Colorama (band)
| Colorama | |
|---|---|
| Origin | Wales |
| Genres | Indie pop, Dream pop, Acid folk, Folktronica, Psychedelic pop, Psychedelic soul, Baroque pop, Balearic folk, Alternative rock |
| Years active | 2007–present |
| Labels | Agati, AED Records, Aficionado Recordings, NOISE McCARTNEY RECORDS |
| Website | colorama.org.uk |
| Members |
Carwyn Ellis Andrea Garbo Luca Guernieri David Page |
| Past members |
David Fletcher Rupert Brown, Wendon Davis, Ben Dumville, Matthew Evans, Tom Gardner, Rachel Gardner, Damian Hand, Richard Hayes, Adrian Meehan, Mason Neely, Matt Radford, Michael Rosenberg, Gwion Rowlands, Barbara Snow, Dimitri Spiro, Ed Turner |
Colorama is an alternative pop group formed by Welsh singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist, Carwyn Ellis.
The line-up varies frequently, both in the studio and on stage.
History
Colorama was started by Ellis when he moved from London to Liverpool in 2007, the first shows being as a duo with David Fletcher, on double bass.
Colorama released their Japan only debut album, Cookie Zoo on Noise McCartney Records in April 2008,[1] and released their debut single, Sound via Redbricks Recordings in UK.[2][3]
The band started playing together in early July 2008 and have since played Glastonbury Festival, Latitude Festival, Home Game, The Sŵn Festival, Port Eliot Festival, Truck Festival, The Apple Cart Festival, National Eisteddfodau, Cloudspotting Festival, Festival N°6, the Green Man Festival and more.
In the summer of 2009, the tragic news was announced that their double bass player, Ellis's best friend David Fletcher had died on 29 June, from a heart attack suffered in his sleep,[4] just days after Colorama’s appearance at Glastonbury Festival.[5]
Magic Lantern Show, featuring songs in Welsh and English was released in September 2009 with Dere Mewn becoming a modern classic in Wales and garnering rave reviews and lots of airplay on both sides of the border.[6][7]
In 2010 Colorama released their third album BOX on Noise McCartney (Victor Entertainment) in Japan and See Monkey Do Monkey Recordings in the UK.[8][9] Shortly afterwards, they released a Christmas single, Cerdyn Nadolig ( Christmas Card ) which garnered them the Welsh Christmas Number 1 on the BBC Radio Cymru chart.[10][11][12][13] BOX was also nominated for the inaugural Welsh Music Prize.[14]
In October 2011, Colorama released Llyfr Lliwio ( Colouring Book ), which was their first predominantly Welsh-language collection.[15][16][17]
August 2012 saw their fifth album release - Good Music, produced by Edwyn Collins and Sebastian Lewsley, and featured high in many an end-of year best album list (2012).[18][19] In November 2012 Colorama released a limited edition 12" single, Hapus? ( Happy? ) on Aficionado Recordings.[20]
At the end of 2013, the Colorama back catalogue was released on iTunes through the Wonderfulsound imprint, with Cookie Zoo being made available in the UK and Europe for the first time.[21]
An EP, Heaven’s Hotel was released on AED Records in March 2014, with a new album being slated for a May release.
Personnel
Colorama was started by Ellis in Liverpool in 2007, the first shows being as a duo with David Fletcher, on double bass. In 2008 they became a trio with the addition of Luca Guernieri on drums. After the passing of Fletcher in 2009, the line-up saw a number of changes until settling with Ellis, Guernieri, David Page and Andrea Garbo from 2012.[22]
Musical Style
Colorama would best be described as a indie pop, though they’ve been described as psychedelic rock, dream pop, acid folk and alternative. The band perform in both English and Welsh.
A Mojo magazine review of Good Music described Colorama’s music as ‘genre-hopping - playful, boundary-free pop with oodles of melodic backbone and a neat line in intriguing sonic detail’, while various observers (Q, Shindig, NME, eMusic) have made comparisons with The Clientele, Caravan, Harpers Bizarre, Vetiver, Fred Neil, The Kinks, Harry Nilsson, Gorky's Zygotic Mynci, Beck, Steely Dan, Espers, The Free Design, The Left Banke and Bagpuss.[23][24][25]
Discography
Albums
- Dere Mewn! (2015, UK); Agati
- TEMARI (2014, UK); AED Records
- Good Music (2012, UK); AED Records
- Llyfr Lliwio | Colouring Book (2011, UK); See Monkey Do Monkey
- BOX (2010, UK); See Monkey Do Monkey (2010, Japan); NOISE McCARTNEY
- Magic Lantern Show (2009, UK); Redbricks Recordings
- Cookie Zoo (2008, Japan); NOISE McCARTNEY
Singles
- Forget Tomorrow (2014, UK); Aruthrol
- Hapus? (2012, UK); Aficionado Recordings
- Cerdyn Nadolig (2010, UK); See Monkey Do Monkey
- Sound (2007, UK); Redbricks Recordings
EPs
- Heaven's Hotel (2014, UK); AED Records
- Do the Pump (2013, UK); AED Records
Compilation albums
- Mannequins (2009, UK); Kartel
- The Music Sounds Better With Huw: Vol. 1 (2009, UK); Wichita Recordings
Remixes
- Two Times (Colorama Remix) - La Musique Numerique - AM & Shawn Lee (2013, US); Park the Van
- Idle I'm (Colorama Coloured In Remix) - John Stammers (2013, UK); Wonderfulsound
References
- ↑ "Bad News Records ARTIST COLORAMA".
- ↑ "COLORAMA SOUND Piccadilly Records".
- ↑ "BESIDE THE B-SIDE Colorama: 'Turnham Green'".
- ↑ "David Fletcher Obituary - Musicians' Union Website".
- ↑ "Glastonbury 2009 - Colorama".
- ↑ "datatransmission.co.uk ARTIST COLORAMA".
- ↑ "The Digital Fix - Magic Lantern Show".
- ↑ "THE INDEPENDENT Peer to peer: The stars' albums of the year COLORAMA:BOX". London.
- ↑ "Shindig! No.20".
- ↑ "BBC Cymru Artistiaid COLORAMA".
- ↑ "BBC Cymru Deg Nadolig Lisa Gwilym".
- ↑ "Wonderfulsound COLORAMA ‘Cerdyn Nadolig’ (or ‘Christmas Card’ in English)".
- ↑ "The top Welsh sounds of 2010 -Wales Online".
- ↑ "Welsh Music Prize Nominees".
- ↑ "BBC Radio Wales - Bethan Elfyn - Colorama Llyfr Llywio/Colouring Book".
- ↑ "Folk Radio UK - Introducing : Colorama".
- ↑ "Beat City: Magic Lantern Show/Colouring Book".
- ↑ "eMusic : Colorama, Good Music".
- ↑ "Louder Than War : Colorama - Good Music".
- ↑ "Phonica Records-HAPUS? COLORAMA AFICIONADO RECORDINGS".
- ↑ "Colorama/Wonderfulsound - Back Catalogue".
- ↑ "Western Mail-The changing man - Carwyn Ellis".
- ↑ "Beat Review-Colorama".
- ↑ "Kool Kat Musik:COLORAMA".
- ↑ "BBC Radio Wales - Glittering, soulful music from Colorama".