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The Big Pink

For the building associated with Bob Dylan and The Band, see Big Pink.

The Big Pink are an English electronic rock band from London, consisting of multi-instrumentalists Robertson "Robbie" Furze, Akiko Matsuura and Charlie Barker.[2][3] Initially a duo, they signed to independent record label 4AD in 2009 and won the NME Philip Hall Radar Award for best new act.[4] To date, they have released five singles, with their debut album A Brief History of Love released in September 2009[5] and its follow-up, Future This released in January 2012.

The Big Pink
Robbie Furze of The Big Pink performing at the Brixton Academy in London, 6 October 2009
Robbie Furze of The Big Pink performing at the Brixton Academy in London, 6 October 2009
Background information
OriginLondon, England
Genres
Years active2007–present
Labels4AD
Project Melody Music;
management: Nanci Walker
MembersRobbie Furze
Akiko Matsuura
Charlie Barker[1]
Past membersMilo Cordell
Lady Mary Charteris
Websitemusicfromthebigpink.com

History

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Beginnings and early singles

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Robertson "Robbie" Furze and Milo Cordell started working together as The Big Pink in 2008, taking their name from the debut album by The Band.[6] Furze used to play guitar for Alec Empire and run the record label Hate Channel with Cordell. Cordell (son of Denny Cordell and brother of Tarka Cordell) had also been releasing records through his own label Merok Records, which featured early noise rock releases by Klaxons, Titus Andronicus, and Crystal Castles.[7] After joining forces in mid-2007, the band issued their first single "Too Young to Love" on 7" vinyl in October 2008 on the House Anxiety label.[8] The single was limited to 500 copies worldwide,[8] and features a homoerotic photograph by Dennis Cooper as its cover. Similarly, a limited edition 12" single for "Too Young to Love" released only in Japan features more of Cooper's photography as its cover.

The Big Pink signed with British record label 4AD in February 2009.[9] On 25 February 2009, The Big Pink won the prestigious Philip Hall Radar Award for best new act at the NME Shockwave Awards.[4] The duo were presented the award by James Allan and Caroline McKay of Glasvegas, who had won the award in 2008. In April, 4AD issued the duo's first single for the label, "Velvet," which Pitchfork Media described as "undeniably immense, but it's a tribute to the Big Pink's skill and maturity that it still manages to sound intimate", and awarded the track a 7 out of 10 rating.[10] The single was again produced by the band and mixed by Alan Moulder. A 7-minute remix of "Velvet" by Gang Gang Dance followed as an online-streaming single.[11] The Big Pink provided a cover of "Lovesong" for The Cure tribute album Pictures of You: A Tribute to Godlike Geniuses The Cure, which was made available with the 25 February 2009 issue of NME.[12] Following the releases, the duo opened for TV on the Radio in Europe before embarking on their first headlining UK tour.[13] A second single on 4AD, the non-album track "Stop the World", was released as a limited edition 7" single on 29 June 2009.[14] It was co-produced with Paul Epworth.

A Brief History of Love

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The Big Pink's debut album A Brief History of Love was released on 14 September 2009,[5][13] the fourth single "Dominos" having been released a week before.[15] The band produced the album themselves at Electric Lady Studios in New York City, and it was mixed by Rich Costey.[16] Cordell told BBC 6 Music that the album encompasses "every different aspect of love... The good, the bad, the boring, the exciting, the dreams, the nightmares, the whole thing."[17] Nationwide tours of Europe, Japan, and the United States occurred August through the end of 2009,[18] with dates in Australia[19] and a second North American tour set for spring 2010.[20] They also supported Muse on their UK arena tour in November,[21] and in turn, provided a remix of Muse's song "Undisclosed Desires," which was made available on the single released on 16 November 2009.[22] On 24 February 2010, "Dominos" won Best Track at the NME Awards.[23] The Big Pink appeared at the 2010 Coachella Festival in April[24][25] and once again opened for Muse at London's Wembley Stadium on 10 September 2010.[26]

Future This

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In an interview with NME, Robbie Furze noted a strong hip-hop influence for the recording of the band's second album. However, he later retracted this statement regarding the band's musical direction in a further NME interview in October 2011 in which he wishes he hadn't made such a claim. He also stated that the band has approached Nick Launay and Dave Fridmann as possible producers, and added "I think we've got our heart set on Alan Moulder to mix it."[27] The first single "Stay Gold" came out in October 2011,[28] and was featured in SSX.

The band's second album Future This was released in January 2012.[29] One of the songs "Lose Your Mind" started with a sample of the single "Happy House" by Siouxsie and the Banshees to get a certain vibe.[30][31][32] The second single "Hit the Ground (Superman)" heavily sampled O Superman by Laurie Anderson.[32]

Empire Underground

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In February 2013, Furze announced on the band's Facebook page that Cordell moved to New York permanently in order to focus on his label Merok Records and would no longer be an active member of The Big Pink. Despite this, production of a third album continued with various musicians and producers including The-Drum, Supreme Cuts, Van Rivers, John O'Mahoney and Andrew Wyatt of Miike Snow.[33]

On 26 January 2016 Big Pink released a video for the song "Hightimes" followed by a 4-song EP titled Empire Underground.[34][35]

The Love That's Ours

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In 2022, the band released the single "No Angels", produced by Tony Hoffer,[36] from their third album The Love That's Ours.

Members

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Current members

  • Robertson "Robbie" Furze – vocals, guitar, programming
  • Akiko Matsuura – drums, backing vocals
  • Charlie Barker – bass, backing vocals

Former members

Former additional personnel

Discography

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Studio albums

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List of studio albums, with selected details and chart positions
Title Details Peak chart positions
UK
[37] 		BEL
[38] 		US
[39]
A Brief History of Love
  • Released: 14 September 2009
  • Label: 4AD (CAD 2916)
  • Formats: CD, 2LP, 2LP/12", DL
 56 70 138
Future This
  • Released: 16 January 2012
  • Label: 4AD (CAD 3201)
  • Formats: CD, LP, DL
 96 — —
The Love That's Ours
  • Released: 30 September 2022
  • Label: Project Melody
  • Formats: CD, LP, DL
 — — —

Extended plays

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  • This Is Our Time (Beggars Japan, 24 June 2009) – Japan-only CD EP
  • Empire Underground (B3SCI Records, 4 March 2016)[40]

Singles

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List of singles, with selected chart positions
Title Year Peak chart positions Album
UK
[41] 		BEL
(FL)
[42] 		IRE
[43] 		JPN
[44] 		MEX
Air.
[45] 		US
Alt
[46]
"Too Young to Love"[A] 2008 — — — — — — A Brief History of Love
"Velvet"[A] 2009 133 — — — — —
"Stop the World"[B] — — — — — —
"Dominos" 27 —[A] 10 — 14 36
"Velvet" 2010 149 — — — 19 —
"Tonight" — — — — — —
"Stay Gold" 2011 — — — — 27 — Future This
"Hit the Ground (Superman)" 2012 — —[B] — 76 39 —
"No Angels" 2022 — — — — — — The Love That's Ours
"Love Spins on Its Axis" (featuring Dust in the Sunlight) — — — — — —
"Rage" — — — — — —
"—" denotes a release that did not chart.

Notes

  • A – Originally released as non-album tracks, but were later added to the debut album A Brief History of Love.
  • B – Non-album single; released as a bonus track on the UK digital download edition and the Japanese CD pressing of A Brief History of Love.

Compilations

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  • "Tapes" – !K7

Appearances on compilations

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  • Fragments from Work in Progress (4AD, 17 April 2010)
    • A limited edition 12" EP released by 4AD for Record Store Day 2010, featuring session tracks and demos from five artists on the label's roster; includes "With You" by the band, which was previously released on the Japanese 12" for "Too Young to Love"[47]

Remixes

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Music videos

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Year Video Director
2008 "Too Young to Love" Rob Hawkins
2009 "Velvet"
"Stop the World" John Nolan
"Dominos" Tim Saccenti
2010 "Tonight" Rob Hawkins
2011 "Stay Gold" Ollie Murray
"Hit the Ground (Superman)" Tim Brown
2012 "Give It Up"

Notes

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  1. ^ "Dominoes" did not enter the Flanders Ultratop 50, but peaked at number 13 on the Ultratip chart.[42]
  2. ^ "Hit the Ground (Superman)" did not enter the Flanders Ultratop 50, but peaked at number 15 on the Ultratip chart.[42]

References

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  1. ^ "The Big Pink return after a decade with 'No Angels': "It's true to what we stand for"". NME. 27 April 2022.
  2. ^ "FURZE ROBERTSON DAVID FRANCIS". Repertoire.bmi.com. Archived from the original on 10 April 2013. Retrieved 21 June 2016.
  3. ^ "The Big Pink return after a decade with 'No Angels': "It's true to what we stand for"". NME. 27 April 2022.
  4. ^ a b "The Big Pink win Philip Hall Radar Award | News". NME. UK. 25 February 2009. Retrieved 12 January 2012.
  5. ^ a b "6 Music – Big Pink debut". BBC. Retrieved 12 January 2012.
  6. ^ Paul Lester (18 November 2008). "New band of the day – No. 432: The Big Pink | Music". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 12 January 2012.
  7. ^ "Merok Records". Merok.bigcartel.com. Retrieved 12 January 2012.
  8. ^ a b The Big Pink "Where Can Noise Go?" | Dummy Magazine Archived 7 August 2009 at the Wayback Machine
  9. ^ 4AD – Three New Signings Announced Archived 6 July 2009 at the Wayback Machine
  10. ^ Garrett, Jonathan (9 April 2009). "Track Reviews – Velvet". Pitchfork. Retrieved 12 January 2012.
  11. ^ Kelly, Zach (4 May 2009). "Track Reviews – Velvet (Gang Gang Dance Remix)". Pitchfork. Retrieved 12 January 2012.
  12. ^ 4AD Journal: The Big Pink Cover The Cure Archived 4 December 2010 at the Wayback Machine
  13. ^ a b 4AD – The Big Pink – Debut 4AD Single, UK Tour, NME Award Archived 5 July 2009 at the Wayback Machine
  14. ^ 4AD – The Big Pink – Stop the World Archived 21 June 2009 at the Wayback Machine
  15. ^ Exceedingly Good Keex (10 July 2009). "Exceedingly Good Keex: Dominos". Exceedinglygoodkeex.blogspot.com. Retrieved 12 January 2012.
  16. ^ Jones, Damian (29 April 2009). "BBC – Newsbeat – Music – The Big Pink slam indie cool tag". BBC News. Retrieved 12 January 2012.
  17. ^ Details of The Big Pink's debut album, 4AD, 6 July 2009 Archived 9 July 2009 at the Wayback Machine
  18. ^ "Big Pink Announce Debut American Tour Dates". Prefixmag.com. 7 August 2009. Retrieved 12 January 2012.
  19. ^ The Big Pink / Australian dates announced for 2010 Archived 25 November 2009 at the Wayback Machine
  20. ^ 4AD – News – The Big Pink Announce North American Spring dates Archived 12 December 2009 at the Wayback Machine
  21. ^ "MUSE News – Biffy Clyro and The Big Pink to support Muse!". Muse.mu. Retrieved 12 January 2012.
  22. ^ "MUSE News – Undisclosed Desires – out on 16 November".
  23. ^ "Twitter". Twitter. Retrieved 12 January 2012.
  24. ^ Breihan, Tom (19 January 2010). "Coachella Lineup Announced". Pitchfork. Retrieved 12 January 2012.
  25. ^ "(official website)". Coachella. Retrieved 12 January 2012.
  26. ^ "Muse at Wembley Stadium". Last.fm. Retrieved 12 January 2012.
  27. ^ "The Big Pink at Leeds Festival: 'Our new album sounds like Dr Dre'". NME. 29 August 2010. Retrieved 20 October 2010.
  28. ^ "Hear The Big Pink's new single 'Stay Gold' on NME.COM". NME. 13 September 2011.
  29. ^ "Future This by The Big Pink – Preorder Future This on iTunes". Itunes.apple.com. Retrieved 12 January 2012.
  30. ^ "ACE Title Search : LOSE YOUR MIND". ASCAP. Retrieved 21 February 2012.
  31. ^ Furze, Robbie. "The Big Pink". subba-cultcha.com. Archived from the original on 19 February 2012. Retrieved 20 February 2012. Some of these songs started with a sample from Laurie Anderson, or Siouxsie and the Banshees, and that was a big difference in process. We'd start with the sample, stick a beat underneath it, and then let it grow from there, from the initial vibe.
  32. ^ a b Bevan, david (14 November 2011). "The Big Pink Go Pop on January's 'Future This'". Spin.com. Retrieved 20 February 2012. Lose Your Mind initially sampled Happy House by Siouxsie and the Banshees
  33. ^ a b "Milo Cordell, One Half of the Big Pink, Leaves Band". Pitchfork. 20 February 2013. Retrieved 22 June 2016.
  34. ^ "The Big Pink - Hightimes - YouTube". YouTube. Archived from the original on 20 December 2021.
  35. ^ "Amazon.com: Empire Underground: The Big Pink: MP3 Downloads". Amazon.
  36. ^ "The Big Pink Celebrate Their Return with Shoegazy Single 'No Angels'". Rolling Stone. 27 April 2022.
  37. ^ "Big Pink | full Official Chart History". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 24 October 2022.
  38. ^ "Discografie The Big Pink". ultratop.be. Retrieved 1 November 2009.
  39. ^ "The Big Pink". Billboard. Retrieved 3 November 2009.
  40. ^ "Empire Underground EP - B3SCI Records".
  41. ^ "search The Big Pink". Zobbel. Retrieved 12 June 2020.
  42. ^ a b c "ultratop.be - The Big Pink". Hung Medien. Retrieved 13 June 2020.
  43. ^ "The Big Pink". Chart Stats. Retrieved 17 February 2010.
  44. ^ "Japan Billboard Hot 100". Billboard Japan. Retrieved 12 June 2020.
  45. ^ "The Big Pink - Billboard Mexico Ingles Airplay". Billboard. Retrieved 13 June 2020.
  46. ^ "The Big Pink Chart info". Billboard. Retrieved 17 February 2010.
  47. ^ 4AD – News – Limited 12" EP from 4AD for Record Store Day 2010 Archived 12 March 2010 at the Wayback Machine
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