Kasabian
One of the most popular
British indie rock bands of the last 5 years, Kasabian have been compared to Oasis
and The Stone Roses, in terms of both their music and their swaggering stage
presence. Exploding into the charts in 2004 with their eponymous debut album,
the band have enjoyed a huge amount of commercial and critical success ever
since, and continue to go from strength to strength. Indeed, their most recent
album, 2009’s enigmatically named ‘West Ryder Pauper Lunatic Asylum’, gained
the band NME and Q awards for best album, and a Brit Award for Best British
Group.
Originally named Saracuse, the band formed in 1999 in Countesthorpe, Leicestershire. After recording a demo EP and gigging around the north of England for a few years, they were eventually spotted and signed to label RCA in 2003. It was around this time that they decided on a name change, their new moniker coming from the surname of Charles Manson’s getaway driver, Linda Kasabian. “It literally took about a minute after we heard it”, explained bassist Chris Edwards, “and so it was decided.”
Soon after signing with RCA, Kasabian began recording. After the limited release of singles ‘Processed Beats’ and ‘Reason is Treason’, in May 2004 their first full single ‘Club Foot’ stormed into the charts and announced Kasabian to the world. The track, which had actually been written in the band’s early years, would become one of their best-loved tracks. It has since featured on the soundtracks of various videogames and movies, and repeatedly plays as ‘trailer music’ on UK television. With the release of the full album in September 2004, Kasabian cemented their reputation as the most exciting new band on the indie rock scene.
It was then that Kasabian attracted the attention of Oasis star Noel Gallagher, who invited the band to tour with them in 2005. Although Noel reportedly thought the band to be “gobby little f******” when they first emerged, after seeing them perform live he proclaimed that Kasabian were “up there with us and Primal Scream”. After this glowing praise, the band went back into the studio to record their second album, ‘Empire’. Headlined with a track of the same name, the record entered the album charts at number one, and has sold over one million copies across the world.
Following an EP, live performances at various gigs and festivals across the country, and a near two year long writing and recording period, Kasabian released their third album in June 2009. Entitled ‘West Ryder Pauper Lunatic Asylum’, it entered the UK albums chart at number one. Explaining the curious title, a spin on the name of a Yorkshire mental institution of the late 19th century, guitarist Sergio Pizzorno said: “The words just struck me. I love the way it looked and the feeling it evokes.” With no long tours this time round, Kasabian have another album due in the autumn of 2010. Expect big things: this band do not disappoint.
