| Sennen | |
|---|---|
| Background information | |
| Origin | Norwich, England |
| Genres | Alternative Rock Shoegaze Post-Rock Dream Pop Indie rock |
| Years active | 2002 – present |
| Labels | Hungry Audio Rallye Minty Fresh |
| Website | www.sennen.org.uk |
| Members | |
| Rich Kelleway Larry Holmes James Brown Tim Kelleway |
|
| Past members | |
| Andrew Horner | |
Sennen are an alternative rock band from London.[1] Formed in Norwich, UK in 2002, the current line-up consists of Larry Holmes (guitar, keys and vocals), Rich Kelleway (guitar and vocals), James Brown (drums and keys) and Tim Kelleway (bass).
In 2011 Sennen released their first U.S. album, Age of Denial through Minty Fresh Records. The record was the band's second full-length release and came out in 2010 in the UK, Europe and Japan on the Hungry Audio label to positive reviews. The band's uncorrupted, oddly schizophrenic style has won them fans across the world, and seen their music appear on hit US TV dramas such as True Blood and One Tree Hill.
Contents |
Sennen's first record Widows, a 7-track mini-album, was released in late 2005 on the Hungry Audio[2] label to critical acclaim and featured in Drowned In Sound's Top 50 Albums of 2005 where it was described as "a remarkably assured debut".[3] A largely instrumental and predominantly post-rock record, Widows displayed plenty of Sennen's early influences - ethereal soundscapes and dark atmospheric guitars building to the kind of epic crescendos produced by My Bloody Valentine, Mogwai and Spiritualized.
Sennen's first single release in 2007, the limited edition 7” "Blackout", was immediately championed by Zane Lowe at Radio One and John Kennedy at XFM, earning the band supports with the likes of Editors, Explosions In The Sky and Ulrich Schnauss.
They recorded their debut full-length album, Where the Light Gets In with Primal Scream/House of Love producer Pat Collier. Released in May 2008, the album retained Sennen's exhilarating sound but applied it to a more traditional song-based format, and the result was a record met with universal approval - "A piece of work that is most succinctly and accurately described as beautiful".[4] Soon followed national tours, festivals, sorties abroad, and live radio sessions, and in October 2008 the band set off on a tour of Europe's major cities with dEUS - performing in front of crowds in the many hundreds and quickly developing an overseas fan base.
Starting to reach a new audience in Europe, Japan and Taiwan, Sennen spent their time writing and recording the album, Age of Denial. During recording (December 2009 - again with Pat Collier), the Destroy Us EP was released and further critical acclaim ensued - as XFM’s X-Posure’s Hot One and The Sunday Times hottest download[5]. Sennen's cover version of New Order’s "Bizarre Love Triangle" picked up radio play and was used in the US TV drama One Tree Hill[6] - claiming a small creed of supporters across the globe.
Age of Denial was released in the UK in 2010. The NME proclaimed, "it straddles the Atlantic, assimilating US sun drenched harmony pop while espousing shoegazy noises from these shores".[7] The album represented the next instalment in Sennen's progressive sound - moving further into the realms of dream pop reminiscent of New Order and Teenage Fanclub. In doing so, it affirmed and defined Sennen's propensity to abruptly change musical lanes from startling beauty to powerful infused noise. It also saw another inclusion in mainstream US television - the album track "S.O.S" featuring in hit drama True Blood[8].
Shortly before the UK release of Age of Denial in 2010, bassist Andrew Horner left the band to spend more time with his family and was replaced by guitarist Rich Kelleway's younger brother Tim. In the summer of 2011 Sennen went back into the studio to begin recording their third full length album with The Cure producer David M. Allen. The album is expected to be released in the Spring of 2012.