction of imagined sexual acts between a young man and naked CG characters. The second single, 'Lover's Cave' was released on 26 August 2013. The video was directed by cult New York photographer Richard Kern.
In April 2013, Is Tropical became one of the first Western bands to play in Mongolia. Their trip was filmed by Noisey with a 2 parts documentary and in an article by The Guardian.[1]
Awards and nominations
Antville Music Video Awards
| Year | Nominee / work | Award | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | "The Greeks" | Video of the Year | Won |
| Most Fun | Nominated | ||
| Best Editing | Nominated | ||
| Best Visual Effects | Nominated | ||
| 2013 | "Dancing Anymore" | Nominated | |
| Most Fun | Nominated |
D&AD Awards
| Year | Nominee / work | Award | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | "The Greeks" | Music Video | Yellow Pencil |
| 2014 | "Dancing Anymore" | Yellow Pencil |
UK Music Video Awards
| Year | Nominee / work | Award | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | "The Greeks" | Best Animation | Won |
| Best Rock/Indie Video - UK | Won | ||
| 2013 | "Dancing Anymore" | Nominated | |
| Best Animation | Nominated |
Discography
LPs
Native To
| Native To | |
|---|---|
| Studio album by Is Tropical | |
| Released | 13 June 2011[2] |
| Label | Kitsuné[3] |
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Pitchfork Media |   [3] |
| Consequence of Sound | [4] |
| NME | [5] |
| Drowned in Sound | [6] |
| BBC | Positive[2] |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "South Pacific" | 3:40 |
| 2. | "Land of the Nod" | 2:43 |
| 3. | "Lies" | 3:26 |
| 4. | "The Greeks" | 3:39 |
| 5. | "What???" | 4:00 |
| 6. | "Clouds" | 3:40 |
| 7. | "Take My Chances" | 3:36 |
| 8. | "Oranges" | 3:57 |
| 9. | "Berlin" | 3:13 |
| 10. | "Think We're Alone" | 3:11 |
| 11. | "Zombie" | 3:53 |
| 12. | "Seasick Mutiny" | 4:10 |
I'm Leaving
| I'm Leaving | |
|---|---|
| Studio album by IS TROPICAL | |
| Released | 20 May 2013 |
| Label | Kitsuné |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Lover's Cave" | 3:36 |
| 2. | "Dancing Anymore" | 5:18 |
| 3. | "Lilith" | 3:44 |
| 4. | "Leave The Party" | 3:36 |
| 5. | "Cry" | 3:56 |
| 6. | "Sun Sun" | 2:41 |
| 7. | "Video" | 4:13 |
| 8. | "All Night" | 3:33 |
| 9. | "Toulouse" | 2:48 |
| 10. | "Yellow Teeth" | 7:01 |
Black Anything
| Black Anything | |
|---|---|
| Studio album by IS TROPICAL | |
| Released | 11 March 2016 |
| Label | Axis Mundi Records |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Lights On" | 3:17 |
| 2. | "Crawl" | 3:33 |
| 3. | "Cruise Control" | 3:42 |
| 4. | "Fall" | 4:01 |
| 5. | "On My Way" | 5:44 |
| 6. | "Follow the Sun" | 2:54 |
| 7. | "Now Stop" | 4:09 |
| 8. | "Say" | 3:29 |
| 9. | "Believe" | 5:14 |
| 10. | "What You Want" | 3:36 |
EPs
Flags EP
| Flags EP | |
|---|---|
| Studio album by IS TROPICAL | |
| Released | 22 January 2013 |
| Label | Kitsuné |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Mexico feat. Goodbye Leopold" | 3:49 |
| 2. | "Oi Peru" | 4:27 |
| 3. | "Maria's Colombia" | 3:44 |
| 4. | "Venezuela feat. Get People" | 3:30 |
Singles
- 2010: "When O' When"
- 2010: "South Pacific"
- 2011: "The Greeks"
- 2011: "Lies"
- 2013: "Dancing Anymore"
- 2013: "Lover's Cave"
References
- ↑ Mumford, Gwylim (17 May 2013). "No sleep till Ulan Bator!". The Guardian. Retrieved 17 October 2014.
- 1 2 Hawkins, Si (7 July 2011). "Is Tropical Native To Review". BBC. Retrieved 24 May 2012.
- 1 2 Harvey, Eric (8 August 2011). "Is Tropical: Native To". Pitchfork. Pitchfork Media. Retrieved 24 May 2012.
- ↑ Rearick, Lauren (24 October 2011). "Album Review: Is Tropical – Native To". Consequence of Sound. Retrieved 24 May 2012.
- ↑ Wright, Lisa (14 June 2011). "Album Review: Is Tropical - 'Native To'". NME. Retrieved 24 May 2012.
- ↑ Leivers, Dannii (13 June 2011). "Release: Is Tropical Native To". Drowned in Sound. Archived from the original on 25 August 2011. Retrieved 24 May 2012.
External links
