Metronomy Biography

Metronomy are an electronic music group formed by Joseph Mount in Totnes, Devon, England in 1999. The current band consists of Joseph Mount (composer, singer, keyboards and guitar), Oscar Cash (saxophone, backing vocals, guitars and keyboards), Anna Prior (drums and vocals) and Gbenga Adelekan (bass guitar and vocals). Their music consists of instrumental electronic music and more recently, with the release of Nights Out, vocal electronic pop music. Mount also releases remixes under the name Metronomy, and has remixed many artists including Gorillaz, Roots Manuva, Franz Ferdinand, Klaxons, Goldfrapp, The Young Knives, Zero 7, Ladytron, Kate Nash, Lady Gaga and Lykke Li.

Metronomy have released four albums of original material, Pip Paine (Pay The £5000 You Owe), Nights Out and The English Riviera (April 2011) while their fourth studio album titled Love Letters was released on March 10, 2014.

Joseph Mount started Metronomy while he was still living in Devon as a side project to the various bands he played drums for. He has since claimed that most of these bands were torn apart by girlfriends. Using an outdated computer sold to him by his father, Mount began to make his own electronic compositions. The name Metronomy was originally chosen by Mount as Metronomy sounded cool and interesting and was in keeping with the bands he was heavily into, namely Autechre and Funkstorung. The word ‘Metronomy’ also linked to a metronome, which is a piece of equipment musicians use to help the beat.

After relocating to Brighton, Metronomy began to build up a reputation for live shows, sometimes solo, sometimes joined by Gabriel Stebbing and Oscar Cash who provided support as Metronomy’s backing band, The Food Groups. They are now no longer referred to as The Food Groups having been fully incorporated into the band.

In the autumn of 2005, Metronomy released a debut album, Pip Paine (Pay the £5000 You Owe). Over the next 3 years, Mount remixed many other artists, often adding new vocals and instrumentation. For example, in the case of his Goldfrapp remix a French monologue about Nottingham. On remixing, Mount has said “basically, I only like remixers that really care about what they’re doing. I can honestly say that I have got really involved in all of my remixes. If I’ve not got anywhere with one I will tell whoever it is that I’m giving up. That doesn’t happen that often.” Metronomy has “a good strike rate” in terms of remix work released. However, a DFA-inspired remix of U2’s “City of Blinding Lights” was dismissed by their marketing manager and was not released.

In 2008, the band released the singles “My Heart Rate Rapid”, “Holiday”, “Heartbreaker” (which feat. a Remix by Kris Menace), “A Thing For Me” and “Radio Ladio” and the full album Nights Out in September of that year. Kris Menace’s Remix of “Heartbreaker” became Hype Chart Nr.1 in 2008. In May 2009, it was announced through the band’s Myspace page that Stebbing would be leaving the band. Joseph wrote “It’s all very amicable and he’s assured me he doesn’t think he’s fleeing a sinking ship.” Stebbing is currently working with his own band, Your Twenties, which is being produced by Mount. Despite this, Stebbing reappeared to play bass for Metronomy for their appearance at the Far Out stage at Green Man 2010.

In 2011, the band released three singles ‘The Look’, ‘Everything Goes My Way’ and ‘The Bay’ from their 3rd album The English Riviera which came out on the 11th of April.

Metronomy’s new band features former Lightspeed Champion drummer Anna Prior, and bassist Gbenga Adelekan.

Metronomy’s live shows include dance routines and light shows. Most notably they use push lights stuck to their chests. Mount explained in an interview where the idea came from:

“We did our first gig in Brighton and a few days before I saw these lights in a pound shop and I thought ‘we’ll whack these on our t-shirts and do some synchronized light shows!’ I’m totally aware that some people hate it but equally I think some people enjoy it just for the fact that it’s a bit of fun.”

http://www.metronomy.co.uk/

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