Airiel

Not to be confused with Aerial (disambiguation), Arial, or Ariel (disambiguation).
Airiel
Origin Chicago, Illinois, United States
Genres Shoegaze, psychedelic rock
Years active 1997–present
Labels Roisin Recordings, Sonic Syrup, Clairecords, Sonicbaby Records, Highwheel Records, Shelflife Records
Website Airiel
Members Jeremy Wrenn
Andrew Marrah
Matt Blanton
Spencer Kiss
Past members Chris DeBrizzio
Mikey Pinaud
Cory Osborne
Chase Johnson
Andrew Puricelli
John Rungger
Zeeshan Abbasi

Airiel is an American shoegaze band from Chicago, Illinois, currently signed to Shelflife Records.[1]

History

Airiel was formed as Airiel Project One in 1997, in Bloomington, Indiana, by guitarist/vocalist Jeremy Wrenn and former bandmate Shawn Delaney. This followed the breakup of Wrenn's previous shoegaze band, Black Olive, who had released one album, Verge. After shortening their name to Airiel, their debut single, "Shirley Temple Tidal Wave", was released in 1999 by Roisin Recordings.

During 2003-2004, the band released a series of four Winks & Kisses EPs on Clairecords, each containing four songs. The EPs were later reissued as a box set, also titled Winks and Kisses.[2]

In 2005, Airiel released a self-titled EP on Sonicbaby Records, and toured the eastern United States.[3]

In 2007, the band recorded their debut full-length, The Battle of Sealand, which was released on Highwheel Records in August of that year.[4][5] In honor of their contribution to the culture of the Principality of Sealand, a micronation, all the members of the band were named official lords of Sealand, and were invited to be the first rock band to play a concert in the nation, to be broadcast live over the internet.[6] However, this concert did not take place.

Bassist/vocalist Cory Osborne and drummer John Rungger left the band in late 2007, and Airiel relocated to Bridgeport, a neighborhood on Chicago's South Side.

Airiel toured the UK and Ireland in April 2008 with Ulrich Schnauss, who had collaborated with the band on The Battle of Sealand track "Sugar Crystals".[7]

In 2012, Airiel returned with the Kid Games EP.

Members

Current members
Former members

Discography

Studio albums

EPs

Singles

Compilation albums

Compilation appearances

References

  1. "Interview: Jeremy Wrenn of Airiel". When the sun hits. 2011-05-04. Retrieved 2014-04-10.
  2. Shoegaze Was Always Meant to Be Loud. Chicago Daily Herald, August 24, 2007.
  3. Biography at Allmusic.com
  4. Colville, Liz (2007-09-06). "Airiel: The Battle of Sealand". Pitchfork. Retrieved 2014-04-10.
  5. Ferguson, Jason (2007-08-23). "Airiel: The Battle of Sealand Review". Orlando Weekly. Retrieved 2014-04-10.
  6. "First live gig to rock Sealand". Sourcewire. Retrieved 2014-04-10.
  7. Review, Stylus Magazine

External links