twentysixfeet were formed from the remnants of various high school groups and local North Wales bands. After several line-up changes they eventually found themselves all on the same wavelength and wanted to push the sound in a common direction. They quickly gained a good following through local gigs and coach trips to bigger cities such as Manchester and Liverpool, but decided that the band would benefit greatly from living together.
They wanted to find out whether sharing the same experiences day in, day out and being able to write music together at any time would bring them even closer creatively. In April 2001 the band moved into a somewhat grotty terraced house in Tottenham and set about rehearsing in a small bunker studio, writing fresh material and preparing for their first live shows in the capital.
Since then the sound of the band has progressed immeasurably, incorporating electronic instruments such as samplers and synths into a framework of drums (Alex Polakowski), bass (Matthew Cruice) and guitar (Dan Jones). Vocalist, Beorn Holmes, has also found his own lilting, melodic, sometimes soaring vocal style, and writes all the lyrics.
"When we start to write a song we really have no idea what the result will be as we have such a wide range of influences and resources to draw on, but despite this our material has a character to it whereby it is instantly recognizable. Since being in London we have been exposed to a huge variety of music from punk and post-rock guitar bands to electronic music on labels such as Broklyn Beats, Warp and Planet µ. This has obviously had a big effect on our sound and we have tried to assimilate our favourite bits of everything."
They have recorded 3 EPs at Autumn Road Studios in the Welsh town of Wrexham and have played numerous gigs in venues such as Barfly @ Camden Monarch, Kentish Town Bull & Gate, Camden Underworld and 93 Feet East - seeing the band develop into an energetic live experience with a large, enthusiastic following.
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1st June London, Club Fandango @ The Dublin Castle, Camden
22nd June London, Water Rats, Kings Cross
24th July London, The Barfly, Camden
'Don't Piss on the Fish' is set to return after the huge success of the first night on 17th April. Culture Industry are coming to smash it up for the second time, and will be joined by the excellent Madeleines, so expect challenging, unusual rock-ish musics of the exciting sort. We'll also be putting together a limited edition ep featuring one track from each band. Last time about 400 were made, but we got rid of them VERY QUICKLY INDEED. We will send out a certain amount for free, but get yer requests in soon to avoid sadness.
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