Health (band)

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Health
Origin Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Genres Noise rock, experimental rock, neo-psychedelia, electronic rock
Years active 2006–present
Labels Lovepump United
Trouble Records
Flemish Eye
No Pain In Pop
City Slang
Rome Plow
Website http://www.youwillloveeachother.com/
Members Benjamin Jared Miller
Jake Duzsik
John Famiglietti
Jupiter Keyes

Health is an American noise rock band from Los Angeles, California.

History

The name of the band was chosen after the band's members agreed that they wanted to use an "everyday word." They created a list of words and went through to see which was taken, and the word "health" was the only one left.[1] Early in their career, Health became popular playing multiple concerts for free,[2] leading to a variety of venues requesting to book them.[2] The band's favorite setting, LA's The Smell, has been their chosen place to record their full length album, "during empty mornings",[3] although the band have already recorded a live album at the Smell, released on DNT Records.

In 2008, Boston newspaper The Phoenix named them the Best New Band from California.[4] Health opened for Nine Inch Nails on part of the Lights in the Sky tour in the fall of 2008.[5]

Health have been described as having "artfully crafted noise and raw synth, haunting monotone vocals, and drum skills that are borderline insane".[6] Guardian Unlimited writer, Louis Pattison, chose the Crystal Castles version of "Crimewave" as the pick of the week, describing the song as "melancholy electro-pop built from pixelated synths and depressed vocals that hint at a past programme of busy and sustained serotonin depletion".[7] Jim Carroll of The Irish Times also chose the song as tune of the week.[8]

The band describes the role of lyrics as being "purposely kept vague for the listener":[9]

"...[Lyrics] sort of begin to bring out this more individual quality to the whole thing like, ‘These are the lyrics, and this is the guy is singing them, so I can relate to that.’ Which is really not something we want.[9] We wanted the vocals to have an even, unaffected feel. A softness, like a Zombies melody, or even a Gregorian chant. We aren’t just interested in being a noisy screaming band."[9]

The band's unusual sound can be partially accredited to the use of the Zoothorn, which is a permutation of microphone and guitar pedal[3] and an occasional atonal sound without a symmetrical structure.[3]

To promote their 2009 album, Get Color, the band held a sweepstakes contest, in which a winner of a golden ticket was awarded a free trip to Los Angeles to go to Magic Mountain with the band. Other prizes included locks of the band members' hair and posters autographed in blood.[10] In late 2009, the band was chosen as one of Beyond Race Magazine's "50 Emerging Artists," resulting in a spot in BRM's No. 11 issue as well as an exclusive online Q&A.[11] An album remixing the tracks from Get Color, entitled Disco2, was released on June 22, 2010.[12]

Health plans to debut an internet television show entitled HealthVision, which will star members of the band. They will also debut a clothing line in early 2010, which will feature high-quality, hand-sewn, one-of-a-kind designer items.[13]

The band composed the score for the Rockstar Games video game, Max Payne 3, creating a dynamic score for each level of the game built from a series of stems.[14][15][16] The score was nominated for Best Score in a Game and "Tears" was nominated for Best Song in a Game at the 2012 Spike Video Game Awards.[17] Health later did a song called "High Pressure Dave" which appears in the Grand Theft Auto V, the song takes lyrics from "High Pressure Days" by The Units .

Health are currently working on their third studio album. In an interview with Pitchfork Media, Duzsik described the music as "melancholic" and "fun," as well as disclosing that the album would have more electronic elements than the band's previous releases.[18]

Discography

Albums

Singles

  • 2006 Health/Elphaba 7" Split - Rome Plow Records
  • 2007 Crystal Castles vs. Health - Crimewave - Trouble Records (#9 UK indie singles charts)
  • 2007 Crystal Castles//Health 7" Split - Lovepump United
  • 2008 Perfect Skin +RMX 7" - Suicide Squeeze
  • 2008 Heaven +RMXS 12" - Flemish Eye
  • 2008 Triceratops//Lost Time +RMXS 12" - Tough Love Records
  • 2008 //M\\ 7" - No Pain in Pop
  • 2009 Die Slow 7" - Lovepump United

Promotional Singles

  • 2012 TEARS from Max Payne 3 Soundtrack

Remix Albums

Soundtracks

Videography

  • 2007 "Heaven"
  • 2008 "Crimewave"
  • 2009 "Die Slow"
  • 2009 "We Are Water" (Directed by Eric Wareheim)
  • 2010 "USA Boys"
  • 2012 "Tears"

References

  1. ↑ Jones, Kenya (2009-09-17). "Interview: Health". Impose Magazine. Retrieved 2009-09-10. 
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Music Glob » Blog Archive » Health making noise in Los Angeles
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 L.A. Record » Blog Archive » Health: He’S Approving Friend Requests
  4. ↑ 50 Bands, 50 States, The Phoenix. Published July 4, 2008.
  5. ↑ "Boris, Health, the Bug to Open for Nine Inch Nails". Pitchfork Media. Retrieved 2008-09-12. 
  6. ↑ Rock Insider: Health - BLOWIN' UP
  7. ↑ "Louis Pattison's new releases review". The Guardian (London). August 18, 2007. Retrieved May 4, 2010. 
  8. ↑ Carroll, Jim. "On The Record » Tune of the Week - “Crimewave”". The Irish Times. 
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 Paper Thin Walls :: Independent Music Community
  10. ↑ Health on MySpace Music
  11. ↑ http://beyondrace.com/articles/features/2279-health
  12. ↑ Breihan, Tom. "HEALTH Get Second Remix Album". Pitchfork. 
  13. ↑ Health band interview - REDEFINE MAGAZINE, Redefine Magazine. Published November 28, 2009.
  14. ↑ Minsker, Evan. "HEALTH compose Score for Max Payne 3 Game". Pitchfork. 
  15. ↑ Saeed, Abdullah. "HEALTH Breaks Down Their Score For Max Payne 3". The Creators Project. 
  16. ↑ Rayhill, Ryan. "Bullets, Booze, Brazil: HEALTH on Scoring 'Max Payne 3'". Spin. 
  17. ↑ "2012 Spike TV Video Game Awards, Nominees, Winners, TV Schedule". Chiff. 
  18. ↑ Cohen, Ian. "Update: HEALTH". Pitchfork Media. 

External links

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