Blue States accidentally established themselves at the forefront of the burgeoning wave of downtempo acts way back in 1998. Using his multi-instrumental talents, Andy Dragazis blended Guitars, Bass, Drums, Fender Rhodes, Bouzuki, the Hammond Organ and anything that sounded good when it was hit. And the 12"s kept coming, including the classics 'Your Girl', and 'Walkabout', all becoming rare and sought after collectors items.
But none of the Blue States EPs quite prepared you for the grand melancholia of the debut album 'Nothing Changes Under the Sun', released on Memphis Industries in September 2000. Taking in influences as disparate as Vangelis and The Shadows, "Nothing Changes." drew favourable comparisons with anybody from Air to Tortoise to, bizarrely, The Cure, stunning critics and punters alike with its glorious retro-futurism.
2002 saw the release of second album "Man Mountain" which saw Blue States up the anti somewhat with the addition of vocalist Ty Bulmer. Including a string quartet, horn section and a kids choir "Man Mountain" was an all together grander affair, the standout track being 'Season Song' which ended up on the 28 Days Later soundtrack. Also highly sought after for remixes, Blue States worked on tracks including Badly Drawn Boy's 'Disillusion', Layo and Bushwacka!'s 'Love Story' and Future Sound of London's 'Papua New Guinea'.
Never one to try and replicate his past endeavours, Andy D enlists Chris Carr (Vocals/Guitar) and Jon Chandler from the live band to become fully paid up members of the Blue States clan. The outcome of this was the third album "The Soundings" released in 2004.
With Chris taking on lyrical and vocal duties The Soundings saw Blue States once again morph into something new. The layers of strings and brass are stripped back to reveal something darker and more personal.
Late summer 2007 sees the release of the fourth album, "First Steps Into..." Andy has once again returned to whence he came, being a one man band. More news to follow soon...
Les Moustaches Girls sont gatées!!! Pour la séance du Grandiloquent Moustache Poésie Club du vendredi 10 octobre à 20h15, l'entrée sera de 8 euros (au lieu de 16) pour toutes les filles arborant au dessus de leurs lèvres une moustache dessinée au crayon . Le GMPC au théâtre le bout 62 bis rue de Pigalles.
01. Pfirter - Mi Auto - Original Mix 02. Soliquid - Piknic Bugz (Original Mix) 03. Brian Sanhaji - Interpolation Process V2. 04. Marco Bailey, Tom Hades - Glides - Original Mix 05. Alexander Kowalski - Damage 06. Michael Burkat, Lars Klein - Ansauger - Original Mix 07. Michael Burkat - Roomworks - Original Mix 08. Lars Klein - An Eye for an Eye(Original) 09. Marco Bailey, Tom Hades - Blast - Original Mix 10. Brian Sanhaji - Zero-Order Hold - Original Mix 11. Perc - Serious Moonlight - Original Mix 12. Michael Burkat - The Second Coming - Original Mix 13. alex long - black belt 14. Vegim - Return Of T - Dave Tarrida Remix 15. andrew technique - slaves of ourseleves 16. A.Paul - Math - Remix 17. A.Paul - Sympa 18. Darkrow, C-System - Hard Trick - Original Mix
Any Brighton Blue States fans out there? You might like to see Portslade at the Providence in Hove on 11th July from 9.30pm. I know we'd love to see you there.
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