Initially an Indie Rock band, Wild Beasts steadily shifted towards synths, samplers and software. Having fully embraced technology now, Ben Little explains to Danny Turner how it all became an irreversible addiction
Hailing from the rural hills of Kendal, Cumbria, Wild Beasts’ debut album Limbo, Panto (2006) made an immediate critical impact, with much of the attention focused on lead singer Hayden Thorpe’s astonishing falsetto vocal.
While under the guidance of Domino, the band gained access to their inspiring stockroom of artists. The syncopated electronic tones of Kieran Hebden’s Four Tet provided a particularly persuasive argument for moving beyond the confines of a traditional four-piece Rock band. After much experimentation, Wild Beasts’ transgression from Rock to Dream pop to Electro Pop has been seamless. New album, Boy King, deftly combines all three elements, presenting their most persuasive and textured album to date, driven by Thorpe’s melancholy lyrical machinations and his bandmates’ eclectic ambition to tread new ground.
FM: How did Wild Beasts form and what was the ideology; it was just you and Hayden right?
This story is from the September 2016 edition of Future Music.
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This story is from the September 2016 edition of Future Music.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
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