www.dawnofthereplicants.com DAWN OF THE REPLICANTS 1996 - 2006 A brief year-by-year bio by forward captain frog 1996 A kitchen table in Galashiels, Scotland, is struck by improvisation. For many the Kirk Brae kitchen table rivalled King Arthur's roundtable. It had seen the birth of cult music magazine Sun Zoom Spark and now we - its wonky young hacks - were to have a 2nd child: Dawn of the Replicants. The records were pressed; the radio stations informed and respond they did. John Peel spun our ditty 'Lisa Box'. Radcliff and Lard flogged the airwaves to death with 'Cocaine on the Catwalk'. The NME did like and the phone did ring white hot with action. 1997 And soon a man did come, much like the man from Delmonte. He said, 'Yes'. He was tall and told us to record an album and release singles. He was from East/West records, home to the Corrs and Mick Hucknall. Prompted by our hat-trick of wonk-rock EPs, The Times did vote us best new band in Britain. NME made sure we got single of the week honours twice. 1998 Our maiden voyage LP 'One Head, Two Arms, Two Legs' hit the shops in earnest. Then a spicy dish called 'Candlefire' found its way onto daytime Radio One. We toured with Ultrasound and did our own headlining trip around the Kingdom, as well as rocking the summer crowds at Glastonbury and Reading. David Holmes remixed our 'Skullcrusher' track and Pete Tong did play it. Brian Molko's head we did do in. 1999 Work hard we did on our next LP. We hoped it would bring us immortality. Abbey Road flung open its doors and backwards strings we did record. It was the fattest sound in all the land. The press loved it. We loved it. But 'Wrong Town, Wrong Planet, Three Hours Late' lived up to its name when East/West wanted no more of the same. 'Science Fiction Freak' made John Peel's festive 50 (and if I don't stop rhyming could someone please hit me?). 2000 Then a busman's holiday began and the Replicants for a while parted. Fellow co-founder Roger Simian and I became the electro duo Pluto Monkey. This involved frequent trips to Oxfordshire, as this was where our new label Shifty Disco had their seat of power. John Peel dished the Monkey a session and our nutty debut LP 'Little Brenda Bluegrass Mission' hit the Kingdom's cooler shops. Melody Maker christened us the 'Vic and Bob of Indie' but this was to be a brief incarnation and after a drunken gig in our homely shire of Galashiels the Monkey did come to a stop as the Replicants phoenix rose again. 2001 Inspired by a successful recording session with London based Chanteuse Hypnotique. It was decided a new Replicants album needed to be recorded. The hunt for a new label, a new sound and a new future began. 2002 This was Dawn of the Replicants comeback year. Armed with a new album 'Touching the Propeller' (released through Flying Sparks imprint Hungry Dog), we set to work. A 5th John Peel session was recorded. Our 'Rockefeller Centre, 1932' single was a-listed on 6 Music and the press loved the album saying it was up there with the best of our late 90s work and that it was great to have us back. We played gigs and people did come and they did clap. 2003 Then that tricky fourth album beckoned and into the studio once more we were banished. Forced to dream it all up again, like a mad crazy Borders Mr. Ben. 2004 At last our fourth album 'The Extra Room' was released from the traps. The album's cover jumped from the record racks portraying us all as country gents in a reading room dressed up in junk box finds. Even fashion bible The Face printed the image in their 'desirable vinyl' section. Bizarrely the Beta Band seemed to have the same idea, getting a family portrait done in the very same room with the very same photographer. 'Oi! Get Your Own Naff CD Cover, Boys' screamed the headline in the Scottish Sun. Apparently it was a case of great minds think alike. Soon after, the Beta Band split, but as ever we soldiered on. Sadly our most famous fan - the father of invention, John Ravenscroft (known to most as Mr Peel) - departed. To the funeral we did go to pay our respects to the great listening man. 2005 This year started with pudding in the oven as 'Bun Magic' was released onto the plates of the media. This mini LP included a barnyard tumbling cover of 'Rhinestone Cowboy'. Bun Magic's mission was to drum up as much hype as we could about our forthcoming trip to Austin, Texas, as we had been accepted to play at the world famous South by Southwest festival. Marc Riley had us in for a session to celebrate, as did radio Scotland's Tom Morton. As for the NME they proclaimed that 'the world would be a much better place if we all took time to remember how utterly fuckerly ace the d.o.t.r are'. We went out to Texas with high spirits, played a damn fine showcase and enjoyed some Texan hospitality from our hosts the Bonnie House Girls. Which brings us to the here and now and the future. We have just signed a new record deal with Edinburgh's SL records (home to Ballboy and Misty's Big Adventure), and we have a new booking agent, Coda (home to Scissor Sisters and Jeff Beck). And, to add cherries to the cake, there's our new double-a sided single 'Essence of Maureen' / 'Little Driver'. 2006 will be the tenth anniversary year of Dawn of the Replicants. The celebrations will begin with the release of our 5th studio album, the mighty 'FANGS', arguably our best batch yet. May melodies and lunacies reign supreme. "D.O.T.R dont so much plough their own furrow as invent an entirely new kind of farm in which all the livestock speak spanish and wear funny hats.they are as the hip-hoppers say,on some other shit,and never more so then here...dipsomaniac ruma(liqueur lagoon)lo-fi waltz(pterodactyl) and at least one vitriolic pop classic in little driver" N.M.E 7 OUT OF TEN. "much of the magic stems from frontman paul vickers,a loveable gonk?de vinci of lyrical invention whole stream of consciousness teems with deft wordplay.........liqueur lagoon is kooky longe noir,vickers imagery taking in "a puppy spinning on a sander".better yet is oh,bumblebee,a hook-laden curio packing beefheartian riffing and a jazzy ,waltz-time ending..........fangs is a wonky delight." MOJO 4 STARS. "in paul vickers they retain a singer like a drunk jagger,and with the likes of essence of maureen and liqueur lagoon they offer bite-sized chunks of quirky british beefheartedness with added ace melodies." CLASSIC ROCK 7 OUT OF TEN. "fangs is a lovely record which incorporates nonsensical lyrics,brass bands,unidentified widdly bits and the melodica-driven bacchanalian reverie of fix the air." Q 3 STARS. "fangs marks a decade in the business of mixing zappa?beefheart-toned pych rock and new orleans blues.paul vickers strange,strangled baritone is surprisingly affecting" UN-CUT.3 STARS. "fix the air is genuine psychedelic pop perfection.paul vickers Voice continues to paint him as the bast**d offspring of peter lorre and ozzy osbourne,but the bands harmonies are getting ever swoonier with age,and the end result is camped somewhere just left of the field where you"ll find the furries.bitingly bizarre." ROCKSOUND 7 OUT OF TEN. "why half of these songs arent number one is beyound me...more inventtion than beefheart could have dreamt of" FLUX. "the album,their fifth over a ten year career,is a voodoo new orleans jazz-rock-opera featuring a cast of boozed-up lounge brawlers,and surrealist wild west imagerry.beautifully arranged and produced,musically it spans classic rock,ennio morricone,doo-wop,bb king style blues and consistently melodic yet inventive songwriting. THE SKINNY. "i like dawn of the replicants,i like the vibe,the ethos,the attitude,hell,i even like some of the tunes,so,whatcha got for me?weird me happy you shit-grinning pop-jazz,glam-rock,bumper-car,daft haircut,new man,old man,newman,innovating,thieving bast**ds.they do.they are."fangs" is. UN-PEELED. Read more on Last.fm.