| BLUE STATES | Discography | PRESS |
1999 First release for both Blue States and Memphis is the "Blue States Forever" EP. Further EPs follow - Your Girl and Walkabout. Blue States find themselves in some weird downtempo twilight zone inhabited by Zero 7, Bent, Lemon Jelly and many more.
2000 Blue States release their first album Nothing Changes Under the Sun, an expansive, windswept, epic stand out tracks include Your Girl and Stereo 99. It's critically acclaimed and starts to sell surprisingly well.
2001 Blue States are naturally asked to perform at the Big Chill Festival in Somerset, England and Andy hastily puts a band together including Sam Walker (drums), Chris Carr (guitar), Dicken White (guitar) and Karl the Jackal (bass) - Andy takes up keyboard duties. This ramshackle unit starts touring round the UK. The album is licensed to the Thievery Corporation's record label ESL Music and gets a US release. Lady singer Ty Bulmer joins the band to add some sass and vocals.
2002 Andy begins work on second album Man Mountain with Ty plus a gaggle of other local musicians - there's a brass section, a string quartet, congas, live drums, Theremins and more. The result is a rich, melodramatic brew and the album is licensed to XL Recordings for the world, save the US were it stays on ESL. The band head to the US to tour, with Jon Chandler joining on drums, and perform at the Winter Olympics in Salt Lake and SXSW. Season Song, one of the albums stand out tracks is used as the lead track on the movie 28 Days Later.
2003 Ty leaves Blue States to start her own band, New Young Pony Club. Andy regroups, reappraises and decides he wants to be in a proper indie rock guitar band, the downtempo tag having becoming pretty tiresome. He coalesces around Jon Chandler and Chris Carr, with Chris taking up vocal duties. The new three piece start recording next album The Soundings. Its Blue States' best album yet with nods to My Bloody Valentine and Ride, the sound of Andy, Jon and Chris's early tennagedom.
2004 Memphis release The Soundings and the band tour UK and the Scandinavia with label mates The Go! Team. Fractures appear in the triumvirate and the three piece splinters after a bun fight at Reading Festival.
2005 With Blue States seemingly in ashes Andy builds his own studio in a space in Whitechapel in London with the intention of producing other bands. He starts recording Memphis' eccentric axe god Toby Jenkins a.k.a. The Squire of Somerton and his mates' The Eighteenth Day of May debut album for Ryko Disc.
2006 Andy gets the all singing all dancing The Pipettes gig and co-produces their debut album with Gareth Parton - Andy contributes all of the string arrangements to the record - its his strings that open stand out track Pull Shapes. Inspired by his time writing and recording with The Pipettes Andy decides to give Blue States another crack but this time on his own. He also starts playing live with the Squire of Somerton's new band, glam/prog outfit Zan Pan.
2007 Andy completes fourth Blue States' album First Steps Into… which includes vocal samples from an old ex girlfriend's Serena and Andy himself. It's a monumental, prog flavoured, filmic and highly melodic monster that outstrips anything that he has done before. Memphis Industries are all set and proud to release in 2007
DOWN THE DAYS EP... - released 10 NOV 2007
2. Burning Daylight
3. Saltlick
4. The Departure
5. The Return of Elios Therepia
FIRST STEPS INTO... - released 03 SEPT 2007
2. First Steps...Last Stand
3. Holding Ground
4. The Electric Complement
5. Gaining Time
6. 100's & 1000's
7. Look To Your Laurels
8. Down The Days
9. Red And Shine
10. What Can Be Done To Right A Wrong
11. Distant But Not Forgotten Shores
12. Writing Home
13. Last Of Old England
Watch the video for Allies here... object width="425" height="350">
THE LAST BLAST SINGLE- released 29 November 2004
A1 The Last Blast (CLICK HERETO LISTEN
B1 Alice Bright Lane
THE SOUNDINGS (June 2004)
Across the Wire
For a Lifetime (CLICK TO LISTEN)
10 Shades
One Night on Tulane
Last Blast
Output
Final Flight
Alright Today
Leaning In
Sad Song
br> Watch the video to Across the Wire here..
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Man Mountain (2002)
Metro Sound
What We've Won
Colouration
Only Today
Studio 20
Bare Bones
Season Song (CLICK TO LISTEN)
Man Mountain
The Winfield Audition
Doublespeak
Halfway Highway
Adrift
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NOTHING CHANGES UNDER THE SUN (2000)
Arion
Diamente
Trainer Shuffle
Stereo 99
Spit and Soar
Golden Touch
Your Girl (CLICK TO LISTEN)
Looking Glass
Theme From Within
Elios Therepia
Heroes' Elegy
Cherio Manoli
Walkabout
Daystar
PRESS
THE SOUNDINGS"Leaves you in no doubt that Blue States are destined for greatness" 4/5 Uncut
"Blue States have turned their abstract musical visions into more accessible pop while retaining the cinematic feel of their earlier work. There is symphonic majesty, sad drifting beauty, lyrical thought and melodic poise" The Times
"The Soundings manages to slip anchor from the downtempo doldrums where so many have been stranded. They still make grand gestures such as the orchestra that closes Sad Song but its also a more bare boned sound with the pocket symphonies of the first two albums replaced by simpler song structures and Chris Carr?s yearning voice. The lyrics venture in to darker waters than previously but Blue Sates still fill their sales with powerful sonic win". Jockey Slut
"Out go Air-like pastoral soundscapes in come tugging bass lines and urban angst. Opener Across the Wire is superb, vocalist Chris Carr pitching his "under the grey skies" cry against mountain sized melancholia. One Night on Tulane stella brew of flugal horns and Japanese extures would have graced any late 80s Cure album while The Last Blast chugs wonderfully in the manner of German band Neu!". The Guardian
MAN MOUNTAIN"If the art of pop is to stay ahead of the game, Blue States should be leading the field" The Guardian 4/5
"Season Song and Doublespeak are gale force wind epics resounding with elemental wonderment. Most Chillout caters for the lounge; Blue States reach for the skies" 4/5 Uncut
NOTHING CHANGES UNDER THE SUN"there's cinematic music, and then there are seductive, creamy sounds that make you feel like a film star... " 4/5 The Guardian
"lavishly evocative" Q 4/5
"Dragazis has a musical imagination that transcends... Check out the blissfully expansive Arion or Golden Touch, with its glittering glimpses of Arcadian coastlines. Essential escapism" 8/10, The Times
"a gorgeous, sweeping thing, both flooded with silvery light and bruised by menacing melancholia" Time Out
"Blue States' have a scale and grandeur seldom heard in modern music" The Observer
Season Song Video from Man Mountain/soundtrack to 28 Days Later.