Puressence

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Puressence
Years active	1991 – Present
Genres	Rock
Labels	Island 2 Damn Loud Reaction
Members	Lowell Killen James Mudriczki Kevin Matthews Tony Szuminski
Past members	Neil McDonald (1991-2003)

Contents 1 Overview 2 History 3 Early singles (1992-93) 4 Albums 4.1 Puressence (1996) 4.2 Only Forever (1998) 4.3 Planet Helpless (2002) 5 Lineup and label changes 6 New album 7 Discography 7.1 Studio albums 7.2 Singles 8 Song appearances 9 External links

[edit] Overview

Puressence is a rock band from Failsworth, in the Metropolitan Borough of Oldham, Greater Manchester, England. The band consists of:

• James Mudriczki: Vocals
• Lowell Killen: Guitar
• Kevin Matthews: bass guitar
• Tony Szuminski: drums/percussion

[edit] History

The band formed in 1991, having played a series of gigs at Manchester’s In The City festival. Manchester City fans James Mudriczki, Neil McDonald, Anthony Szuminski and Manchester United fan Kevin Matthews met on a bus on their way to watch The Stone Roses play at Spike Island. None of them had tickets so they had to climb over a fence to get in. Kevin watched the Roses' Gary Mounfield play bass with such panache that he immediately rushed out afterwards and bought a bass guitar himself.^{[citation needed]} The rest of the members followed suit and bought the necessary equipment to complete a band. (Though by this time, Neil (a.k.a "Nelly"), had been playing the guitar since his early teens as a Van Halen fan, originally plying his trade in the cellars of Woodley Methodist Church, near where he lived.) The other band members had little to no musical experience or training. It was decided when choosing roles that James whould sing; Neil took guitar, and Anthony took drums.

Through much practice their music developed and they decided on the name Puressence, a name instantly identified by most Mancunians for the paper letters 'P'-'U'-'R'-'E'-'S'-'S'-'E'-'N'-'C'-'E', which were notoriously plastered around Manchester city centre, on derelict buildings, and on bridges (the most famous being the railway bridge opposite the Hacienda). Manchester indie label 2 Damn Loud released two singles and there was a further single with Rough Trade Singles Club. But the big breakthrough came a couple of years later, when the band signed to Island Records. Shortly after Planet Helpless was released, Puressence left its record company after they were advised "We need you to sound more like Savage Garden."^{[citation needed]} In August 2003, after more than 12 years with Puressence, guitarist and founder member McDonald left the band. He was replaced by Lowell Killen, who is originally from the Isle of Man. He has played in other bands and left Manchester band Dry Riser to join Puressence.

The band have released a new single titled "Palisades" on new Manchester label Reaction, with an album set to follow in February 2007.

[edit] Early singles (1992-93)

Prior to releasing these albums, Puressence released 2 singles and an EP. First the double A-side "Siamese"/"Scapa Flow" was released through Rough Trade. Then followed the EPs Petrol Skin and Offshore, both released through 2 Damn Loud Records.

• "Siamese" (Rough Trade) June 1992

1. "Siamese"
2. "Scapa Flow"

• Petrol Skin EP (2 Damn Loud Records) 6th July 1992

1. "Telekenesis"
2. "Suck The Knife"
3. "Polystyrene Snow"
4. "Petrol Skin"

• Offshore EP (2 Damn Loud) 19th April 1993

1. "Offshore"
2. "None Handed (demo)"
3. "Mist"

Toby Chalmers of Island Records evidently saw enough potential to offer them a recording contract. Support slots to local favourites Marion introduced them to new supporters.

[edit] Albums

[edit] Puressence (1996)

In May 1995, the band released the "I Suppose" single on Island without chart success. A few months later they returned with the "Fire" single, which again failed to sell. The tracks though did herald Puressence's self-titled debut album, which won rave reviews and was often compared to Radiohead's "The Bends" and early U2 on its release in April 1996.^{[citation needed]}

The album also produced 3 more non-charting singles, "India", "Traffic Jam In Memory Lane" and "Casting Lazy Shadows." (The album only contained ten tracks, of which they had released five as singles.)

[edit] Only Forever (1998)

The album displayed a shift in Puressence's style. It captured the group in a more positive, lighter, chart-friendly mood, achieving astounding, often anthemic results. Mani, bassist for the Stone Roses and Primal Scream, appeared as producer on "Standing In Your Shadow."

"This Feeling" proved to be a hit for the band, when it reached number 33 in the UK Charts, helping the band appear on shows like TFI Friday and Soccer AM. Radio One DJ Simon Mayo made this his single of the week and it received airplay on numerous radio stations around the UK. The second single "It Doesn't Matter Anymore" fell just short of the top 40. But the third single "All I Want" scraped in at #39, its second CD was joined as a double A-side with "Never Be The Same Again."

The album peaked in the UK Album charts at a no. 36, Only Forever failed on the UK charts despite gaining success in Greece and Japan.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Planet Helpless (2002)

Planet Helpless failed to make the UK album chart, it did enjoy success in Greece (No. 4 in the album charts) and heralded a number of gigs, mainly in Manchester. Perhaps the lack of chart success and exposure the album, led to the band sacking their manager and choosing to leave Island Records in February 2002.

Planet Helpless, due to the ongoing problems with the record company, released only one single. "Walking Dead" gave the band its third top 40 hit. The video included Mani and Bez (Happy Mondays). "She's Gotten Over You" was planned as the next single but failed to be released.

[edit] Lineup and label changes

In August 2003, after more than 12 years with Puressence, guitarist and founding member McDonald left the band. He was replaced by Lowell Killen. Puressence decided to leave Island Records. They played many gigs through out 2003 in support of the album Planet Helpless. In the summer of 2003 they also played in The Move Festival in Manchester's Old Trafford Cricket ground, and supported Suede in Greece.

Island/Universal are releasing a "best of" album in Europe; initial copies will include a live CD recorded in Greece in 2002.

The group’s first U.S. offering was a compilation of songs from the band’s first three albums.

[edit] New album

Puressence have now completed their fourth album, recorded at Revolution studios in Manchester, it was produced by Andy Macpherson. The new album is set to be released in mid 2007.

On December 11th, 2006, the first single from the as-yet-untitled new album was "Palisades." "Moonbeam" appeared as the b-side after being rejected as another single. "Drop Down" will be the second single released from the new album.

[edit] Discography

Main article: Puressence discography

[edit] Studio albums

Date	Album	UK albums	Greece Albums
April 1996	Puressence	N/A	-
August 1998	Only Forever	36	-
October 2002	Planet Helpless	81	4

[edit] Singles

Year	Song	UK singles	UK Indie singles	Album
1992	Siamese/Scapa Flow	-	-	-
1992	Petrol Skin EP	-	-	Petrol Skin EP
1993	Offshore	-	-	-
1995	I Suppose	190	-	Puressence
1995	Fire	132	-	Puressence
1996	India	109	-	Puressence
1996	Traffic Jam In Memory Lane	105	-	Puressence
1996	Casting Lazy Shadows	89	-	Puressence
1998	This Feeling	33	-	Only Forever
1998	It Doesn't Matter Anymore	47	-	Only Forever
1998	All I Want	39	-	Only Forever
1998	All I Want/Never Be The Same Again	39	-	Only Forever
2002	Walking Dead	40	-	Planet Helpless
2006	Palisades/Moonbeam		5

[edit] Song appearances

• "Standing In Your Shadow" featured in the end titles of the British crime film Face.
• "Walking Dead" is in the Eidos game Hitman: Contracts.
• "Make Time" is in the Dennis Hopper film Out Of Season.

[edit] External links

• Official website
• UK Fansite
• Greek website
• Myspace