Tiles (band)

History

Tiles formed in 1993 and released a self-titled full-length album the following year. This album was an international success, winning notice in Europe and Japan, and the group signed with Inside Out Music, releasing a second album, Fence the Clear, in 1997. Following the release of their third album, Presents of Mind, in 1999, the group toured Europe as the opening act for Dream Theater.Window Dressing, the band's fourth album, followed in 2004, and the 2008 release Fly Paper included guitar work by Rush's Alex Lifeson. The band's first live album, Off the Floor 01, was released in 2012. Off the Floor 02 was released June 3, 2014 in a limited edition format which includes a bonus disc from the band's 2005 appearance at the Rites of Spring Festival. Tiles' sixth studio album, Pretending 2 Run, was released on April 15, 2016 through Laser's Edge, featuring performances by Mike Portnoy and Ian Anderson, among others.

Tiles

Tiles released their first album in 1994, a self-titled 47 minute album under the Dream Circle label.

Fence the Clear

In 1997 they released their second album Fence The Clear. Alike their first album, sounded very early 90's Rush.

Both albums are noted for being melodic and extensive in structure. Fence the Clear is a slight departure from their first album in terms of heaviness but remains with that hard edge and gap of musical interludes between songs. Both albums were re-released by Inside Out Music with a remastered sound and liner notes detailing each song and what they meant before and during recording.

Presents of Mind

In 1999, they released their third album Presents of Mind. The album gained them increased recognition and still shows excellent musicianship as first displayed on their debut CD. The album features a few instrumental pieces between songs, carrying on the theme from their previous album. During a tour through Europe (opening for Dream Theater), they released a live bootleg album the following year entitled Presence In Europe, featuring songs from their first three albums. Presents of Mind also began an ongoing collaboration with Hugh Syme producing their album cover art.

2004-2008

Tiles wouldn't release an album for the next 3 years, until 2004, when they released their fourth album Window Dressing. The album features their longest song ever recorded, clocking in at 17:11 minutes long while the album clocks in at 1 hour and 7 minutes long.

Continuing with lengthy gaps between releases, they didn't release their fifth album until 2008. Titled Fly Paper, this album has only 8 songs (plus one hidden bonus track), but still reaches 53 minutes long. Fly Paper features Alex Lifeson of Rush on one song.

Inactivity

Since their fifth album, Tiles has played just live shows without recording any new material. In 2012, they released their first proper live album, Off The Floor 01, which clocks in at over 77 minutes. A second installment titled Off the Floor 02 was released in 2014. It contains "live studio versions" of some of their earlier songs. These are full-band, one-take recordings rather than the typical multi-track studio cuts found on non-live albums. Also included on the follow-up are some tracks recorded live at 2005's Rites of Spring Festival.

Members

Former

Discography

Live