Sennen (band)

Sennen are an alternative rock band from London.[1] Formed in Norwich, UK in 2002, the current line-up consists of Larry Holmes (guitar, keys and vocals), Rich Kelleway (guitar and vocals), James Brown (drums and keys) and Tim Kelleway (bass). The band's uncorrupted, oddly schizophrenic style has won them a loyal following across the world, and seen their music appear on hit US TV dramas such as True Blood and One Tree Hill.

Sennen
Background information
Origin	Norwich, England
Genres	Alternative rock, shoegazing, post-rock, dream pop, indie rock
Years active	2002–present
Labels	Hungry Audio Rallye Minty Fresh Indelabel
Website	Sennen.org.uk
Members	Rich Kelleway Larry Holmes James Brown Tim Kelleway
Past members	Andrew Horner

In the spring of 2012, Sennen released their third full-length studio album Lost Harmony, recorded with The Cure producer David M. Allen. The first single from this record "Vultures" was released in early March 2012 and featured as XFM’s X-Posure’s Hot One.[2]

The band are named after the Ride song "Sennen", originally released on the Today Forever EP.[3]

History

Sennen's first record Widows, a 7-track mini-album, was released in late 2005 on the Hungry Audio[4] label to critical acclaim and featured in Drowned In Sound's Top 50 Albums of 2005 where it was described as "a remarkably assured debut".[5] A largely instrumental and predominantly post-rock record, Widows displayed plenty of Sennen's early influences - ethereal soundscapes and dark atmospheric guitars building to the kind of epic crescendos produced by My Bloody Valentine, Mogwai and Spiritualized.

Sennen's first single release in 2007, the limited edition 7" "Blackout", was immediately championed by Zane Lowe at Radio One and John Kennedy at XFM, earning the band supports with the likes of Explosions In The Sky, Ulrich Schnauss and Six By Seven. They recorded their debut full-length album, Where the Light Gets In with Primal Scream/House of Love producer Pat Collier. Released in May 2008, the album retained Sennen's exhilarating sound but applied it to a more traditional song-based format, and the result was a record met with universal approval - "A piece of work that is most succinctly and accurately described as beautiful".[6] Soon followed nationwide shows, festivals, and live radio sessions, and in October 2008 the band set off on a tour of Europe's major cities with dEUS.

Starting to reach a new audience in Europe, Japan and Taiwan, Sennen spent their time writing and recording the album, Age of Denial. During recording (December 2009 - again with Pat Collier), the Destroy Us EP was released and further critical acclaim ensued - as XFM’s X-Posure’s Hot One and The Sunday Times hottest download.[7] Sennen's cover version of New Order’s "Bizarre Love Triangle" picked up radio play and was used in the US TV drama One Tree Hill.[8]

Age of Denial was released in the UK in 2010. The NME proclaimed, "it straddles the Atlantic, assimilating US sun drenched harmony pop while espousing shoegazy noises from these shores".[9] In 2011, Age of Denial was released in the US through Minty Fresh Records, and saw another inclusion in mainstream US television - the album track "S.O.S" featuring in hit drama True Blood.[10]

Shortly before the UK release of Age of Denial in 2010, bassist Andrew Horner left the band to spend more time with his family and was replaced by guitarist Rich Kelleway's younger brother Tim. In the summer of 2011 Sennen went back into the studio to begin recording their third full-length album Lost Harmony with The Cure producer David M. Allen. The album was released in the spring of 2012 on Indelabel.

Band members

Current members

• Larry Holmes — vocals, guitar, keys
• Rich Kelleway — vocals, guitar
• James Brown — drums, keys
• Tim Kelleway — bass

Past members

• Andrew Horner — bass

Discography

Albums

• Widows (Hungry Audio, 2005)
• Where the Light Gets In (Hungry Audio, 2008)
• Age of Denial (Hungry Audio, 2010)
• Lost Harmony (Indelabel, 2012)
• First Light (Indelabel, 2016)

EPs

• Destroy Us (EP) (Hungry Audio, 2009)
• Innocence, (Hungry Audio, 2010)

Singles

• "Let You Down" (Hungry Audio, 2006)
• "A Life To Live" (Hungry Audio, 2007)
• "Blackout" (Hungry Audio, 2007)
• "Just Wanted To Know" (Hungry Audio, 2008)
• "Age Of Denial" (Hungry Audio, 2010)
• "With You" (Hungry Audio, 2010)
• "Vultures" (Indelabel, 2012)

Compilation Appearances

• "40 Years" on Club AC30#4 (Club AC30, 2005)
• "I Couldn't Tell You" on WombatOnebat (NROne Records, 2006)
• "Hard to Take" on 50 Minutes (Exercise One, 2006)
• "Blackout" on Psychedelica 3 (Northern Star Records, 2008)

References

1. "Sennen - Free listening, videos, concerts, stats, & pictures at Last.fm". Last.fm.com. Retrieved 13 October 2010.
2. "Sennen to release 'Vultures'". Music News. February 2012. Retrieved 5 February 2012.
3. Cramp, Nathaniel (19 November 2014). "Ride: 10 of the best". theguardian.com. Retrieved 19 November 2014.
4. "Sennen - Bio, CDs and Vinyl at Discogs". Discogs.com. Retrieved 13 October 2010.
5. Dowling, Jordan (October 2005). "Widows". Drowned In Sound. Archived from the original on 16 April 2008. Retrieved 16 April 2008.
6. Leach, Anna (April 2008). "Sennen - Where The Light Gets In". Subba Cultcha. Archived from the original on 2 September 2012. Retrieved 16 December 2011.
7. "STCulture_text". Sunday Times. January 2010. Archived from the original on 3 October 2011. Retrieved 12 December 2011.
8. "SENNEN - Bizarre Love Triangle". CW Television network. March 2010. Retrieved 12 December 2011.
9. Allen, Jeremy (March 2010). "Album Review: Sennen - 'Age Of Denial' (Hungry Audio)". NME. Retrieved 12 December 2011.
10. "True Blood: Norwich band Sennen bitten by vampire show". BBC. June 2010. Retrieved 16 December 2011.

External links

• Sennen Official Site
• Sennen's Official Facebook Page
• Hit US vampire show bites into band's song
• Hungry Audio Site