| The Swell Season | |
|---|---|
| Background information | |
| Also known as | Glen Hansard & Markéta Irglová |
| Origin | Dublin, Ireland |
| Genres | Indie folk, folk rock |
| Years active | 2005 – |
| Labels | Plateau ANTI- Spunk Sony |
| Associated acts | The Frames |
| Website | www.theswellseason.com |
| Members | |
| Glen Hansard Markéta Irglová |
|
The Swell Season is a folk rock duo formed by Irish musician Glen Hansard and Czech singer and pianist Markéta Irglová. "The Swell Season" name is derived from Hansard's favourite novel by Josef Škvorecký from 1975 bearing the same title. Their debut album goes by the same name.
Since their rise to prominence after starring in the 2007 film Once, they increasingly referred to themselves as "The Swell Season" in promotion of their performances until it became the formal name of their collaboration in 2008. (Notably, they still used their separate names when they contributed their cover of Bob Dylan's "You Ain't Goin' Nowhere" to the 2007 soundtrack of I'm Not There.)
During a three year period from 2007 to 2010 a documentary film was made about Irglova and Hansard called The Swell Season which was released in the autumn of 2011 having been premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival in June 2011 to very positive review.[1][2][3]
Contents |
The self-titled first album came about after Glen and Marketa were approached by the Czech film director Jan Hřebejk while touring in the Czech Republic, and were asked by him to record songs for his upcoming film Beauty in Trouble. It was the first album that Hansard, the singer for The Frames, had released independent of his band.
Some of the tracks on this album have appeared on other recordings - the track "Falling Slowly" and "When Your Mind's Made Up" on The Frames' album The Cost, and "Falling Slowly", "When Your Mind's Made Up", "Lies" and "Leave" on the Once soundtrack.
Glen and Marketa parodied their roles from Once in The Simpsons episode, In the Name of the Grandfather.
A follow up album, Strict Joy, was released on October 27, 2009 in the United States.[4] Three singles from the album have been released: "In These Arms," "Low Rising," and "Feeling the Pull."
Spin Magazine's review of Strict Joy gave the album 4 out of 5 stars. "If Glen Hansard's and Markéta Irglová's roles in the hit Irish indie film Once unintentionally wove the tale of their real-life falling in love, their second album as the Swell Season weaves the story of their falling out of it." SPIN.com [5]
In August 2010, The Swell Season covered Neutral Milk Hotel's "Two-Headed Boy" for The AV Club.[6]
At an August 19, 2010 concert at the Mountain Winery, a concert attendee leapt to his death from the roof of the venue onto the stage. The death was deemed a suicide.[7] The band provided and paid for group counseling sessions for concert attendees who witnessed the event.[8]