The Naked and Famous | |
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The Naked and Famous in 2013
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Background information | |
Origin | Auckland, New Zealand |
Genres | |
Years active | 2007 | –present
Labels |
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Associated acts | Kids of 88 |
Website | thenakedandfamous |
Members |
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Past members |
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The Naked and Famous are an indie electronic band from Auckland, New Zealand, formed in 2007. The band consists of Alisa Xayalith (vocals, keyboards), Thom Powers (vocals, guitars), Aaron Short (keyboards), David Beadle (bass) and Jesse Wood (drums).
The band has released three studio albums: Passive Me, Aggressive You (2010), In Rolling Waves (2013), and Simple Forms (2016). Since 2012, the band has been based in Los Angeles.
Xayalith (b. 1986) is the daughter of Laotian refugees, who was born in Auckland, and raised together with a younger brother. Her father introduced her to his native folk music and at the age of 13 she taught herself guitar. Powers had been playing in local bands since an early age after he had been taught to play guitar by his father.
The band formed in 2008 when Thom Powers and Alisa Xayalith were working on what formed two extended plays—This Machine and No Light—that they recorded with engineer Aaron Short, a fellow student at Auckland's MAINZ music college. The EPs were subsequently released on local independent label Round Trip Mars. Powers and Xayalith began performing live with Ben Knapp and Jordan Clark on bass and drums respectively, while Aaron Short became a performing member of the group. Knapp and Clark left the group in 2009 and were subsequently replaced with Jesse Wood and David Beadle.
After recording "All of This", the group then set about recording the single "Young Blood" and their debut album, recording mostly at home and at Auckland studio The Lab. "Young Blood" debuted on the New Zealand chart at number one on 14 June 2010—the first New Zealand artist in three years to do so. The Naked and Famous released their debut studio album, Passive Me, Aggressive You, on 6 September 2010 on their own label, Somewhat Damaged. The album was produced by Thom Powers and Aaron Short, and mixed by Billy Bush.