Alt-J
Alt-J (stylised as alt-J, real name Δ)[5][6][7] are an English indie rock band formed in 2007 in Leeds. Their lineup includes Joe Newman (guitar/lead vocals), Thom Sonny Green (drums), Gus Unger-Hamilton (keyboards/vocals), and formerly Gwil Sainsbury (guitar/bass).
Alt-J
∆
Leeds, England
2007–present
- Loud and Quiet
- Infectious
- Atlantic
- Canvasback
- Joe Newman
- Thom Sonny Green
- Gus Unger-Hamilton
Their debut album An Awesome Wave was released in May 2012 in Europe, and in September 2012 in the United States, and won the 2012 British Mercury Prize.[8] Sainsbury left the band in early 2014. Their second album, This Is All Yours, was released on 22 September 2014 and went straight to number one in the United Kingdom.[9] In February 2022 the band released their fourth studio album The Dream.[10]
Name[edit]
The band's actual name is the triangle-shaped symbol Δ (the capital Greek letter delta).[5][6] The band often makes references to triangles[11][12] (for example, the song "Tesselate" mentions "triangles are my favourite shape",[13] and they make triangle symbols with their fingers during concerts[14]), which they say is just due to it being a visually appealing shape.[13]
"Alt-J" comes from the key sequence used to generate the symbol Δ on an Apple Mac computer: Alt+J.[6]
The cover art of the band's debut album An Awesome Wave shows an overhead view of the largest river delta in the world, where the Ganges River meets the Bay of Bengal in Bangladesh.
Alt-J were previously known as "Daljit Dhaliwal" and then "Films",[15][16] but were later forced to change to "alt-J" because an American band called "The Films" already existed.[17]
History[edit]
2007–2010: Formation and early years[edit]
alt-J (∆) were formed when Gwilym (Gwil) Sainsbury (guitar/bass), Joe Newman (guitar/lead vocals), Augustus (Gus) Unger-Hamilton[18] (keyboards/vocals) and Thomas Stuart (Thom Sonny) Green[18] (drums) met at University of Leeds in 2007.[19] Unger-Hamilton (younger brother of Ferdy, head of A&R for Polydor Records) studied English, the other three Fine Art. According to Newman, "I basically went to art school to start a band."[20]
In their second year of studies, Newman showed Sainsbury some of his own songs and the pair began recording on GarageBand in their hall rooms with Sainsbury acting as producer.[21] The band's sound arose from living in student halls, where noise had to be kept to a minimum, so that they were unable to use bass guitars or bass drums.[20]
Lyrics[edit]
Alt-J has been noted for their post-modern lyrics in their songs that highlight historic events and pop-culture subjects.[65] The song "Taro" is written in reference to Gerda Taro and her role as a war photographer during the Spanish Civil War as well as her relationship to Robert Capa. The song describes the details of Capa's death ("A violent wrench grips mass / Rips light, tears limbs like rags") and imagines Taro's complementary emotions. The visuals in a fan made music video by YouTube user David Dean Burkhart are taken from Godfrey Reggio's experimental film Powaqqatsi.
"Matilda" is a reference to Natalie Portman's character in the film Léon: The Professional.[66] "Fitzpleasure" is the retelling of Hubert Selby Jr.'s short story "Tralala", published in Last Exit to Brooklyn. The story follows a prostitute named Tralala who dies after being gang-raped and raped with a broom, as in the lyrics "dead in the middle / of a c-o-double-m-o-n" and "in your snatch fits pleasure / broom shaped pleasure."
Studio albums