Dragonette

Dragonette

Dragonette performing at the MSN.ca Launch Party on October 1, 2009
Background information
Origin Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Genres Synthpop, new wave
Years active 2005–present
Labels Mercury, Universal, I Surrender
Associated acts The New Deal, Martin Solveig, Kaskade, The Knocks, Don Diablo
Website dragonetteonline.com
Members Martina Sorbara
Dan Kurtz
Joel Stouffer
Past members Simon Craig
Will Stapleton
Chris Huggett

Dragonette is a Canadian synthpop electronic music band from Toronto, Ontario, formed in 2005.[1] The band consists of singer-songwriter Martina Sorbara, bassist and producer Dan Kurtz (also in The New Deal) and drummer Joel Stouffer.

Dragonette released a self-titled EP before being signed to Mercury Records and relocating to London, UK, where they recorded and released their debut album Galore to moderate critical appreciation.[2] A second studio album, Fixin to Thrill, was released in 2009. The group's third studio album, Bodyparts, was released on September 22, 2012.

History

Sorbara and Kurtz met at a Canadian music festival[3] and formed a duo named The Fuzz,[4] making music together in their basement recording studio for fun. The duo formed Dragonette after these initial recordings, and supported New Order on only their second live performance. In 2005, the band released Dragonette EP, prior to signing a record deal with UK record label Mercury Records.

Dragonette relocated to London to record their debut album, Galore, released on September 25, 2007, and toured the UK supporting local acts, including Basement Jaxx (with whom Sorbara also recorded the track "Take Me Back to Your House") and Sugababes and played headline gigs in small venues across the UK and Canada. British musician Will Stapleton replaced Simon Craig on guitar following the relocation. Dragonette filmed two music videos, one for "Jesus Doesn't Love Me" and another for "I Get Around". The former video leaked onto the internet, while the other served as promotion for their first single release. Despite the promotion from the band, "I Get Around" reached number ninety-two on the UK Singles Chart. A further single release, "Take It Like a Man" fared no better, not even reaching the top 100 on the UK Singles Chart. Dragonette did however receive some airplay with a cover of Calvin Harris' hit single "The Girls", which was retitled "The Boys". "I Get Around" was released in the band's home country of Canada where it outperformed the UK release, peaking at number fifty-seven on Billboard‍ '​s Canadian Hot 100. When Galore failed to sell as expected, Dragonette parted ways with Mercury Records.[5]

In 2008, Dragonette received a Juno Award nomination for Best New Group, while Kurtz and Sorbara wrote and produced the song "Grab a Hold" with Cyndi Lauper for her 2008 album Bring Ya to the Brink. That same year Will James Stapleton left the band, to be replaced by Chris Huggett. Dragonette's second studio album Fixin to Thrill was released on September 29, 2009.

Dragonette have collaborated with several house DJs for releases, to varying degrees of success. Although Basement Jaxx's 2006 song "Take Me Back to Your House" only featured Sorbara on vocals, it was promoted by the band as a Dragonette collaborative. The band have since recorded several tracks with French DJ Martin Solveig, including "Boys & Girls" in 2009, "Hello" in 2010, and "Can't Stop" and "Big in Japan" in 2011; all of these tracks appear on Solveig's 2011 album Smash. Dragonette would go on to win the Juno Award for Dance Recording of the Year for "Hello" in April 2012.[6] In 2010, the band also collaborated with Kaskade on "Fire in Your New Shoes" and with Don Diablo on "Animale".

A double A-side single containing the songs "Our Summer" and "Volcano" was made available digitally on July 27, 2010.[7] Dragonette released the Mixin to Thrill compilation album digitally and a limited edition CD was sold via the band's online store as of August 3, 2010. The compilation also contains three new songs, including "Volcano", "Our Summer" and several remixes from the previous year.

In 2011, Dragonette worked with Girls Aloud member Nicola Roberts, co-writing and producing the single "Lucky Day" for her debut solo album Cinderella's Eyes.[8]

On June 21, 2012, Dragonette announced the title of their upcoming third studio album, Bodyparts, which was released on September 22, 2012.[9] The album's lead single "Let It Go" was released on April 2, 2012.[10] "Rocket Ship", a track from the album, was made available as a free download on the band's official SoundCloud page.[11] The album's second single, "Live in This City", was released on August 7, 2012.[12]

In February 2013, Dragonette recorded a version of "Won't You Be My Neighbour?", the theme song to the children's television series Mister Rogers' Neighborhood, for use in Target Canada's first ad campaign.[13]

Discography

Studio albums

Title Album details Peak chart positions
CAN
[14]		 US
Dance
[15]
Galore 80 —
Fixin to Thrill 63 21
Bodyparts
  • Released: September 22, 2012
  • Label: Universal Music Canada
  • Formats: CD, LP, digital download
 — 17
"—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory.

Extended plays

Compilation albums

Singles

Title Year Peak chart positions Album
CAN
[16]		 UK
[17]
"I Get Around" 2007 57 92 Galore
"Take It Like a Man" — 112
"Fixin to Thrill" 2009 — — Fixin to Thrill
"Gone Too Far" — —
"Pick Up the Phone" 28 —
"Easy" 2010 — —
"Our Summer/Volcano" — — Mixin to Thrill
"Let It Go" 2012 23 — Bodyparts
"Live in This City" 65 —
"My Legs" 2013 — —
"Outlines" (Mike Mago & Dragonette) 2014 — 8 Non-album single
"—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory.

Featured singles

Title Year Peak chart positions Album
CAN
[16]		 FRA
[18]		 IRE
[19]		 NL
[20]		 UK
[21]		 US
[22]
"Boys & Girls" (Martin Solveig featuring Dragonette) 2009 — 17 — — — — Smash
"Fire in Your New Shoes" (Kaskade featuring Dragonette) 2010 69 — — — — — Dynasty
"Hello" (Martin Solveig featuring Dragonette) 8 5 6 1 13 46 Smash
"Animale" (Don Diablo featuring Dragonette) — — — 33 — — Non-album single
"Can't Stop" (Martin Solveig featuring Dragonette) 2011 — — — — — — Smash
"Big in Japan" (Martin Solveig featuring Dragonette and Idoling) 36 — — — 118 —
"—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory.

Music videos

Title Year Director
"I Get Around" 2007 Wendy Morgan[23]
"Jesus Doesn't Love Me" Pablo Ros-Cardona[24]
"Take It Like a Man" Ben Taylor[25]
"Competition" 2008 Jeff Scheven[26]
"Fixin to Thrill" 2009 Wendy Morgan[27]
"Boys & Girls" (Martin Solveig featuring Dragonette) Tristan Séguéla[28][29][30][31]
"Pick Up the Phone" Drew Lightfoot[32]
"Easy" 2010
"Fire in Your New Shoes" (Kaskade featuring Dragonette) Chic & Artistic[33]
"Let It Go" 2012 Drew Lightfoot[34]
"Live in This City" Wendy Morgan[35]
"Run Run Run" 2013 Drew Lightfoot[36]
"Giddy Up" Jeff Scheven[37]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Dragonette". AllMusic. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved December 23, 2010.
  2. ↑ Kraines, Talia (September 21, 2007). "Review of Dragonette – Galore". BBC Music. BBC Online. Retrieved March 19, 2011.
  3. ↑ "Hey, Dragonette: (no) thanks for oversharing!". CBC News. CBC.ca. September 9, 2008. Retrieved March 19, 2011.
  4. ↑ "Hype Monitor: Tempo No Tempo, Dragonette, Sleigh Bells". Rolling Stone. Wenner Media. November 19, 2009. Retrieved March 19, 2011.
  5. ↑ Armstrong, Denis (March 31, 2010). "Dragonette ready to roar". Jam! Canoe.ca. Retrieved September 12, 2012.
  6. ↑ Chartrand, Fred (April 1, 2012). "Juno Awards 2012: Full list of winners". Toronto Star. Star Media Group. Retrieved July 18, 2012.
  7. ↑ "Our Summer Volcano – Single by Dragonette". iTunes Store US. Apple Inc. Retrieved February 1, 2012.
  8. ↑ "Interview: Nicola Roberts". Femalefirst.co.uk. 2011-09-12. Retrieved 2012-03-26.
  9. ↑ Hudson, Alex (June 21, 2012). "Dragonette Announce 'Bodyparts' Album". Exclaim!. Retrieved July 18, 2012.
  10. ↑ "Let it Go – Single by Dragonette". iTunes Store US. Apple. Retrieved July 18, 2012.
  11. ↑ Daw, Robbie (June 21, 2012). "Dragonette Announce Third Album 'Bodyparts', Release New Song "Rocket Ship"". Idolator. Buzz Media. Retrieved July 18, 2012.
  12. ↑ "Live In This City – Single by Dragonette". iTunes Store Canada. Apple. Retrieved August 9, 2012.
  13. ↑ Coutts, Matthew (February 22, 2013). "Target's Canadian launch to feature theme to 'Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood'". Yahoo! Canada News. Retrieved May 23, 2013.
  14. ↑ Peak chart positions for albums in Canada:
  15. ↑ "Dragonette – Chart history: Dance/Electronic Albums". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved August 9, 2012.
  16. ↑ 16.0 16.1 "Dragonette – Chart history: Billboard Canadian Hot 100". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved August 9, 2012.
  17. ↑ "Chart Log UK: Asher D – Dyverse". The Zobbel Website. Retrieved August 9, 2012.
  18. ↑ "Discographie Dragonette" (in French). lescharts.com. Hung Medien. Retrieved December 12, 2009.
  19. ↑ "Discography Dragonette". irish-charts.com. Hung Medien. Retrieved August 9, 2012.
  20. ↑ "Discografie Dragonette" (in Dutch). dutchcharts.nl. Hung Medien. Retrieved August 9, 2012.
  21. ↑ Peak chart positions for featured singles in the United Kingdom:
  22. ↑ "Martin Solveig – Chart history: The Hot 100". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved August 9, 2012.
  23. ↑ Gottlieb, Steven (May 9, 2008). "NEWS: 2008 MVPA Nominees". VideoStatic. Retrieved August 9, 2012.
  24. ↑ "Raquel Fernandez Nunez". raquelfernandez.com. Retrieved June 16, 2013.
  25. ↑ Knight, David (June 18, 2009). "Ben Taylor joins Between The Eyes". Promo News. Retrieved August 9, 2012.
  26. ↑ "Music Video". jeffscheven.com. Retrieved June 16, 2013.
  27. ↑ Knight, David (July 7, 2009). "Dragonette's Fixin' To Thrill by Wendy Morgan". Promo News. Retrieved August 9, 2012.
  28. ↑ Sabine Maida; Nathalie Dépret (September 2009). "Glam'style – Passage en revue de ce qui est hot & hype". Glamour (in French) (66): 134–5.
  29. ↑ http://www.marieclaire.it/Bellezza/Note-di-Gaultier
  30. ↑ http://www.ubba.eu/fiche.cfm/314920-tristan-seguela.html
  31. ↑ https://www.facebook.com/mariela.j.campo/posts/110252459064114
  32. ↑ "DREW LIGHTFOOT". drewlightfoot.com. Retrieved August 9, 2012.
  33. ↑ Knight, David (August 5, 2010). "Kaskade's Fire In Your New Shoes feat. Martina by Chic & Artistic". Promo News. Retrieved August 9, 2012.
  34. ↑ "Coming Soon : Let it Go". dragonetteonline.com. April 27, 2012. Retrieved August 9, 2012.
  35. ↑ Gottlieb, Steven (September 27, 2012). "WATCH IT: Dragonette "Live In This City" (Wendy Morgan, dir.)". VideoStatic. Retrieved June 16, 2013.
  36. ↑ "Run Run Run Video Out Now!". dragonetteonline.com. March 12, 2013. Retrieved March 12, 2013.
  37. ↑ "Dragonette – Giddy Up (Official Video)". YouTube. April 24, 2013. Retrieved April 24, 2013.

External links

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