Institut Polaire
| Institut Polaire | |
|---|---|
| Origin | Perth, Western Australia, Australia |
| Genres | Indie |
| Years active | 2004 – 2011 |
| Labels |
Love Is My Velocity Popfrenzy |
| Website | www.myspace.com/institutpolaire |
| Past members | Ash Blakeney Elliott Brannen Catherine Colvin Erik Hecht Toby Lang Rebecca May David Thirkettle-Watts Samantha Wass Russell Loasby Alex Arpino Monique Archer Chris Havercroft Ben Blakeney |
Institut Polaire were an indie band originating from Perth, Western Australia.
Institut Polaire formed as a three piece in 2004 by an American ex-pat (Erik Hecht), an English born scientist (David Thirkettle-Watts) and a country boy moved to the big city (Ash Blakeney; who left the band in 2005, handing over his role to cousin Ben). Institut Polaire has grown from three piece roots into a full-blown collective who currently number between seven and nine members toting everything from vintage Wurlitzer pianos to violins, banjos, trumpets, MacBooks and glockenspiels.
In recent times the collective have shared the stage with acclaimed artists and bands including Camera Obscura, The Clientele, Architecture in Helsinki, Jens Lekman, Lou Barlow, Gerling, New Buffalo, Starky, The Panics and The Lucksmiths.
Institut Polaire's debut 7" single "City Walls and Empires" (released through Love Is My Velocity Records) won them the Western Australian Music Industry's 'Song of the Year' Award for 2006 and has since received national airplay.
"It was a fantastic confidence boost," Hecht said about the band's win in X-Press Magazine, "To see how much things have evolved in the band dynamic, instrumentation and songwriting since recording the debut single is exciting. I think most of us would agree that we are far more proud of the music we've been writing since. And I really suspect we may take some people by surprise with the records we put out this year."
In 2007 Institut Polaire performed at the Perth leg of the Big Day Out having won Triple J's Unearthed competition for Western Australia. They also performed with Bob Evans and Bobby Blackbird & The Bluejays at the WAMi-styled Triple J Live at the Wireless gig at the Rosemount Hotel.
...
Wikipedia