The Go! Team are an
English,
Brighton-based
sextet. With founder Ian Parton, they have pushed the boundaries of
indie rock and
garage rock in a unique style, incorporating two
drummers and an imitative mixture of 1970s car chase themes,
double dutch chants, old
hip hop and loud guitars similar to the style of
Sonic Youth. Their songs are a mix of live instrumentation and
samples from various sources.
History
Ian Parton conceived the project after wanting to create music incorporating his favourite things including
Sonic Youth-style guitars,
double dutch chants, and
car chase horn music. He started jamming these sounds together and eventually recorded
Thunder, Lightning, Strike in his parents' kitchen.
Thunder, Lightning, Strike
The Go! Team's first full-length album,
Thunder, Lightning, Strike, was released in the UK and Europe on the
Memphis Industries label in September 2004, to widespread critical acclaim.
In June 2004, Ian Parton recruited a band in order to play as a supporting act for
Franz Ferdinand.
The live band became a "separate entity" to the original studio vision, as the performances became radically different from the recordings, particularly due to vocalist
Ninja's freestyled vocals, in contrast to the sampled vocals present on the album.
The album was nominated for the
Mercury Prize in 2005.
The band's popularity increased with the re-issue of "Ladyflash" in the UK, resulting in national primetime airplay on radio stations such as
BBC Radio 1,
Xfm and the
Atlanta,
USA based
99X. They achieved further popularity when their single "Get It Together" from
Thunder, Lightning, Strike was featured in
trailers for the video game
LittleBigPlanet, with the song eventually becoming identified with the game. The track "The Power is On" from
Thunder, Lightning, Strike was included in "The Pitchfork 500: Our Guide to the Greatest Songs from Punk to Present".
Proof of Youth
On the 13th of May 2007, The Go! Team announced the release of their new single and subsequent album on their website.
The single, "Grip Like a Vice", was released on 2 July 2007, and the new album, called
Proof of Youth, was released on 10 September in the UK and a day later in the US. The new record continues The Go! Team’s mix of samples, live band recordings and an array of special guests, including hip-hop legend
Chuck D, electro diva
Solex and
Bonde do Rolê ex-singer
Marina Ribatski. Their new single "Milk Crisis" was released via free download on 21 July 2008. They later released a 2-disc limited edition of the record with b-sides of the album including "Milk Crisis", "Phantom Broadcast", "A Version Of Myself", and a remix of "Grip Like a Vice" by
Black Affair.
In 2008 The Go! Team contributed the song "Templates from Home" to the
Survival International charity album,
Songs for Survival.
Third Album
In an interview with
Stereogum, songwriter Ian Parton spoke about recording The Go! Team's third album and the direction he is going in for this project. He wants to make music that "flips
fidelity within the same song, and make it flow like a song should", his idea of "schizo music". He hopes some news about the new LP will surface in 2009.
Members
- Jamie Bell - bass, piano, glockenspiel, feedback, syntheised hand claps.
- Ninja - Vocals, drums, tambourine, recorder.
Discography
The Go! Team playing at the
Big Day Out in Melbourne, Australia
Albums
Singles
- "Junior Kickstart" 7", 12" and CD single (2003)
- "Ladyflash" 7" and CD Single (2004) #68 UK
- "Bottle Rocket" 7" and CD Single (2005) #64 UK
- "Ladyflash" (re-issue) 7" and CD Single (2006) #26 UK
- "Doing It Right" Single (2007) #55 UK, #3 UK Indie
- "The Wrath of Marcie" Single (19 Nov 2007)
- "Milk Crisis" Single via free download (21 July 2008)
EPs
- "Get It Together" 7" EP (2000)
