If there’s a place where the raw energy of rock meets the euphoria of the dancefloor it’s in The Electric City, the ever-evolving result of four friends with as much of a penchant for the blistering basslines of DFA 1979 as the elaborate synth rock of Muse.
The Electric City’s story began where frontman Andy and his south London based mate James Cantone found themselves inspired to write after seeing two musical Vibes collide in an unprecedented explosion of genre-defying noise. In London, the two housemates quickly began looking for bandmates, who they found in bass player and Crouch End local Jonny Bullitt – “With a name like that we just had to have him,” according to James – and Oxford born drummer Dan Laithwaite. Songs gradually took shape, as Andy describes: “Every time we write a new track it goes slightly more electro or dirtier or a bit more of a stomper…it just happens by accident.” Now there’s a tangible buzz about this gang of four.
The band have further lived up to their name with a string of electrifying live shows over the last six months.Drummer Dan says: “You’ve got to give people a show.” Guitarist James, on the other hand, takes a slightly more, er, drastic approach to get the crowd going: “I play so hard my fingers bleed. flick the blood at the crowd, and it’s like sharks” It’s this sheer honesty and enthusiasm that marks them out from their image-obsessed contemporaries, and what hooks the crowd and leaves them wanting more.
In fact that ethos is at the core of everything The Electric City do – it’s visible in the heaving mosh pits of kids at the front of every gig and the grinning trend-hunters clutching their pints and nodding nonchalantly at the back. It’s in the cheeky injoke of the name (after a bizarre experience in a Notting Hill pub where Andy was accosted by a celebrity chef) and the message of the songs (The Electric City is simply about living in a city and doing what…?). And with the electrifying intensity of their live shows has got them noticed everywhere from the darkest corners of cyberspace to the playlists of XFM and support slots with “We Are Scientists”, “The Futureheads”, “Patrick wolf” and in March 2007 rock legends “The Who”.
The Electric City is an British indie rock band. The members of the band are Andy J. Taylor (vocals, rhythm guitar), James Cantone (lead guitar, back vocals), Jonny Bullit (bass), and Dan Laithwaite (drums). Their debut single Sleeping With The Enemy was released on July 2nd, 2007, through their own label, Distorted Punk and is available on Itunes. It was produced by Jim Love, who worked with The Stereophonics.
www.theelectriccity.co.uk/www.myspace.com/electriccitymusic'...Blistering basslines of DFA 1979 as the elaborate synth rock of Muse...'
- INDIELONDON
'....Dirtier than a student's weekend trip to Amsterdam...Quite simply you just don't get rock bands this good anymore...'
- THEBIRDER
'...Riff heavy, punky rock with disco beats...'
- KERRANG
'...Trend-savvy with an indie-disco style in thrall to The Rapture...'
- ARTROCKER
'...Listening to The Electric City's debut single, you get the impression that something important is happening...'
- INDIGOFLOW
'....'This band are definitely ones to watch. They sound slick, like they've been playing huge concerts and not bars...'
- UNCUT
'....Pyrotechnic blends of rock guitar and express train sequencing...'
- MANCHESTERMUSIC.CO.UK
'...Isn't subtle and it certainly aint soft, mix of heavy rock, art-rock and electro beats,Live they are even more exhilarating than on these classic punk singles...'
- GLASSWERK
'...The Electric City are fully charged with raw sounds that bands should be dishing out...'
- CONTACT MUSIC
'...both satisfyingly heavy and irresistibly floor-filling, if there's any justice, this will be huge...'
- ROCK MIDGETS
'...A place where the raw energy of rock meets the euphoria of the dancefloor...'
- COLIN MITCHELL