Cloud Cult
| Cloud Cult | |
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| Background information | |
| Origin | Duluth, Minnesota |
| Genres | Art rock, experimental rock, indie folk, indie pop, baroque pop |
| Years active | 1995—present |
| Labels | Earthology, Baria |
| Website | http://www.cloudcult.com |
| Members |
Craig Minowa Shawn Neary Shannon Frid-Rubin Sarah Elhardt-Perbix Connie Minowa Scott West Dan Zamzow Jeremy Harvey |
| Past members | Arlen Peiffer Martin Begue Eduardo Vaz Mara Stemm Matthew Freed Dan Greenwood Sarah Young |
Cloud Cult is an experimental indie rock band from Duluth, Minnesota led by singer/songwriter Craig Minowa. The name originated from the ancient prophecies of indigenous North Americans.
Cloud Cult developed in 1995 as Craig Minowa recruited several other artists to contribute to his solo recordings. The band's early work earned Cloud Cult several offers from record labels, but all were rejected in favor of self-publishing. As they began to play live, one of their show's most distinctive features was the live painting by Connie Minowa and Scott West: over the course of a show they each completed a painting to be auctioned off at the end.
In 1997, lead singer Craig Minowa formed Earthology Records on his organic farm, powered by geothermal energy and built partially from reclaimed wood and recycled plastic. This nonprofit label uses only recycled materials and donates all profits to environmental charities. The band also tours in a biodiesel van.
In 2002, shortly after the unexpected death of his two-year-old son Kaidin, Minowa wrote songs to deal with the loss.They Live on the Sun was finished in 2003 and went to No. 1 on college radio station charts across the country. In January 2004, Cloud Cult added Mara Stemm on bass and released Aurora Borealis just six months later. The album was nominated by the Minnesota Music Awards as "Album of the Year" along with Prince and Paul Westerberg. With a van covered in solar panels, the band began touring nationally. In 2006 Cloud Cult released Advice from the Happy Hippopotamus, which Pitchfork Media called "insane genius" and rated the album with an 8.3. The Denver Post ranked the 2007 release The Meaning of 8 as one of the top ten albums of the past decade, along with bands like Modest Mouse, The Flaming Lips and Radiohead.
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