Steve Mason (musician)

Steve Mason is a Scottish musician, best known as the lead singer and one of the founding members of The Beta Band. He has also been a member of Black Affair with Jimmy Edgar.

This article is about the Scottish musician. For the former Gene guitarist and XFM DJ, see Gene (band). For American musician, see Stephen Mason (musician). For other people with the same name, see Steven Mason (disambiguation).

Steve Mason
Performing at the Summer Sundae festival, Leicester, August 2010
Background information
Also known as	King Biscuit Time (1998–2006) Black Affair (2007–2008)
Origin	Edinburgh, Scotland
Genres	Folk, electronic, rock, trip hop, experimental jamming
Years active	1996–present
Labels	Regal, Poptones, V2, Double Six
Associated acts	The Beta Band
Website	http://www.stevemasontheartist.com/

History

Mason started his music career as the lead singer and one of the founding members of The Beta Band. According to Q magazine, after leaving the band Mason was so deep in debt at one point that he was forced to take a second job on a building site. The singer was also crippled by a depression that only recently lifted.[1]

During the Beta Band era, Steve appeared on TV shows including The Adam & Joe Show (2001) and Never Mind the Buzzcocks (2005).[2][3]

Mason released solo material as King Biscuit Time, including two EPs on Regal Records and one album on No Style Records, an imprint of Alan McGee's Poptones record label. Mason has also worked under the name Black Affair, and has released one album under this pseudonym on V2 Records.

On 19 April 2009, The Sunday Times reported that Mason was working on a new album with the record producer, Richard X.[4] This album, Boys Outside, was released in March 2010 and is the first album under Mason's own name. The first single, "All Come Down", was released as a download at the end of November 2009. Q gave the album a 4/5 rating. According to Rob Fearn, the album "relocates Mason in a grand tradition of indie boys doing idiosyncratic electronic pop, a line stretching back through Hot Chip, New Order, Talk Talk and Brian Eno". Fearn argued that the album, "totally different from what he did in King Biscuit Time and Black Affair", might be seen as a "welcome return to a stripped-down songcraft". It is "...not just a work that can finally measure up to [Beta Band's] The Three EPs, but is a sign of a "bold new start",[1] according to the critic.

In 2013, Mason released Monkey Minds in the Devil's Time. The album covers topics as diverse as his recent struggles with depression and loneliness, the suicide of David Kelly (former weapons inspector in Iraq) and the London riots. The Independent called it "his most rewarding release since the Beta Band".

Discography

The Beta Band

see The Beta Band Discography

King Biscuit Time

EPs

Sings Nelly Foggits Blues in "Me and the Pharaohs" (7 December 1998, Regal)

• 1. "Fatheriver" (3:07)
  2. "Niggling Discrepancy" (3:46)
  3. "Little White" (2:39)
  4. "Eye o' the Dug" (2:02)

No Style (19 June 2000, Regal)

• 1. "I Walk the Earth" (5:52)
  2. "Untitled" (2:12)
  3. "I Love You" (3:05)
  4. "Time to Get Up" (3:47)

  NB. The US release of No Style also included the entirety of the Nelly Foggits Blues EP.

Singles

"C I AM 15" (26 September 2005, Poptones) – reached No. 67 on the UK Singles Chart[5]

• • • CD
    1. "C I AM 15" (featuring Topcat)
    2. "People Happy"
    • 7" (1)
    1. "C I AM 15" (featuring Topcat)
    2. "C I AM 15 (C-Swing Remix)"
    • 7" (2)
    1. "C I AM 15" (featuring Topcat)
    2. "C I AM 15 C I AM 15 (mix by Junior Mason Mumbazza)"

"Kwangchow" (24 April 2006, Poptones) – reached No. 84 on the singles chart

• • • CD
    1. "Kwangchow"
    2. "Tears Dry"
    3. "Kwangchow (Doctors of Love Remix)"
    4. "Kwangchow (Suicide D.O.G.Z.- Faudels Hash Den Remix)"
    • 7"
    1. "Kwangchow"
    2. "Tears Dry"

Albums

Black Gold (15 May 2006, Poptones) – reached No. 143 on the UK Albums Chart

• 1. "C I AM 15"
  2. "Izzum"
  3. "Impossible Ride"
  4. "Kwangchow"
  5. "Lefteye"
  6. "All Over You"
  7. "The Way You Walk"
  8. "Paperhead"
  9. "Rising Son"
  10. "Metal Biscuit"

Black Affair

Singles

"Tak! Attack!" (22 October 2007, V2)

• • • 12"
    1. "Tak! Attack!"
    2. "Blush"
    3. "Tak! Attack! (Suicidedogz remix)"

"It's Real" (16 June 2008, V2)

• • • 12"
    1. "It's Real (Jimmy Edgar mix)"
    2. "Fingerability (Stephen Mason mix)"
    3. "It's Real (Jimmy Edgar mix – Playgroup remix)"

"Japanese Happening" (6 October 2008, V2)

• • • Download
    1. "Japanese Happening"
    2. "Night Watch"
    3. "You and Me (C90's Remix)"
    4. "Japanese Happening (Movestar Star Moving Remix)"

Albums

Pleasure Pressure Point (4 August 2008, V2)

• 1. "P.P.P."
  2. "It Goes Like This"
  3. "Just Keep Walking"
  4. "It's Real"
  5. "Japanese Happening"
  6. "You and Me"
  7. "Reel to Reel"
  8. "Subfuge"
  9. "Will She Come"
  10. "Sweet"
  11. "Tak! Attack!"
  12. "Mute Me"
  13. "Pills"

Steve Mason

Singles

"All Come Down" (23 November 2009, Black Melody)

• • • Download
    1. "All Come Down"
    2. "All Come Down (Drums of Death Carnival of Souls remix)"
    3. "All Come Down (Drums of Death Carnival of Souls dub)"

"Lost & Found" (19 April 2010, Double Six)

• • • Download
    1. "Lost & Found"
    2. "It's Never You"

"Am I Just a Man" (16 August 2010, Double Six)

• • • 12"
    1. "Am I Just a Man"
    2. "Am I Just a Man (Studio remix)"
    3. "Am I Just a Man (Alexis Taylor remix)"

"Fight Them Back" (12 December 2012, Double Six)

• • • Digital
    1. "Fight Them Back"

Studio albums

Boys Outside (3 May 2010, Double Six – UK chart peak: No. 82)

• 1. "Understand My Heart"
  2. "Am I Just a Man"
  3. "The Letter"
  4. "Yesterday"
  5. "Lost & Found"
  6. "I Let Her In"
  7. "Stress Position"
  8. "All Come Down"
  9. "Boys Outside"
  10. "Hound on My Heel"

Monkey Minds In The Devil’s Time (11 March 2013, Double Six – UK chart peak: No. 34)

• 1. "The Old Problem"
  2. "Lie Awake"
  3. "Flyover '98"
  4. "A Lot of Love"
  5. "The Last of Heroes"
  6. "Lonely"
  7. "Safe Population"
  8. "Friends For Ever More"
  9. "Seen It All Before"
  10. "From Hate We Hope"
  11. "Oh My Lord"
  12. "Goodbye Youth"
  13. "Never Be Alone"
  14. "Behind The Curtains"
  15. "More Money, More Fire"
  16. "Fire!"
  17. "Operation Mason"
  18. "Fight Them Back"
  19. "Towers of Power"
  20. "Come To Me"

Meet The Humans (26 February 2016, Double Six – UK chart peak: No. 28)

• 1. "Water Bored"
  2. "Alive"
  3. "Alright"
  4. "Another Day"
  5. "Run Away"
  6. "To A Door"
  7. "Hardly Go Through"
  8. "Through My Window"
  9. "Planet Sizes"
  10. "Like Water"
  11. "Words In My Head"

About the Light (18 January 2019, Domino)

• 1. "America Is Your Boyfriend"
  2. "Rocket"
  3. "No Clue"
  4. "About the Light"
  5. "Fox on the Rooftop"
  6. "Stars Around My Heart"
  7. "Spanish Brigade"
  8. "Don't Know Where"
  9. "Walking Away from Love"
  10. "The End"

References

1. Rob Fearn. Q. June 2010. Albums review. p. 126
2. "British Comedy: The Adam and Joe Show". Listal.com. Retrieved 19 January 2019.
3. "Steve Mason". IMDb.com. Retrieved 19 January 2019.
4. Alexis Giles (19 April 2009). "Time and Place: Steve Mason". The Sunday Times. Retrieved 30 July 2009.
5. Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 302. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.

External links

• Official website
• Steve Mason fansite at betaband.co.uk
• King Biscuit Time's official site
• King Biscuit Time discography at MusicBrainz
• King Biscuit Time at AllMusic
• Interview with Steve Mason at TLOBF after release of Boys Outside
• Steve Mason: Out of the blackness – Interview in the Guardian 6 April 2010