Magnetophone

Magnétophone are an electronic / art rock band originating from Birmingham UK, composed of Matt Saunders (born 1972) and John Hanson (born 1973). Since their inception in the mid-1990s they have released two albums, I Guess Sometimes I Need to Be Reminded of How Much You Love Me and The Man Who Ate the Man, plus numerous singles and EPs and are currently signed to the revered art-house record label 4AD. Magnétophone rose to international recognition out of a period of vibrant musical activity in the second city, which also spawned contemporaries Broadcast.

Matt Saunders and John Hanson formed Magnétophone in 1995 after they met at an art school on the outskirts of Birmingham in 1992. Their musical backgrounds followed similar lines in that they both played in rock-influenced bands.

Saunders began experimenting with keyboards and computer soundchips (C64 SID chip in particular) around 1986, composing instrumental three voice music and sound effects. Inspired by rock'n'roll and the possibilities of audio 'art', in 1989 he took up his 'neighbour's neglected guitar' and began forming bands in the style of the Beatles and Led Zeppelin, playing pubs and clubs around Birmingham city centre.

Hanson's first steps into music also began in the mid-1980s, and at the local community centre playing drums in the basement, in drop-in style workshops. Later, he discovered acoustic guitar and his 'first love', the bass, and went on to form bands also playing Led Zeppelin-esque tracks.

Despite the similarity of their respective bands their paths didn't cross until 1992 when they enrolled on an art course at Solihull College. Here, they developed a friendship, sharing their enthusiasm for Spacemen 3, Suicide, Steve Reich, Talk Talk, Aphex Twin, Woody Allen, painting, printmaking and photography. At this time, both their bands simultaneously began to disintegrate leading them to form their own outfit 'Rocket Science'.

...
Wikipedia