Whitey (musician)

Nathan Joseph White also known as Whitey[1] is an English songwriter, musician, multi-instrumentalist and soundtrack composer. He works primarily in the alternative pop field, bringing in elements of pop, rock, classical and electronic; with influences from many other genres and mediums, for example, Charleston, swing, psychedelia, metal, acid house, cut-up poetry and found sounds. His sounds has been described to contain various styles of music such as alternative rock, bedroom pop, electronic, electronica, carnival, synthpop, indie rock, post-punk revival, neo-psychedelia, new wave and alternative dance.

Whitey
Background information
Birth nameNathan Joseph Wonnacott
OriginLondon, England
Genres
Years active2003–Present
Labels1234, EMI, Marquis Cha Cha, Bad Life, No Label Inc, Dim Mak Records
MembersN.J. Whitey

Career

In 2004, he released an album named The Light at the End of the Tunnel is a Train. Though he himself has subsequently distanced himself from the genre, this album predicted many elements of the 'electro-rock' movement by several years, and was greeted at the time as a critical triumph, going on to make numerous Best Of Year lists worldwide.[2]

In the summer of 2007, an album named Great Shakes was leaked onto the internet, by an unidentified individual named Kelkoo182. As a consequence of this leak, this album was never officially released,[3] and Whitey lost all international licensing deals. On 9 October 2007, the Wrap It Up EP was released through Pure Groove Music/Universal Music. It consisted of three songs: Wrap It Up, Cigarette, and Head in the Corner.[4] Other appearances since then have been the track "Stay on the Outside" on Kitsuné Maison Compilation 4, the release of the limited edition Made of Night EP on Marquis Cha Cha records and the track "Wrap It Up" was featured on Grand Theft Auto IV on the in-game radio station Radio Broker. Tracks by Whitey have also featured in episodes of The Sopranos, House, One Tree Hill, The O.C, Kyle XY, Entourage, Breaking Bad, and CSI.

A full album named Stay On The Outside was planned for release in the later part of 2008, but was delayed at this point by the artist. This album was planned to include a number of tracks from Great Shakes and a number of new tracks.

A new album Canned Laughter was self-released by Whitey on 1 April 2010, along with a public statement that the 'future of music is independent, and labels must learn to strike fairer deals to keep their slice'. He has since withdrawn all his music from Spotify and iTunes.

On 23 March 2012, extended versions of The Light at the End of the Tunnel is a Train & Canned Laughter was independently released via Bandcamp, alongside the first official release of Great Shakes & a collection of rarities named "Great Shakes Volume 2."

In May 2012, Whitey announced a surprise release- his new album "Lost Summer" was suddenly released a week later, independently on Bandcamp. The album went live for download on 18 May 2012. Music from this has been used extensively in US TV and cinema. The song "Stay On the Outside" was used in episode two of the fifth season of Breaking Bad.

In December 2012, Whitey started a Kickstarter campaign[5] to fund his seventh album as well as making physical releases on CD and vinyl available for all his back catalog.[6] The Kickstarter campaign ended well over the official goal. However, as of September 2018 no album had been released to those who had pledged funds to the campaign.[5]

In November 2013, Whitey rejected a Betty TV request to license his music for free on the grounds that it was unreasonable to pay others professionally without paying to license music, reposting the email online to begin 'a public discussion... about this kind of industry abuse of musicians.'[7] The post went viral overnight, generating 500,000 views in the first 24 hours, and reached an estimated audience of over 5 million views via retweeting/secondary views on Twitter. The requested discussion spread into the mainstream press, generating pieces in Music Week, The Guardian, the BBC and numerous online sources.[8] Whitey recently passed his 15 millionth online play.

In March 2015, Whitey released "Seven," a mini-album consisting of seven songs crossing and blending seven multiple genres. Whitey also announced a new studio album titled "Square Peg, Round World," which will make a physical release along with a worldwide tour. The exact release date is yet to be announced.

By April 2016, no statement was made from Whitey or his team regarding the release of the Kickstarter-funded album. He had however indicated through various sources that he has continued recording, despite serious setbacks.

On 29 May 2020, Whitey released a Facebook post announcing his return to music, along with releases of all of his previous albums on CD, Vinyl and digital streaming platforms.[9] A new album titled "Now That's Why I Killed Music"[10], featuring previously unreleased or rare tracks, was released on 7 August 2020.

Discography
Main article: Whitey discography

Singles

  • "Leave Them All Behind" (2003)
  • "Why You Have to Be Me" (2003)
  • "Non Stop" / "A Walk In the Dark" (2005)
  • "Wrap It Up" (2006)
  • "Made of Night" (2008)
  • "Individuals" (2008)
  • "Saturday Night Ate Our Lives" (2012)
  • "No More Right or Wrong" (2012)
  • "Waves of Fear" (2013)
  • "Somebody Grab the Wheel" (2015)
  • "The Other Way" (2015)
  • "Pick Up Your Shadow" (2015)
  • "Civilizashun" (2015)
  • "In the End" (2015)

Studio albums

  • The Light at the End of the Tunnel Is a Train (2005) (Re-released 2012) (Remastered 2020)
  • Great Shakes (Leaked 2007) (Re-released 2012) (Remastered 2020)
  • Canned Laughter (2010) (Re-released 2012) (Remastered 2020)
  • Great Shakes Vol. 2 (2012) (Remastered 2020)
  • Lost Summer (2012) (Remastered 2020)
  • Seven (2015) (Remastered 2020)
  • Now That's Why I Killed Music (2020)

Extended plays

  • Wrap It Up (2007)
  • Made of Night (2008)
gollark: It's not "SiMpLe".
gollark: Your lack of dependency utilisation is so geomagnetic.
gollark: It will be renamed to GNAP and everyone will use it.
gollark: When NAP is released I WILL fork and improve it.
gollark: You can't* stop me.

References
  1. "Nathan Joseph White - New Songs, Playlists & Latest News - BBC Music". BBC.
  2. "Whitey, The Light At The End Of The Tunnel Is A Train | OMM | The Observer". Theguardian.com.
  5. "WHITEY- 'BARE BONES' PROJECT. NEW LP, FULL TOUR, BOX SET". Kickstarter.com.
  6. "Whitey - No More Right Or Wrong". Thebluewalrus.com. 3 January 2013.
  8. Dorian Lynskey [@Dorianlynskey] (6 November 2013). ""Enough. I'm sick of you." The musician Whitey responds to a TV company asking to use his music for free. My hero" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  9. "Whitey". Juno Records. Retrieved 2 May 2020.
  10. "WHITEY Now That s Why I Killed Music vinyl at Juno Records". Juno.co.uk. Retrieved 2 May 2020.
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