Years active 1990–present | ||
Labels Sony BMGStealth Sonic550 MusicEpic Past members James GardnerIan HoxleyPaul Kodish Albums Electro Glide in Blue, Gettin' High on Your Own Sup, Dude Descending a Staircase, Millennium Fever, The Future's What It U Profiles | ||
Are we a rock band or what apollo 440
Apollo 440 (alternately known as Apollo Four Forty or @440) are an English band formed in Liverpool in 1990. Apollo 440 have written, recorded and produced five albums, collaborated with and produced other artists, remixed as Apollo 440 and as ambient cinematic alter-ego Stealth Sonic Orchestra, and created music for film, television, advertisements and multimedia. During their eleven years at Sony, 1993–2004, they notched up 11 Top 40 UK singles with three Top 10s, and had a chart presence worldwide.
Contents
- Are we a rock band or what apollo 440
- History
- Live performances and members
- 1994 1995
- 1997 2000
- 2003 2004
- 2008 present
- Singles
- Media appearances
- Soundtracks
- Vocalists
- Jean Baudrillard
- Marcel Duchamp
- Alcor
- Omega Point
- Krupa
- Charles Bukowski
- Slavoj iek
- Songs
- References
The name comes from the Greek god Apollo and the frequency of concert pitch — the A note at 440 Hz, often denoted as "A440", and the Sequential Circuits sampler/sequencer, the Studio 440. They changed the writing of their name from Apollo 440 to Apollo Four Forty in 1996, though they switched back for their latest album.
To date, Apollo's remixes number around 60 - from U2 in the early 1990s to Puff Daddy/Jimmy Page and Ennio Morricone a decade later. Apollo's mix of Puretone's "Addicted to Bass" was made a lead track and became a hit in 2002. Among their Stealth Sonic Orchestra remixes are a series of Manic Street Preachers singles.
History
Apollo 440 were formed by the brothers Trevor and Howard Gray with fellow Liverpudlians Noko and James Gardner, although Gardner left after the recording of the first album. All members sing and add a profusion of samples, electronics, and computer-based sounds.
After relocating to the Camden area of London, Apollo 440 recorded in 1994 with their debut album, Millennium Fever, and released it on 30 January 1995 on their own Stealth Sonic Recordings label (distributed by Epic Records). They have successfully invaded both the record charts and the dance floor with their combination of rock, breakbeat, and ambient.
The band had been most known for its remixes until the release of Liquid Cool in the UK. However, it was not until the success of the singles "Krupa" and "Ain't Talkin' 'bout Dub" that their own musical efforts were brought to international attention — particularly the latter single contributed greatly to pushing Apollo 440 into the spotlight.
In 2007, the band played a tribute gig to the late Billy Mackenzie.
Apollo 440's fifth album, The Future's What It Used To Be, became available for download on the iTunes Store from 23 March 2012.
Collaborators over the years have included Jeff Beck, Jean Michel Jarre, Billy Mackenzie, Ian McCulloch and Hotei.
Currently, the band resides in Islington, London, having once again moved its headquarters (affectionately labelled 'Apollo Control').
Live performances and members
Apollo 440 have always played live with a number of different line-ups
1994-1995
1997-2000
2003-2004
2008-present
Singles
Media appearances
Over 50 different Apollo tracks have featured in movies, trailers, TV, games and ads worldwide, the latter including globally branded cars, beers, soft drinks, phones, audio and software. They have also written two entire soundtracks for the Sony PlayStation and provided the themes for ITV World Cup '98 and Formula 1 2000 to 2002 coverage as well as Liverpool F.C.'s Official 2006 FA Cup song.
Soundtracks
Vocalists
Apollo 440 has a history of working with various vocalists. Whilst their debut album, Millennium Fever, was sung almost exclusively by Noko, he has since withdrawn from his vocalist status in the band to make way for various guest appearances, including, but not limited to:
Jean Baudrillard
The album, Millennium Fever, is a tribute to the French postmodernist Jean Baudrillard. Since the release of that album, other references to Jean Baudrillard's works have popped up.
Marcel Duchamp
The title and cover art of the album Dude Descending a Staircase are parodies of Nude Descending a Staircase, No. 2 by Marcel Duchamp.
Alcor
The song "Liquid Cool" (released as a B-side in 1993, as a single in 1994, and featured on the Millennium Fever album) is a tribute to Alcor, a company focused to pursue research into and the organization of cryonization. The topic is also referenced in the title-song "Millennium Fever", which includes the line, '"I've been dreaming of freezing my mind in California'" where Alcor was based until 1994. Contact details for Alcor subsequently appeared on the sleeve of the single "(Don't Fear) The Reaper", a cover of the Blue Öyster Cult song.
Omega Point
The song "Omega Point" references the religious concept of the same name, and features a quote from Barrow and Tipler's "The Anthropic Cosmological Principle".
Krupa
Their 1996 song is a homage to the Polish-American drummer Gene Krupa and his improvised style of drumming.
Charles Bukowski
On the album Electro Glide in Blue, track 6 called "Tears of the Gods" (6:18) features audio quotes from the 1970s video performance "Bukowski at Bellevue". The quotes are all taken from a piece entitled "Soup, Cosmos, and Tears." (A transcription of the video can be found at the Blithering Savant blog.)
Slavoj Žižek
The song "Love is Evil", on the album The Future's What It Used to Be, contains samples from the Slovenian philosopher Slavoj Žižek.
Songs
Stop The RockGettin' High on Your Own Supply · 1999
Ain't Talkin' 'Bout DubElectro Glide in Blue · 1997
Heart Go BoomGettin' High on Your Own Supply · 1999