Task 4

Catfish And The Bottlemen

Catfish and The Bottlemen formed in 2007, they fall under the genre of British indie rock. Since 2007 the band have performed at Glastonbury amongst many other festivals, released two albums, won a Brit for best Best British Break through and reached number 1 in the UK albums chart. The band coined there name from front man- Van Mccan's first musical memory from childhood which was an Australian street busker playing beer bottles who went by the name Catfish the Bottleman. 

The Balcony 
The Balcony was the bands debut album released on September 15th 2014. It was announced that the band had sold 100,000 copies prior to the release of their second album. The Balcony was listed number 10 on the UK album charts.

Kathleen

Kathleen is the most popular and recognisable song from the bands debut album. The lead singer Van McCann in an interview with Steve Lamacq described the meaning behind the song as being infatuated with someone who you should not be infatuated with because although you’re always fighting something keeps gravitating you back to them. The music video is performance based with edited a red filter. The video allows the focus to be upon the band and the music rather than a distractive narrative. The lyrics convey the idea that the significant other lacks emotional attachment to the singer through the lyrics “And you don’t own worries or a chest full of heartache.” 

The Ride
The Ride was released on 27th May 2016. The album reached number 1 on the UK album charts and currently has sold 60,000 copies. 

7

7 was the second song released from the second album “The Ride.” In an interview McCann states that “it is called seven because I wrote it seven hours behind the time difference of who I wrote it about.” The lyrics of the chorus read “I’d beg you, but you know I’m never home. And I’d love you, but I’d need another year alone.” The meanings behind the lyrics suggest that the singer would be able to make the relationship work however factors like touring prevent him from being able to. Both people in the relationship want it to work but ultimately know it can’t and Van admits defeat.

Island Records

Founded in 1959 by Chris Blackwell, Graeme Goodall and Leslie Kong., Island Records has become a major record label and exists in three places over the world; Island UK, Island USA and Island Australia. The label has been called “one of Britian’s great independent labels.” Other well-known artists that are signed by the label include, Disclosure, Keane, Hozier and many more.  Chris Blackwell formed the label in Jamaica and became the first to record popular Jamaican music (ska) and produced the career of Bob Marley. During the 60’s 70’s and 80’s Blackwell focused on rock artists like Nirvana and U2 and became one of the most successful independent labels. In April 2009 Blackwell coined the status as on of the most influential figures of the last 50 years of the British music industry. In 1965 Blackwell’s co-worker Graeme Goodall set up his own labels after a breakdown in their relationship and Blackwell bought out Goodall and Kong’s share in Island.

Communion Records 
Independent music company Communion Records who represent other artists such as James Bay and Daughter also supports catfish and The Bottlemen. Communion formed in 2006 as a monthly live music night at Notting Hill Arts Club. Following the live music night events communion grew into a record label, publisher and concert promoter with offices in both London and New York. The label was founded by Kevin Jones from the band ‘Bears Den’ and Ben Lovett from ‘Mumford and sons’ and producer Ian Grimble. The label had a two-year partnership with Island Records and released full albums by Catfish and the Bottlemen and Edward Sharp and the Magnetic Zeros.

Ed Sheeran

Sheeran moved to London in 2008 at 17 years old to pursue a career in music after dropping out of school at aged 16.  Later he signed with record label ‘Asylum Records’ and released his debut album ‘+’ in September 2011. The album featured one of his most influential and popular songs “The A team” and he was awarded the Ivor Novello Award for best song musically and lyrically prior to his win of 2 brit awards in 2012. 2012 was a turning point for sheeran’s career where he gained popularity in the USA supporting Taylor Swift on her tour.  The following year he was both nominated for a Grammy Award and performed with Elton John. Sheeran released his second album in June 2014 called ‘X.’ The album scored number one in both the USA and UK charts. His single “Thinking Out Loud” earned him two Grammies in 2016.  Sheeran played three sold out shows at Wembley in 2015 as part of his world tour. Amongst the years of his career he has performed at Glastonbury, The Diamond Jubilee for Queen Elizabeth and spent eight weeks at number 2 on the Billboard Hot 100. Sheeran’s songs tend to be inspired by his personal life and focuses commonly on Love and heartbreak, which can be seen through the lyrics of ‘Nina’ written about singer Nina Nesbitt and their relationship. 

Im a Mess

“I’m a mess” is a song recorded for Sheeran’s second album. The instruments included in the song consist of electric guitar, backing vocals and a beating drum. The song gradually builds up more layers making it climatic and more intense throughout. The song was written when Sheeran was in a bad place with a break up and this can be heard through the lyrics. In and interview, sheeran stated “I’m a mess was definitely written at my lowest point”. Sheeran uses lyrics with inexplicit meaning for example he sings “put your faith in my stomach” which refers to the idea of him trusting his gut reaction. Because of the lyrics having different interpretations and meanings the narrative for our music video wouldn’t be so literal, which may be interesting as it defers from generic conventions of a music video.

The A Team

The A Team since its release in 2011 has become one of Sheerans most notorious songs reaching number three on the UK singles chart in 2011 prior to the following year being nominated for best British single at the Brit Awards. The meaning behind the song originates from when Sheeran visited a homeless shelter and listened to the stories people had to tell, this inspired him to write a song about a prostitute addicted to Crack Cocaine.  The lyrics are subtle as he sings “they say she’s in the class A Team” which refers to the use of class A drugs but Sheeran felt he wanted to cover up her addiction. Another lyric reads “breathing in the snowflakes” which translates to her taking cocaine. The narrative we could create for this video would be able to evoke emotion from the audience making it more engaging. The song doesn’t follow typical themes of other songs in it’s genre therefore the narrative would be not only unique but also raise awareness for drug addicts and homeless people and therefore create a network of support. 

Asylum Records

Founded in 1971, Asylum Records an American record label was taken over by warner communications and merged with Elektra Records the following year. The artists signed under the label tend to explore the genre of hip-hop, rock and alternative music. Other artists include Cee Lo Green and New Boyz.

Atlantic Records

The American record label was founded in October 1974. Along with Elektra Records it merged into Atlantic Records Group. 

Arctic Monkeys

Arctic monkeys formed in 2002. The band consists of front man and vocalist Alex Turner, Matt Helders on drums, Jamie cook as lead guitarist and Nick O’Malley on bass. The bands have released five albums since 2008, have won seven Brit awards and headlined Glastonbury twice. 

Whatever People Say, That’s what I’m not

Their first album was released in 2006 and the UK NME labeled it as the 5^th greatest British album of all time.

Favorite Worst Nightmare

Released in 2007 following release of the single ‘Brianstorm’ reaching number 1 in the UK charts. ‘Fluorescent Adolescent’ charted at number 5 after a live performance on the Jonathon Ross show. The same year Arctic Monkeys went on to headline at Glastonbury Festival.

Humbug

The first single ‘Crying Lightning’ debuted at number 1 on the UK indie chart in July 2009, the same year Arctic Monkeys headlined Reading Festival.

Suck it and see

Suck it and see was released in June 2011 and went straight to number one in the album charts, becoming the second band in history to debut four albums in a row to the top of the charts.

AM

In February 2012 the band introduced the song ‘R U Mine?’ to YouTube then in March went to number 23 on the UK singles chart. ‘Do I Wanna Know?’ entered the singles chart at number 11 followed by the release of “Why’d You Only Call Me When You’re High?’ in August 2013 debuting at number eight on the UK singles chart. AM was released in September 2013 and reached number one on the UK Album charts and won a Brit Award for Best British Album. 

Domino Record Label

Domino is an independent record label based in London that was founded in 1933. Current artists signed with domino records include Franz Ferdinand and Hot Chip along with Arctic Monkeys.

I Wanna Be Yours

‘I Wanna Be Yours’ is from the album AM. The lyrics are from a poem by John Cooper Clarke. It is a slow paced song with metaphorical lyrics, for example “I wanna be your vacuum cleaner breathing in your dust.” Due to the lyrics our music video wouldn’t be literal when following the lyrics because the narrative wouldn’t make sense and would not flow. Therefore we could create a narrative based on the theme of love between a couple which would evoke emotion within the audience because of the slow tempo which are generally associated with a heartbreaking narrative music video. It could be cinematic to reflect that of a film to make it more intriguing and captivating.