We Have Band
Performing at the Montreux Jazz Festival, 2012
Performing at the Montreux Jazz Festival, 2012
Background information
OriginManchester / London, England
GenresDance-punk, krautrock, indie rock, new wave
Years active2007-present
LabelsNaïve
MembersDarren Bancroft
Thomas Wegg-Prosser
Dede Wegg-Prosser

We Have Band, also known as "WHB", is a three-piece electronic music group from Manchester and London consisting of Darren Bancroft and the husband-and-wife duo Thomas Wegg-Prosser and Dede Wegg-Prosser.[1] They have released three albums through the French-based Naïve Records. Their first album, WHB, was released on 5 April 2010[2] and a ten-track second album, Ternion, was released on 29 January 2012.[3] We Have Band have remixed many artists including Gorillaz, Bloc Party, Micachu, Peter Bjorn and John and M83.

Instruments and style

The band writes with guitars, bass guitars, synthesizers, soft synthesizers, percussion, drum machines and drum samples. Within a few months of working together they had the collection of songs that formed the backbone of their first album. Many of these songs have appeared as single releases and on various compilations including the Kitsuné Maison compilations. Their style has been variously described as disco revival [4] and depressive disco.[5] They have been lauded as punk funk standard bearers[5] and in their early days were described by Paul Lester of The Guardian as being "unsigned and undeniable".[6]

Career

Early live performances

The band started playing in London in April 2008 at venues such as Club Mother Fucker,[7] Dollop,[8] YoYo,[9] White Heat [10] and Durr.[11] In their early days they also made a number of festival appearances at events like Secret Garden Party, Glastonbury festival, SXSW, La Route du Rock, Rencontres Trans Musicales, Montreux Jazz Festival, CMJ, Berlin Festival and Art Basel Miami. This laid the foundations for the live following which saw the band tour solidly during 2009 and 2010. A highlight of their early live work was victory in the Glastonbury Festival emerging band competition in March 2009.[12]

Early single and compilation releases

The band released its first single, "Oh!", in November 2008 on the 50bones records label,[13] notable for releasing early singles by Little Boots, and The Virgins. The single received much critical acclaim. This Is Faked DIY[14] described it as "the most chilled disco-funk ever" and as "Kraftwerk running for the bus".[6] Oh! was remixed by Yo Majesty and Micachu & The Shapes. The video for this release was directed by Tom Ellis. "Oh!" was followed by "You Came Out" which was released on the Kill 'em All label in June 2009. Its video[15] was directed by David Wilson who has also directed videos for Metronomy and Little Boots. There were a number of remixes for "You Came Out", including ones by Stereogamus[16] and Blamma Blamma!.[17] The Kitsuné label were early fans of the band and two tracks were included on the Kitsuné Maison compilations. "Hear It In The Cans" appeared on Maison 6 and "Time After Time" on Maison 7. The band has since played two Kitsuné events in La Maroquinerie, Paris, and Scala, London.

Naïve label releases

WHB

Work on the band's first album was finished in Autumn 2009. It was mixed and co-produced by Gareth Jones who has also worked with Depeche Mode, These New Puritans and Emmy The Great. The recording and mix was finished in Strongrooms and the record was mastered by Nils at The Exchange. It was signed to Naïve Records, a French independent label[18] at the end of 2009 and the album was released on 5 April 2010 on CD, vinyl and download formats. The album received much critical acclaim. The Times described it as "Brooding disco meets slick, new-wave indie". The Fly magazine said the album shows "just what a force they really are",[19] whilst The Music Fix[20] said, "These young shoulders have sired a mature yet minimal electro pop masterpiece." The album artwork was created by Sam Ashby, an East London art director and designer, who is also responsible for the queer film magazine Little Joe.

Singles

"Divisive" was the first single proper from the album. It was iTunes single of the week on its release week of 22 March.[21] It received significant support from Radio 1 DJs Fearne Cotton and Jo Whiley. The video for "Divisive"[22] was made by jul&mat[23] for Solab who have also made videos for Metronomy. "Divisive" was remixed by Tom Starr[24] and the Chicago house legend Carl Craig[25] amongst others. "Divisive" was followed by a re-release of "Oh!".[26] The re-release video was made by Blake Claridge. The final single from WHB was "Love What You Doing?".[27] Released on 6 December 2010,the single was accompanied by remixes by Anoraak, Teenagers and Tokyo, and James Yuill.

Touring

From the 2008 London performances and early international festival performances the band has toured fairly constantly. At the Rencontres Trans Musicales in late 2008 in Rennes the band was described as "The Revelation of the Festival". In 2009 and 2010, the band played 287 shows in 26 countries. They have played major festivals all over the UK including Glastonbury festival, The Big Chill, V Festival, Lovebox Festival, Secret Garden Party, Latitude, Isle of Wight Festival, Parklife, and The Great Escape. Worldwide, they have played at SXSW, Melt! Festival, Berlin Festival, Emmaboda (Sweden), Paleo Festival (Switzerland), Pohoda (Slovakia), La Route du Rock, Exit (Serbia), Montreux Jazz Festival, Printemps de Bourges, Pukkelpop and Calvi On The Rocks among many others. Playing live has given the band their real identity and allowed them to reach tens of thousands of concert goers and their energetic live shows have earned them numerous plaudits,[4][28][29]

TV and film

Several of the band's songs have been used in television advertisements. In 2010, the track "Honey Trap" was chosen for the global Diesel 'Be Stupid' campaign.[30] In 2015, "Honey Trap" was also used by Coca-Cola in its 'Choose Coca-Cola' campaign.[31] "Divisive" was used in the TV series Mercy[32] and the Tom Starr remix was used on EA Games Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit.[33] The band's third single, "Love What You Doing", was chosen for Stella McCartney's Print Collection Fragrances adverts.[34] and twice in the TV show Made in Chelsea.[35] The band also appeared on the Channel 4 Top Shop ctrl event broadcast in April 2010[36] and was featured on the MTV live sessions.[37]

2011

The band had several European dates and festivals, but mainly worked on its follow up to the first album, WHB, with producer Luke Smith who had recently produced Foals, and the producer mixer Ben Hillier who has worked with Blur, Villagers and Elbow.

2012

Ternion

Ternion was released on 30 January 2012. The limited edition version of the record included a bonus disc Ternion Aside,[38] which is a 26-minute reworking of the album by Thomas Wegg-Prosser. The first single, "Where Are Your People?",[39] was released on 5 February 2012, picking up television coverage on Sky's Soccer AM[40] along with radio plays on stations such as XFM, Amazing Radio and fm4. There was significant interest on music blogs, including Clash Music,[41] Disco Naivete[42] and lagasta.[43] This single was accompanied by remixes from the house act eatseverythingmusic[44] and electronic duo Walls.[45] The video for the release was made by Alex Turvey.[46] The second single from Ternion, "Tired Of Running",[47] was released on 4 June 2012. The video was shot in the woods of Marly Le Roi outside Paris and was directed by Arthur Castillon and Fabien Pochez.[48] The single and video attracted coverage from La Gasta,[49] Disco Naivete,[50] Daze Digital,[51] Electronic Beats[52] and ilikemusic.[53] At the end of the year, they released the "What's Mine, What's Yours" single, online only.[54][55] To accompany the release was a montage style video edited and directed by Kate Bones.[55] Along with this, Ternion Aside was re-released. Previously only available on the Special Edition of Ternion, it is a 26-minute re-work of Side A of "Ternion"[56] by Tom Wegg-Prosser, who said, "It was inspired by The League Unlimited Orchestra’s ‘Love and Dancing’ Album. The idea of taking only the component parts from an original album recording and re-imagining them - creating a new and unique piece of music from what already existed whilst trying not to take a conventional remix approach. The 1st 5 tracks from ‘Ternion’ all worked within this concept and we love the way the music becomes something else." This was available to listen to on soundcloud and "What's Mine, What's Yours", the final track from the mix, was available to download for free.[57]

Recordstore Day

On Recordstore Day, 21 April 2012, the band released a limited edition double A-side of a cover of The Horrors' "Still Life" and Washed Out's "Within Without".

To promote Ternion, the band performed the following live sessions: All Saints Basement Sessions,[58] Daytrotter,[59] Play NetWork,[58] Nova Radio,[60] le Mouv[61] and The Clash.[62]

Touring

The tour to accompany this album started on 15 February 2012 in Cargo London and was followed by an extensive tour of Europe, then on to South America for 16º Festival Cultura Inglesa with Franz Ferdinand and The Horrors. European and UK festivals followed, including Lovebox, Latitude, Montreux Jazz Festival, Berlin Festival and Dockville. A European autumn tour followed in September 2012, including Berlin Festival.[63] In 2013, the band went to Mexico for some dates with Bandtastic[64] and returned to do a German tour. The band are currently working on their third album.

Discography

Studio albums

Album title Album details
WHB
Ternion
Movements

Singles

Release details Release date Label
"Oh!" November 2008 50 Bones
"You Came Out" June 2009 Kill 'em All
"Divisive" March 2010 Naïve Records
"Oh!" June 2010 Naïve Records
"Love, What You Doing?" December 2010 Naïve Records
"Where Are Your People?" February 2012 Naïve Records
"Tired Of Running" June 2012 Naïve Records
"What's Mine, What's Yours" November 2012 Naïve Records

Remixing

Cover versions

Mixtapes

  • SoundCloud - We Have Band - Free Mixtape[81]
  • Spotify - We Have Band - Mixtape[82]
  • Digital Hunter - We Have Band - Mixtape[83]
  • Allez Allez - We Have Band - Mixtape[84]
  • Dummy Magazine Mixtape [85]

References

  1. ↑ "We Have Band". Last.fm. Retrieved 13 June 2012.
  2. ↑ "WHB (Bonus Track Version)". iTunes. 5 April 2010. Retrieved 15 June 2012.
  3. ↑ "Ternion (Deluxe Edition)". iTunes. 29 January 2012. Retrieved 15 June 2012.
  4. 1 2 "Interview : We Have Band". Dirtbagjournalism.wordpress.com. 28 April 2010. Retrieved 11 July 2012.
  5. 1 2 "Album Review: We Have Band - 'WHB' (WHB Records/Naive)". Nme.Com. 9 April 2010. Retrieved 11 July 2012.
  6. 1 2 Lester, Paul (20 June 2008). "No 338: We Have Band | Culture". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 11 July 2012.
  7. ↑ "Club Motherfu*ker". Clubmotherfucker.com. 12 May 2012. Retrieved 11 July 2012.
  8. ↑ "dollop". Dollopdollop.com. Retrieved 11 July 2012.
  9. ↑ "Thursday". Nottinghillartsclub.com. Retrieved 11 July 2012.
  10. ↑ "White Heat Club. Every Tuesday night at Madame JoJo's in Soho, London". Whiteheatmayfair.com. Retrieved 11 July 2012.
  11. ↑ "DURRR". DURRR. Retrieved 11 July 2012.
  12. ↑ "News - We Have Band interview". Glastonbury Festivals. Retrieved 11 July 2012.
  13. ↑ "It's a 50 Bones blog". 50bones.blogspot.co.uk. Retrieved 11 July 2012.
  14. ↑ "We Have Band - Oh! | Single Reviews | DIY". Thisisfakediy.co.uk. Retrieved 11 July 2012.
  15. ↑ "We Have Band - You Came Out (Official Music Video)". YouTube. 9 June 2009. Retrieved 11 July 2012.
  16. ↑ "We Have Band - You Came Out (Stereogamous Bathhouse Version)". YouTube. Retrieved 11 July 2012.
  17. ↑ "EXCLUSIVE NEW DOWNLOAD: We Have Band (Blamma! Blamma!'s Fleetwood Mix)". Rcrd Lbl. 19 August 2009. Retrieved 11 July 2012.
  18. ↑ "We Have Band - Page". Interview Magazine. 22 February 2010. Retrieved 11 July 2012.
  19. ↑ "We Have Band". The Fly. 1 April 2010. Retrieved 11 July 2012.
  20. ↑ Mules, Adrian (26 March 2010). "We Have Band". Music.thedigitalfix.com. Retrieved 11 July 2012.
  21. ↑ "EP by We Have Band". Itunes.apple.com. 22 March 2010. Retrieved 11 July 2012.
  22. ↑ "We Have Band - Divisive". YouTube. 22 February 2010. Retrieved 11 July 2012.
  23. ↑ "Jul & Mat Website". Juletmat.fr. Retrieved 11 July 2012.
  24. ↑ "We Have Band — Divisive (Tom Staar Remix)". YouTube. 11 January 2010. Retrieved 11 July 2012.
  25. ↑ "We Have Band - Divisive (Carl Craig Remix)". YouTube. 13 September 2010. Retrieved 11 July 2012.
  26. ↑ "We Have Band - OH!". YouTube. 14 June 2010. Retrieved 11 July 2012.
  27. ↑ "Love, What You Doing? - EP by We Have Band". Itunes.apple.com. 6 December 2010. Retrieved 11 July 2012.
  28. ↑ "We Have Band - Live Review". The Fly. 12 April 2010. Retrieved 11 July 2012.
  29. ↑ "Big Chill 2010: We Have Band". Clashmusic.com. Retrieved 11 July 2012.
  30. ↑ "Be Stupid". Diesel. Retrieved 11 July 2012.
  31. ↑ "Choose Coca-Cola". Coca-Cola. Retrieved 5 July 2015.
  32. ↑ "Mercy - Season 1, Episode 22: That Crazy Bitch Was Right". TV.com. 17 April 2011. Retrieved 11 July 2012.
  33. ↑ "NFS Hot Pursuit: We Have Band - Divisive (Tom Staar Remix)". YouTube. 24 September 2010. Retrieved 11 July 2012.
  34. ↑ "Stella McCartney - The Print Collection on Vimeo". Vimeo.com. 26 October 2011. Retrieved 11 July 2012.
  35. ↑ "Made in Chelsea - Episode 7 music". E4.com. Retrieved 11 July 2012.
  36. ↑ "Trailer for the Topman CTRL Tour coming to Channel 4". YouTube. 28 May 2010. Retrieved 11 July 2012.
  37. ↑ "You Came Out (MTV Session)". Mtv.co.uk. Retrieved 11 July 2012.
  38. ↑ "We Have Band Unveil New Video For Single 'Tired Of Running'". Pressparty. 12 June 2012. Retrieved 11 July 2012.
  39. ↑ "Where Are Your People? by We Have Band". Soundcloud.com. Retrieved 11 July 2012.
  40. ↑ "Sky Sports | Shows | Soccer AM | Week 21". Soccer AM. Retrieved 11 July 2012.
  41. ↑ "We Have Band Announce Free EP". Clashmusic.com. 11 January 2012. Retrieved 11 July 2012.
  42. ↑ "We Have Band - Where Are Your People?". Disconaivete.com. Retrieved 11 July 2012.
  43. ↑ "We Have Band: "Where Are Your People?"". Lagasta.com. 4 December 2011. Retrieved 11 July 2012.
  44. ↑ "Eats Everything". Facebook. 21 June 2012. Retrieved 11 July 2012.
  45. ↑ "DJ Kamera (Electronic Duo) - Wall". Facebook. Retrieved 11 July 2012.
  46. ↑ "AlexTurvey.com". Cargocollective.com. Retrieved 11 July 2012.
  47. ↑ "We Have Band - Tired Of Running". Soundcloud.com. Retrieved 11 July 2012.
  48. ↑ "Wanda Productions - Director - Arthur Castillon & Fabien Pochez". Wanda.net. Retrieved 11 July 2012.
  49. ↑ "We Have Band: "Tired Of Running" Video". Lagasta.com. 12 June 2012. Retrieved 11 July 2012.
  50. ↑ "Video: We Have Band - Tired Of Running". Disconaivete.com. Retrieved 11 July 2012.
  51. ↑ "We Have Band Video Premiere: Tired of Running". Dazed Digital. 11 June 2012. Retrieved 11 July 2012.
  52. ↑ "We Have Band - Tired Of Running". Electronic Beats. 12 June 2012. Retrieved 11 July 2012.
  53. ↑ "VIDEO: We Have Band - Tired Of Running". I Like Music. 12 June 2012. Retrieved 11 July 2012.
  54. ↑ "What's Mine, What's Yours (Ternion Aside Version)". Soundcloud.com. Retrieved 24 July 2013.
  55. 1 2 "We Have Band - What's Mine, What's Yours (Official Music Video)". YouTube. 11 December 2012. Retrieved 24 July 2013.
  56. ↑ "Ternion Aside by We Have Band". Soundcloud.com. Retrieved 24 July 2013.
  57. ↑ "What's Mine, What's Yours (Ternion Aside Version)". Soundcloud.com. Retrieved 24 July 2013.
  58. 1 2 "We Have Band - Watertight (Acoustic)". Youtube. 30 January 2012. Retrieved 11 July 2012.
  59. ↑ "Unique session recordings from today's best music artists :: Daytrotter :: Paste Magazine". Archived from the original on 3 July 2012. Retrieved 4 July 2012.
  60. ↑ "Radio Nova". Tunein.com. Retrieved 11 July 2012.
  61. ↑ "We Have Band". Lemouv.fr. Retrieved 11 July 2012.
  62. ↑ "We Have Band - Watertight (Lovebox 2012)". Clashmusic.com. 21 June 2012. Retrieved 11 July 2012.
  63. ↑ "Berlin Festival | 6.+ 7. September 2013". Berlinfestival.de. Retrieved 24 July 2013.
  64. ↑ "We are working on the next big thing…". Bandtastic.me. Retrieved 24 July 2013.
  65. 1 2 "M83 - OK Pal download". Soundowl.com. Retrieved 16 July 2012.
  66. ↑ "Grooveshark - Free Music Streaming, Online Music". Archived from the original on 11 July 2012. Retrieved 11 July 2012.
  67. ↑ "Bloc Party - Halo (We Have Band Dub)". YouTube. Retrieved 16 July 2012.
  68. ↑ "DOWNLOAD: Micachu - Lips (We Have Band Remix)". Rcrd Lbl. Retrieved 16 July 2012.
  69. ↑ "James Yuill- This Sweet Love". The Music Slut. 22 February 1999. Retrieved 16 July 2012.
  70. ↑ "Monarchy - Gold in the Fire (We Have Band Remix)". YouTube. 26 February 2010. Retrieved 16 July 2012.
  71. ↑ "We Have Band & Natalia Kills". Over Muziek. Retrieved 16 July 2012.
  72. ↑ "Wave Machine - Keep The Light O". The Music Slut. 22 February 1999. Retrieved 16 July 2012.
  73. ↑ "Try Me (We Have Band remix) by Anoraak". Soundcloud.com. 14 September 2010. Retrieved 16 July 2012.
  74. ↑ "teenagersintokyo + We Have Band + Nightschool". This.bigstereo.net. Retrieved 16 July 2012.
  75. ↑ "Filthy Dukes - Messages (We Have Band Remix)". YouTube. 8 November 2010. Retrieved 16 July 2012.
  76. ↑ "Sweat King (We Have Band Remix): Brisa Roché". Amazon.de. Retrieved 16 July 2012.
  77. ↑ "We Have Band - Let's Dance". YouTube. 28 November 2010. Retrieved 16 July 2012.
  78. ↑ "We Have Band - Still Life (The Horrors Cover)". YouTube. Retrieved 16 July 2012.
  79. ↑ We Have Band (17 April 2012). "We Have Band - Within and Without (Washed Out Cover)". Soundcloud.com. Retrieved 16 July 2012.
  80. ↑ "We Have Band -West End Girls". YouTube. 23 December 2009. Retrieved 16 July 2012.
  81. ↑ "We Have Band - Free Mixtape by We Have Band". Soundcloud.com. Retrieved 16 July 2012.
  82. ↑ "Listen: We Have Band - Christmas Mix - 9 Dec 2011". Clashmusic.com. 9 December 2011. Retrieved 16 July 2012.
  83. ↑ "L'article que vous avez préféré la semaine dernière] Mixtape 43". Digitalhunter.fr. Retrieved 16 July 2012.
  84. ↑ "we have band". Allezallezclub.wordpress.com. 22 October 2008. Retrieved 16 July 2012.
  85. ↑ "Dummy Mix 24 - We Have Band". Dummymag.com. Retrieved 16 July 2012.
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