I Am Kloot is an English band
formed in Manchester,
in 1999 by John Bramwell
(guitar/vocals), Peter Jobson (bass) and Andy Hargreaves
(drums), notable for their twisted, witty lyrics.
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Contents
- 1 History
- 2 Current
activity
- 3 Discography
- 4 Musicians
- 4.1 Band
members
- 4.2 Contributing
Musicians
- 4.3 Additional
Live Performers
- 5 Music
press
- 6 Quotes
- 7 Trivia
- 8 External
links
- 9 References
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History
The band released their debut album, Natural History,
in the UK in March 2001 on the Wall of Sound offshoot We
Love You, followed by the I
Am Kloot album in September 2003, on the Echo
imprint.
Echo had originally planned to release "Proof" as a single to promote
the second album, but after agreeing artwork and a track listing (and
commissioning a video featuring Christopher
Eccleston, directed by Krishna Stott), the label shelved these ideas
and subsequently issued the single as a download only (though a few
copies were issued in Europe on the PIAS imprint).
This action is commonly seen as the start of the dispute that would
subsequently see the band leave the label.
The band remained with Echo for their 3rd LP, Gods and Monsters
(2005), but left the label citing a lack of financial support after
another planned single , "I Believe", was cancelled at short notice.
Later that year they issued a limited edition single entitled "Maybe
I Should" on November 21st, following some of their biggest ever
headlining gigs in the UK, culminating in a show at the famous London
Astoria.
In April 2006 a brand new song, "Only Role in Town", was made available
for free download to their fanbase, followed by the release of an album
of John
Peel session tracks in October 2006, recorded over two sessions in 2001
and 2004.
Current activity
The next scheduled release will be an album of all-new
material sometime in 2007, potentially including material played live
from May 2006 onwards - song titles include;
- "Asleep At The Wheel"
- "Down At The Front"
- "Even The Stars"
- "Fingerprints"
- "Glimmer"
- "I Still Do"
- "Only Role In Town"
- "Ship To Shore" / "At The Sea"
- "Someone Like You"
- "Suddenly Strange"
- "The Runaways"
- "You've Gotta Go"
- "When I Was A Child"
Many of which are being previewed by John Bramwell on his solo
'Month Of Sundays' tour in Manchester
Discography
Albums
- Natural History
(2001, #119 UK)
- I Am Kloot
(2003, #68 UK)
- Gods and Monsters
(2005, #74 UK)
- BBC Radio 1 John Peel Sessions (2006)
Singles
From Natural History
- "To You"/"Titanic" (1999, only 1000 vinyl copies released)
- "Twist"/"86 TV's" (2000, double A-side on CD and red vinyl)
- "Dark Star" (2001, #90 UK, CD and vinyl)
- "Morning Rain" (2001, #94 UK, CD and
vinyl)
From I Am Kloot
- "Untitled #1" (2003, #101 UK, limited edition vinyl)
- "Life in a Day" (2003, #43 UK,
2x CD and vinyl)
- "3 Feet Tall" (2003, #46 UK, 2x CD and
vinyl)
- "From Your Favourite Sky" (2004, numbered CD and download)
From Gods and Monsters
- "Over My Shoulder" (2005, #38 UK, CD
and 2x vinyl)
Non-album Single
- "Maybe I Should" (2005, #128 UK,
limited CD, vinyl and download)
Musicians
Band members
- John Harold Arnold Bramwell: Songwriter,
Vocals,
Guitars.
- Peter Jobson: Bass, Slide
Guitar, Backing vocals, Piano, Organ.
- Andy Hargreaves: Drums, Percussion, Glockenspiel.
Contributing Musicians
- Guy Garvey: Producer,
Engineer,
Backing vocals, Percussion, Sound effects, Harmonica, Guacamole, wine glasses
- Mel Wesson: Programming
- Tony Gilfellon: Additional guitar
- Bob Sastry: French horn
- Isabelle Dunn: Cello
- Amanda Drummond: Viola
- Stella Page, Prabjote Osahn: Violin
- Robert Marsh: Trumpet
- Norman McLeod: Pedal steel guitar
- Colin McLeod: Producer
- Craig Potter: Producer
Additional Live Performers
- Norman McLeod: Pedal steel guitar, Electric
guitar
- Colin McLeod: Keyboards
- Bob Sastry: French horn
- Guy Garvey: Extra Vocals
- Robert Marsh: Trumpet
- Scott Alexander: Electric guitar played with an ebow
Music press
- "Of the bands Manchester has spawned recently (Doves,
Elbow),
the warm and spiky Kloot pack the most clout, despite being the
smallest. The big-sounding little trio make the everyday epic and the
epic human, smuggling chip-shop cheek into songs of dark wit, grainy
texture and often startling emotional power. As dark as they can get,
too, their live shows are often joyous, communal affairs, goaded on by
the dry wit of frontman Johnny Bramwell." Taken from The
Independent newspaper in Britain as one of the 50 best arts events of
the autumn 2005.
- "Lyrically, the record's great. Explicit and honest and a
master of metaphor, Bramwell is, in his own way, as fine a wordsmith as
Morrissey
or Stuart Murdoch. There are oddly poetic phrases here, shrouded in a
multiplicity of possible meanings, that will nag at you forever. "There's
blood on your legs", presses Bramwell in 'Twist'. "I
love you". The album's pinnacle, 'Because', suggests this
lyrical obscurity is essential. Strip the obscure, imagistic couplets
from this meditative, rolling-ocean ballad and it'd be nothing. They
help form a mystical, rapturous, staggering declaration of love. And a
fitting end to an album that, while not flawless, will stir you into a
rare, joyous fervour." An extract of a review in the NME
for the debut album Natural History. NME went on to rate the album
8/10.
- "The band's move away from their acoustic sound has given
extra depth to their songs and an added dimension to their live
performance. Live, they've always been about Bramwell's charisma but
the new direction now highlights Peter Jobson and Andy Hargreaves'
essential contributions. The new album had only been out for three
weeks prior to this gig, but such is Bramwell's ability with a tune
that they all sounded like old favourites - 3 Feet Tall and Not A
Reasonable Man sitting perfectly well alongside 86 TV's and Because.
But it wasn't until the second half that the band let rip, belting out
an aptly brooding version of Storm Warning, a lovelorn To You, and a
heart-stirringly beautiful Proof. I Am Kloot have been on the brink of
greatness for a good while now - if they carry on like this it should
be assured." Taken from a BBC review of I Am Kloot playing at
The Shepherd's Bush Empire, London 2003.
- "If wishes were horses then beggars would ride, and if
critical plaudits were album sales I Am Kloot would be pulled along in
carriages made of gold records that would make the Queen literally sh*t
with envy. Really special." Time Out
Quotes
- "It's only in the context of the bleakness and the
quite filthy passion at the core of us, that when we present something
that naïve and that simple that it really gets its charm and finds its
beauty." - John Bramwell
- "There’s a bit of schadenfreude
in our stuff, black humour. I hope it gives a feeling of wanting to
embrace life, to carry on life, that life is a great thing, and that
love is a great thing. It’s just that it comes with some baggage. I
feel that we’re optimistic." - John Bramwell
(2005)
Trivia
- The track "Avenue of Hope" features on the soundtrack to
the Danny
Boyle film Sunshine.
- Bramwell is former Granada
Television presenter Johnny Dangerously, known for
fronting a local Saturday morning magazine programme that gave one of
the first TV outings for KFM Radio personality Caroline
Aherne in her Mrs. Merton role. In this guise he also
released the lost classic mini LP You Me And the Alarm Clock,
named in The Guardian newspaper as one of
"greatest albums you've never heard".
- Actor Matthew Fox who plays Doctor
Jack Shepherd in TV show Lost
has named I Am Kloot as one of his favourite bands in the official
podcast for the show.
- The B-side "Great Escape", released on the "Over My
Shoulder" single, appears a few times in an episode of Early
Doors, a BBC
sitcom written by Craig Cash.
- Coincidentally, Kloot is the Dutch word for 'ball',
referring to the testicles.
- Peter Jobson is also a co-founder of the record label
"Skinny Dog Records" along with Guy Garvey.
External links
Source material
References
Manchester,
England