Indie dance band Kasabian built up a cult following
throughout 2004 to secure three Brit Award nominations.
The four-piece Leicester band blends dark electronics
with rock, earning Kasabian places on the best British
group, rock act and live act shortlists. They have
also earned a reputation as outspoken and charismatic,
in contrast to fellow Brit nominees such as Keane
and Snow Patrol. "British music needs a kick up
the arse and Britain needs a new band to breathe
life into the British people again," declared Kasabian's
singer Tom Meighan. Childhood friends "No-one's
doing it at the minute. Music feels like it's in
the afterlife right now. We don't want people to
give up on it. "The serpent's going to rise from
the sea and scare all the pirates away!" Meighan
grew up in Leicester with Kasabian songwriter/guitarist
Sergio Pizzorno and bassist Chris Edwards, a trio
which began making music from the age of 17.
We got a computer and we cut rock'n'roll up, because
there's no point in going back to how it was Singer
Tom Meighan They enlisted guitarist and keyboard
player Christopher Karloff after spotting him in
a pub. "We saw his long sideburns and thought 'hey,
he looks the part, we'll ask him,'" said Meighan.
Inspired by Britpop and a mutual love of hardcore,
an early 1990s genre that fused house music with
hip hop beats and a dark sensibility, they added
an electronic element to the traditional guitar
sound. "We got a computer and we cut rock'n'roll
up, because there's no point in going back to how
it was," said Meighan. "It's all about new ideas
and creativity." Kasabian's self-titled debut album
was released in September.
The band's original approach is reflected in its
name, inspired by Linda Kasabian - the getaway driver
of US serial killer Charles Manson. Coincidentally
it is also the Armenian term for "butcher". Kasabian
moved into a remote farmhouse in Rutland to record
their debut album, benefiting from its isolation
but also managing to sneak in a few parties while
they were there. Signed to the RCA record label,
Kasabian tested the water with two singles, Club
Foot and LSF, which reached numbers 19 and 10 in
the UK singles chart respectively. 'Fiery' debut
They built up their following on the summer festival
circuit, opening both Glastonbury and T in the Park,
and at a series of "guerilla gigs" at unusual venues
including Half Time Orange, a pub next to Leicester
City football club's headquarters. Kasabian's self-titled
album was released last September to widespread
critical acclaim, its indie dance stance drawing
comparisons to The Stone Roses, Primal Scream and
The Happy Mondays. We take our music seriously,
definitely, but we want to have fun with it Songwriter
Sergio Pizzorno Regarding it as "both a fiery assertion
of rock 'n' roll ethics and proof that a siege mentality
is alive and well in the badlands of Rutland Water",
the NME's praise was typical of the album's reception.
As 2004 progressed Kasabian would score a further
two hits - Processed Beats and Cutt Off - and embark
upon a well-received UK tour. "We take our music
seriously, definitely, but we want to have fun with
it," said Pizzorno. "This is not a job to us," added
Meighan. "This is the best life we could ever have.
This is what it's all about and without it we'd
be lost souls. But music needs us as well."
Buy Kasabian Albums and CD's
For US and Amazon.com
For UK and Amazon.co.uk
Quote
We got a computer and we cut rock'n'roll up,
because there's no point in going back to how it
was
- Singer Tom Meighan
