Aberfeldy (band)

Aberfeldy are a music group formed by the singer-songwriter Riley Briggs in Edinburgh, Scotland in 2002. The band is named after the Scottish town where Riley's granddad had a caravan.[1]

Aberfeldy
OriginEdinburgh, Scotland
GenresIndie pop, pop punk
Years active2002–present
LabelsRough Trade Records, 17 Seconds Records
Associated actsOi Polloi
Websitehttp://www.tenementrecords.com/aberfeldy/
MembersRiley Briggs
Murray Briggs
Ken McIntosh
Kirsten Adamson
Chris Bradley
Past membersIan Stoddart
Ruth Barrie
Sarah McFadyen
Bree Wright
Vicky Gray

Formation

Singer/guitarist Riley Briggs formed Aberfeldy between 2002 and 2003, meeting the band in various locations in Edinburgh - Sarah and Ian through The Royal Oak bar, Ken through an advert for a punk band and Ruth through working as a barmaid in The Bongo Club. Riley's early songs, some of which were included on Young Forever, were written as a result of the breakup with his partner.

Career

In 2003, Aberfeldy recorded fourteen songs with producer Jim Sutherland at his studio above Edinburgh's Bongo Club, using only one microphone and no overdubbing. The resulting tracks were licensed to Rough Trade Records and released in 2004 as the album Young Forever. The single "Heliopolis by Night" was NME's single of the week on release.[2]

The follow-up single "Love Is an Arrow" was featured by Lorraine Kelly on GMTV's Kelly Plays Pop section. The record sold out in less than a week, due to not enough copies being pressed. The single reached no. 60 in the UK charts.[3] The animated video, by Chris Waitt, was nominated for an MTVU Woodie award for best animated video,[4] but lost out to the Gorillaz.

"Summer's Gone", from the Young Forever album, saw use in a range of commercials. It was used in Argentina to advertise Quilmes beer.[5] It was used again for a Diet Coke commercial in the USA and Canada, appearing initially during the 2007 Oscars and also during American Idol.[6] In 2010, the song was featured in a commercial for Travelers Insurance.[7]

Drummer Ian Stoddart (one time member of Win) departed in late 2005, and was replaced by Murray Briggs, Riley's brother, formerly of the Anarcho/street punk band Oi Polloi.

A well received second album Do Whatever Turns You On, produced by Calum Malcolm, was released by Rough Trade on 3 July 2006. However, in October 2006, Rough Trade announced that they no longer wished to work with the band, twelve weeks after the album's limited (UK & Australia only) release.

Ruth Barrie (keyboards, vocals) and Sarah McFadyen (violin, vocals) left Aberfeldy following the 2007 Tune Up Tour. Bree Wright (keyboards, vocals) joined for a short time, but did not stay with the band beyond a summer tour. Shortly afterwards Vicky Gray (violin, keyboards, vocals) and Chris Bradley (guitar, keyboards, vocals) joined the line-up.

The band completed 2007 with two sell-out gigs at the Voodoo Rooms in Edinburgh which earned them the following great reviews.[8][9]

Aberfeldy released a single in October 2008, "Come On, Claire" with 17 Seconds Records. This was followed with their third album, Somewhere to Jump From, which was released on 6 September 2010 through Tenement Records, preceded by single "Malcolm" on 16 August 2010.[10]

Touring

As well as touring throughout the UK, Aberfeldy have supported R.E.M. at their Loch Lomond gig,[11] and Blondie and the Scissor Sisters at Edinburgh's Hogmanay celebrations (2004),[12] and played at T in the Park (2005). They performed at the 2005 and 2006 South by Southwest Festival in Austin, Texas.

Aberfeldy toured the UK in May and June 2006. For part of that tour they supported The Beautiful South.[13] During June and July 2006 the band supported James Blunt for four of his UK and European tour dates.[14] The band also had festival dates and an extensive headline tour in autumn 2006, as well as supporting Paolo Nutini on his UK tour.[15]

In October 2006, the band were invited to play at the Cervantino festival in Guanajuato, Mexico; the concert was seen live by over 10,000 people and broadcast on radio and TV.

Aberfeldy toured Scotland in April and May 2007 as part of the Scottish Arts Council's Tune-Up Tour. They also played several successful open-air gigs during the summer.

Members
  • Riley Briggs - lead vocals, guitar, keyboards
  • Murray Briggs - drums
  • Ken McIntosh - bass
  • Kirsten Adamson - keyboards, vocals
  • Chris Bradley - guitar, keyboards, vocals

Discography

Albums

Singles
  • "Vegetarian Restaurant" (2004)
  • "Heliopolis By Night" (2004) - UK No. 66
  • "Love Is an Arrow" (2005) - UK No. 60
  • "Summer's Gone" (2005)
  • "Hypnotised" (2006)
  • "Come On, Claire" (2008)[16]
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gollark: IRC has some problematic flaws.
gollark: And is very annoying when I need to plug something in and transfer files.
gollark: I don't actually know which have no data lines, which does sort of defeat the point.

References
  1. Briggs, Riley. "Aberfeldy". Tenement Records. Retrieved 23 December 2015.
  2. "Review of "Heliopolis by Night"". Rockfeedback. Retrieved 23 December 2015.
  3. "Official Charts entry for "Love Is An Arrow"". Official Charts. Retrieved 23 December 2015.
  4. "Woodie Awards 2005". MTVU. Retrieved 23 December 2015.
  5. "Publicidad Cerveza Quilmes, Encuentro (Diciembre 2004)". Cerveza Quilmes YouTube channel. Retrieved 23 December 2015.
  6. Findlay, Bruce (1 March 2007). "Aberfeldy - the sound of new Diet Coke commercial". Schoolhouse Management. Retrieved 23 December 2015.
  7. "Funny Travelers insurance commercial 1". TheGreenTrain YouTube channel. Retrieved 23 December 2015.
  8. Gordon, Barry (20 December 2007). "On song and heading for the big time". Edinburgh: News.scotsman.com. Retrieved 2 June 2010.
  9. Pollock, David. "New work glows after Aberfeldy fallout". Living.scotsman.com. Archived from the original on 26 June 2010. Retrieved 2 June 2010.
  10. "Hello again, Aberfeldy! Long time no see". Thisisfakediy.co.uk. Retrieved 23 December 2015.
  11. Sloan, Billy (27 March 2005). "Is this the way to Aberfeldy? R.E.M. give Scots band big break". Glasgow: Daily Record. Retrieved 23 December 2015.
  12. Cooper, Neil (5 December 2004). "Culture: Wrong place, right time for Aberfeldy". The Sunday Times. Retrieved 23 December 2015.
  13. "The Beautiful South events 2006". LastFM. Retrieved 23 December 2015.
  14. Findlay, Bruce (16 July 2006). "Exciting times". Schoolhouse Management. Retrieved 23 December 2015.
  15. "Tour support news". Paolo Nutini. 7 November 2006. Retrieved 23 December 2015.
  16. Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 13. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
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