Tennyson (band)
Tennyson | |
|---|---|
 Tennyson performing at The Fonda Theatre, Hollywood, 2014 | |
| Background information | |
| Origin | Edmonton, Alberta, Canada |
| Genres | Electronica, Nu-jazz, pop |
| Years active | 2012–present |
| Labels | Counter Records, Owsla, Secret Songs |
| Associated acts | Aloe Blacc, Sam Gellaitry, Mr. Carmack, BJ The Chicago Kid, Njomza, Anatole Muster |
| Website | https://tennyson.rocks |
| Members |
|
Tennyson are a Canadian musical duo consisting of siblings Luke and Tess Pretty formed in 2012.[1][2]
Origins[edit]
The pair began busking in Edmonton between ages 7 and 9, covering songs from bands like The Beatles, Coldplay, and Weezer. By the time Luke was 12, two albums of jazz music were recorded. In 2012 Luke released his first original electronic EP Blamer, followed by three singles, "Violet Alturas", "No Answer" and "Aphasia Rewinding".[1]
In 2014, Luke decided to incorporate electronica into his music, enlisting his sister on drums, and posting the resulting music to SoundCloud. This gained the attention of Canadian producer Ryan Hemsworth, who chose the track "You're Cute" to launch his online imprint "Secret Songs".[3]
Both Luke and Tess are half Danish and half English. They were encouraged to be creative from a very young age by their semi-professional father, Greg Pretty, who was a drummer for Bobby Cameron and Gaye Delorme. [4] Tess Pretty recalled their father introduced them to artists like Icelandic singer and producer BJork and being exposed to a wide variety of fringe art such as tribal music. Luke and Tess shared how Greg Prettys parenting style was to encourage creativity from an early age by painting shapes and images on their tables and chairs at home as well as helping them make intricate homemade Halloween costumes throughout their childhood.[5] Their father had hopes for Luke to follow in his steps and take interest in the drums but Luke showed an early interest in the piano while Tess became the natural drummer. Their father would have them perform covers of the Beatles and Prince at a local spot in Edmonton by an ice cream stand. The Pretty would also perform on family road trips. Once Luke Pretty started gaining a following for his electronic style music, the duo decided to fuse their Jazz and Blues background with Luke’s electronic and sound sample styled music.[6]
The family would even go to back alleys to find junk so they could make sculptures out of them. In school, Luke showed a natural talent and interest in math and science and disliked traditional creative studies. He has expressed that the music he produces feels similarly to the more logical subjects he enjoys.[7]
Musical career[edit]
After the release of the EP Like What, the pair quickly gained fans such as M83, who chose them as support for the fall leg of the 2016 Junk tour, and Skrillex, who released their 2017 EP Uh Oh! on his label OWSLA[8]. This EP featured a notable collaboration with singer Aloe Blacc for the song "Body Language".
After the release of three singles, "Face the Night", "Streamer 2-Chōme" and "Wintersleep", the duo released their EP Different Water, and announced an accompanying world tour spanning March and April 2019.[9] Later that year, their Telescope EP was released, now under the Ninja Tune imprint Counter Records.
2012-2016[edit]
In 2012, Tennyson dropped the Blamer EP. The title track has earned over 30,000 views on youtube.[10]
In 2014, Tennyson released two tracks: “With You” and “Lay-by.” The tracks were met with a feature article on The Guardian that described their music as madly busy, chock-full of keyboard twiddles and brrrrps, glissandos, arpeggios or whatever sounds happen to be at hand…you'll either find it infuriating or intoxicating.[11] Others have noticed the brother and sister duo because they took a universal beacon of anxiety and turned it into a sedative worth hearing over and over again.[12]
Tennyson released the EP Like What in 2015. Many have praised the duo, saying even from the early uploads of their Soundcloud has there been a steady shift and discernibly unique movement, all leading up to whatever is happening now in the Like What EP.[13] Luke Pretty explained that his inspiration for Like What came from a nightmare he had. Luke and Tessa Pretty share how their Like What EP opened the door for them to work with Mr. Carmack, a Hawaiian soul and trap music producer under Diplo’s label, and grammy-award winning DJ and producer Skrillex.[14]
The official music video for the track Like What? was released on April 28th, 2016. The video featured a 12 year old girl named Nikita who had been blind since birth. The director of the video, Graham, has a wife who works with children with disabilities. The video is a compilation of images Nikita described as she listened to the song. The tag for the music video on youtube explained this film is a tour of the imagination of someone without vision and their interpretation of music.[15] Like What earned Tennyson an opening act spot for the grammy-nominated M83’s Junk tour in 2016, as well as a spot on the Lollapalooza lineup in 2016. Reviews of their Lollapalooza performance emphasize Tennyson’s mostly childlike trilling that betrays the still-forming tastes and creative urges of the brother-sister duo.[16]
2017-2021[edit]
Tennyson ran the music festival circuit in 2017 and managed an impressive amount of bookings.
- February 2017 - Tennyson performed at Noise Pop 2017 in San Francisco, California alongside musical groups Vince Staples, BadBadNotGood and Dawes.[17]
- April 2017 - Tennyson performed at the music festival Euphoria 2017 in Austin, Texas alongside musical groups Post Malone, Moby and Wiz Khalifa.[18]
- August 2017 - Tennyson performed at the Elements Music Arts Festival 2017 in New York, New York alongside musical groups Flying Lotus, The Knocks and Chris Lake.[19]
- September 2017 - Tennyson performed at the Life Is Beautiful Festival 2017 in Las Vegas, Nevada alongside musical groups Gorillaz, Lorde, blink-182 and Chance the Rapper.[20]
Tennyson released the EP album entitled Uh Oh! on September 29, 2017, under Skrillex’s label OWSLA, featuring the Grammy, BET and Soul Train nominated artist Aloe Blacc. In 2017, Tennyson collaborated with BJ the Chicago Kid and Mr. Carmack to create the EP entitled Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday. The collaborators partnered up with Redbull to release the EP for the Red Bull Sound Select event. [21] Tennyson was even featured on Redbull’s website as the Canadian brother-sister duo who makes music unlike anything you've heard before. This sparked major notoriety for Tennyson as they were afterwards mentioned in Beats 1’s Zane Lowe, Complex Networks, Esquire, Vogue, NPR, Stereogum, Pitchfork Media, and FACT Magazine.[22] In 2017 the brother-sister duo headlined their first ever Asian tour, as well as completed two European tours (10+ dates) and performed in a few venues in Australia.[23] On March 1, 2019, Tennyson released Different Water quickly followed by the release of the EP album entitled Telescope on November 22, 2019. In the READER,Different Water has been described as memorable melodies and busy, layered beats, with touches of their jazz background sliding in and out of their compositions.[24]
Different Water and Telescope included more vocal tracks than usual for the duo, including the track “Wintersleep” where the duo wonderfully harmonize. Telescope was inspired by Luke Pretty’s time in Japan and Waneella’s viral image. Luke Pretty wanted to capture the image’s feelings of clarity and stillness through sound in his album.[25]
2022-Present[edit]
Luke Pretty released his debut album entitled Rot on February 18th 2022. The debut album was inspired by the musician's struggle with a hearing condition he developed due to mold exposure. [26] The release was followed with praise. Production throughout Rot is exquisite – beats are booming, bits of synth melodies squiggle across the mix, and the various vocal effects are spacey and futuristic without ever seeming gimmicky or cliché. [27] Others say it is an impressive first LP, and no doubt speaks to the young musician's promising future. [28] The duo were also listed on Billboard’s 10 Dance Artists To Watch in 2022. [29]
Tennyson went on a thirteen show tour through the US and Canada March 25 - April 16th 2022 performing in Washington, Oregon, California, Colorado, Minnesota, Illinois, Washington D.C., New York, Massachusetts, British Columbia and Ontario. They are currently slated for an international tour through Europe in May 2022 with appearances in Denmark, Germany, The Netherlands, France, United Kingdom and Belgium.[30]
Musical style[edit]
The pair's unique "indietronic pop" style of music has been described as "a little R&B, a little jazz, a little classical, divinely characterized through the diverse array of instruments present".[31] Many of their tracks contain organic sounds such as water, fire, and percussive sounds from bongo drums, glass and jungle-inspired beats. They have also been known to sample a wide range of sounds, such as purring cats, ring tones, texting noises, Mac OS sound effects and notably the "door left ajar" car sound in their track "Lay-by".[32][33]
Luke and Tess’ journey into music began at a young age when the pair would perform cover songs of popular bands. Luke was especially inspired by the jazz influence of Bill Evans, and by the age of 12 he and Tess had recorded two albums of jazz music. Their musician father wanted to give them a broad range of influences, so they took a trip to Cuba where Tess, the band’s drummer, had the opportunity to study with native Cuban drummers. Regarding electronic music, Luke initially stayed away from the genre because he felt it had a negative stigma attached to it, but he eventually started creating electronic songs to impress a friend and soon discovered his love and talent for it. Luke and Tess have posted tracks under the band names “Luke and Tess Petty” and “meta-logic” before finally settling on “Tennyson,” their middle name, once Luke confirmed that electronic music was his path.[34]>
Luke has explained that he first became interested in producing and sound mixing when his mom’s friend gifted him a copy of the CD ReBirth RB-338. Later he began messing with sound mixing programs. Luke albums like Different Water were almost entirely composed of samples. He first began sampling old 70s TV commercials. Luke has used samples like Aurthur theme song to the seat belt warning sound from a car. [35]
Luke grew up listening to Bill Evans and Bonobo, the latter of which he did not realize was electronic music at the time. Other strong electronic influences for Luke include Aphex Twin, Boards of Canada, Squarepusher and 123mrk.[36]
Loop 2017 - A Summit for Music Makers[edit]
During an interview at Loop 2017, Tess explained how her parents “firmly encouraged” her and Luke to learn an instrument. Tess originally suggested picking up the harmonica,but her father said ”No, that’s not happening.” After a brief stint of piano lessons, Tess finally landed on learning the drums, the instrument her father plays. During her tutelage,Tess took drumming lessons with famous drummer Alphonso Mouzon via Skype.[37]
Tess also expressed how impressed she was with Luke’s ability to create percussion-heavy music, and that it’s this “depth of the percussion” that sets Tennyson apart from other artists. After a slow and tedious creative process where Tess would learn to play Luke’s music by ear, Luke began to utilize Ableton sheet music and program the specific sounds onto specific places on the sheet, giving Tess a much simpler blueprint for playing. Tess uses an electronic drum kit containing many different MIDI drum pads with a variety of programmed sounds.[38]
Loop 2017 is also where Luke offered more insight into his creative process. Early on in his music-making career, Luke would produce a lot of loop-based music as he was still discovering his technique and his sound; but as he became more adept at production, the music became more free and experimental. Luke utilizes a wide variety of intricate musical samplings, even including elements from computer games such as Runescape and Minecraft. Luke cares deeply about the music he creates, but his obsession with “perfection” actually hinders his ability to be efficiently productive and will often spend an entire day writing about six seconds worth of music.[39]
During the performance presentation portion of Loop 2017, Luke and Tess demonstrate the complexity of their music, as the sounds on the MIDI drum pads and keyboard will continually change as the songs change. Tess admits to the difficulty of learning these elaborate songs, and even confesses to crying after forgetting songs she’s spent rehearsing for an entire day.[40]
Discography[edit]
Studio albums[edit]
| Title | Details |
|---|---|
| Tennyson |
|
| ‘‘Rot’‘ |
|
Extended plays[edit]
| Title | Details |
|---|---|
| Blamer |
|
| Like What |
|
| Tuesday Wednesday Thursday |
|
| Uh Oh! |
|
| Different Water |
|
| Telescope EP |
|
Singles[edit]
| Title | Details |
|---|---|
| "Violet Alturas" |
|
| "Aphasia Rewinding" |
|
| "No Answer" |
|
| "For You" |
|
| "You're Cute" |
|
| "Lay-by" |
|
| "With You" |
|
| "In One Piece" |
|
| "Smother" (with Mothica) |
|
| "Slipperz" |
|
| "XYZ" |
|
| "All Yours" (2016) |
|
| "Your Eyes" (feat. Njomza) (2016) |
|
| "Tuesday" (2017) |
|
| "Wednesday (2017)" |
|
| "Thursday" (feat. BJ the Chicago Kid) (2017) |
|
| "Cry Bird" (2017) |
|
| "Face the Night" (2018) |
|
| "Streamer 2-Chōme" (2018) |
|
| "Wintersleep" (2019) |
|
| "Telescope" (2019) |
|
| "Collapse" (2019) |
|
| "Innerspace" |
|
Collaborations[edit]
| Title | Details |
|---|---|
| "santpoort - Eons Away" |
|
| "Cabin Music - Pathwork" |
|
| "Anatole Muster, daniel hayn - Vacuum Lessons" |
|
Remixes[edit]
| Title | Details |
|---|---|
| Flight Facilities - Arty Boy |
|
| Kasbo - Your Tempo |
|
| PLS&TY - Motives |
|
| "Nicky Romero & Sick Individuals - Only For You" |
|
| "Savel - Forgetting" |
|
| "White Sea - Stranger (Skrillex Remix)" |
|
References[edit]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Lester, Paul (2014-07-18). "New band of the week: Tennyson (No 14)". The Guardian. Retrieved 2018-10-21.
- ↑ Maclean, Ellie (2015-03-25). "Live Review: Tennyson at The Sound House". Hot Press. Retrieved 2021-05-20.
- ↑ "Ryan Hemsworth launches Secret Songs series with Tennyson's ebullient 'You're Cute' - FACT Magazine: Music News, New Music". FACT Magazine: Music News, New Music. 2014-05-07. Retrieved 2018-10-22.
- ↑ Sperounes, Sandra (2014-12-30). "Sibiling Duo Tennyson an act to watch". Edmonton Journal.
- ↑ Reya, Luna (2017-10-09). "Life is Beautiful With Tennyson: The Siblings Redefining Electronic Music". Dope Magazine.
- ↑ Conner, Shawn (2017-02-15). "Q&A: Tess Pretty of electronic brother-sister duo Tennyson". Vancouver Sun.
- ↑ "TENNYSON Interview- working w/ OWSLA, Mr. Carmack, touring w/ M83, performing at Red Rocks". 2019-04-27 – via YouTube.
- ↑ "Tennyson's 'Uh Oh!' EP Is A Jazzy Rainbow Playground of Sounds You Can See: Listen". Billboard. 2017-09-29. Retrieved 2021-05-28.
- ↑ "Tennyson - Tour Dates". tennyson.rocks. Retrieved 2019-03-31.
- ↑ "Tennyson - Blamer". 2012-10-21 – via YouTube.
- ↑ Lester, Paul (2014-07-18). "New band of the week: Tennyson (No 14)". The Guardian.
- ↑ Hart, Otis (2014-11-13). "Songs We Love: Tennyson, 'Lay-by'". NPR.
- ↑ Candas, Demir (2015-11-27). "Tennyson – Like What EP".
- ↑ "TENNYSON Interview- working w/ OWSLA, Mr. Carmack, touring w/ M83, performing at Red Rocks". 2019-04-27 – via YouTube.
- ↑ "Tennyson - Like What (Official Video)". 2016-08-28 – via YouTube.
- ↑ Kotfirst2=Kevin, Greg; Williams; Swartz, Tracy (2016-07-28). "Lollapalooza day one: Lana del Rey's anti-charisma, J. Cole's momentum issues". Chicago Tribune.
- ↑ Schiewe, Jessie (2016-12-07). "Here's Your Noise Pop 2017 Lineup". SFWeekly.
- ↑ "Euphoria Festival 2017" – via Music Festival Wizard.
- ↑ "Elements Music Arts Festival 2017" – via Concert Archives.
- ↑ "Life is Beautiful Festival 2017" – via Concert Archives.
- ↑ "Red Bull Sound Select Presents: 30 Days In Chicago—Parquet Courts, Built To Spill, Meat Wave, Good Willsmith" – via do312.
- ↑ Bein, Kat (2017-02-18). "Welcome to the Magically Playful World of Tennyson".
- ↑ "Krunk presents: Tennyson (Can) & Komorebi" – via Resident Advisor.
- ↑ Berlatsky, Noah (2019-03-29). "Tennyson's mellow electronica flows on Different Water".
- ↑ Grandeur, Danny (2019-11-25). "Tennyson Reveals Spectacular New EP 'Telescope". River Beats'.
- ↑ Vigil, Dom (2022-02-18). "Tennyson Drops New Album, "Rot"". Prelude Press.
- ↑ Ingalls, Chris (2022-02-18). "Tennyson Matches Warm Beats with Strong Melodies on 'Rot'". PopMatters.
- ↑ Barnabe, Dylan (2022-02-18). "Tennyson's 'Rot' Is Fresh". Exclaim!.
- ↑ "10 Dance Artists To Watch in 2022". Billboard. 2022-01-02.
- ↑ "Tennyson shares new single and tour dates". Music News. 2022-01-06.
- ↑ "Tennyson's Fantastical Indietronic-Pop-Jazz EP 'Uh Oh!' Is Out Today On OWSLA - NEST HQ". NEST HQ. 2017-09-29. Retrieved 2018-10-22.
- ↑ "Tennyson Made a Song and it Samples the 'Car Door Ajar' Beep". Noisey. 2014-07-09. Retrieved 2018-10-22.
- ↑ "Artist Spotlight: Tennyson - NEST HQ". NEST HQ. 2014-10-08. Retrieved 2018-10-22.
- ↑ "TENNYSON Interview- working w/ OWSLA, Mr. Carmack, touring w/ M83, performing at Red Rocks". 2019-04-27 – via YouTube.
- ↑ Takanami Herman, Kenneth (2019-08-07). "Luke Pretty of Tennyson on sampling strange sounds and performing live".
- ↑ "TENNYSON Interview- working w/ OWSLA, Mr. Carmack, touring w/ M83, performing at Red Rocks". 2019-04-27 – via YouTube.
- ↑ "A performative presentation with Tennyson—Loop". 2018-03-20 – via YouTube.
- ↑ "A performative presentation with Tennyson—Loop". 2018-03-20 – via YouTube.
- ↑ "A performative presentation with Tennyson—Loop". 2018-03-20 – via YouTube.
- ↑ "A performative presentation with Tennyson—Loop". 2018-03-20 – via YouTube.
WIP possible articles / includes to scrub:
billboard 2: https://www.billboard.com/articles/news/dance/7949894/tennyson-cry-bird/
tgo: https://thegatewayonline.ca/2017/07/tennyson-cant-slow-down/
otaside: https://ontheaside.com/uncategorized/electronic-duo-tennyson-talk-about-barney-the-dinosaurs-unlikely-influence-on-their-music/
melisma: https://melismamagazine.com/2016/10/31/a-chat-with-tennyson/
ttm: https://www.ableton.com/en/blog/performative-presentation-tennyson/
noisey vice:https://www.vice.com/en/article/78jnvy/tennyson-like-what-blind-girl-video-watch maybe
twitter: https://twitter.com/tennysonmusic
bandsintown (tours article): https://www.bandsintown.com/a/241969-tennyson
Drafty draft draft
ableton loop video: https://www.ableton.com/en/blog/performative-presentation-tennyson/ or https://www.ableton.com/en/blog/performative-presentation-tennyson/
External links[edit]
Category:Canadian electronic music groups
Category:Owsla artists
Category:Living people
Category:Musical groups from Edmonton
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