"Some
bands get lucky. Others – the ones that tend to matter – get busy. “In
music, there’s so much luck involved but we’ve always maintained the
mentality that there is no way we cannot get signed, otherwise I’ll kill
myself or something,” says Proxy frontman Jon Brown. “There was no way,
after years playing together, we were going to hit twenty-four, get a job and
settle down".
Strong words possibly, but its such determination that brings
Proxy’s music to your ears. Theirs is a tale of talent and determination
whose seeds were planted in stuffy pre-teens classrooms. Though Proxy are English
and London-based, the four members of Proxy were born and raised in three different
continents – half-Chinese frontman Jon Brown in Hong Kong, Will Hanson in
Paris and the Grindy brothers who form the unwavering rhythm section in South
Africa.
It’s possibly these returning alien beginnings that have made
Proxy a singular entity. “We always wanted to create our own little world
to inhabit, as much as create a band.” says Will. “We’ve never
aligned ourselves with any regional music scene, but we’re just not one of
those bands. We exist in own self-created isolation and like it that way.”
Given
that guitarists Jon and Will have been playing together since the age of ten,
Proxy’s recent singing to A Records/Island has been a long time coming. While
early shared influences included Queens Of The Stone Age, Lift To Experience,
…Trail Of Dead and Jeff Buckley, the early years of the band were defined
by a relatively blasé attitude to what being in a band meant. At that stage
this meant sporadic gigs when at school or, later, when the members were back
home from college commitments - and little more. “This band is a long-distance
girlfriend,” says Jon. “It’s something we kept returning to, wherever
we were or what we were doing.”
When all four members of Proxy found themselves
back in London two years ago and inspired by seeing live bands such as The Mars
Volta or Mogwai, they unearthed a new-found dogged determination and decided to
get serious. “We said we’d give it a year, a full-on assault,”
says Jon. “It’s a complete myth that if you’re merely out gigging
around London or have a strong MySpace profile you’ll get snapped up. You
have to go the extra distance.”
The twelve month plan worked. In the summer
of 2006 Proxy found themselves being flown to New York having won the unsigned
wing of US-wide Britbus Tour (literally, a London bus travelling the States throwing
listening parties) – as voted for by music scholars at NYU. Despite gaining
BBC Radio and XFM airplay, the band treat the competition with a shrug and a smile.
"Being
in New York basically provided a photo opportunity for the company,” explains
Jon. “But still any element of recognition means everything at that stage.
It showed that people like us, people out there at least get it. And it was when
we got back from America that things started happening.”
Galvanized into
action the band recorded their debut EP ‘Dawn Raid’, which before it’s
release caught the attention of producer Nick Thompson from their long-term Kent
studio, then in the process of starting a label. The band seized the opportunity
– the all-important and ever-elusive lucky break – and a deal with Island
soon followed. In spring 2007 Proxy hit the same studio to record their forthcoming
(2008) debut album ‘Between Screens’.
Proxy paint from a wide palette
of rich colours. Debut single ’Jet Lag’ is a crafted piece of tender
pop with a soaring chorus and neat word-play, while ‘Strangers In A Fight’
is an elegiac doo-wop love song, whose fuzzy melodies belie a deeper bitterness.
Then just as you have Proxy pinned, future single ‘Clowns Of Hell’ thrusts
forth with some arch and highly knowing glam rock riffs and Smashing Pumpkins-style
album opener ‘Binary’ turns numerical coding into a blank statement
on – what – a failed relationship, maybe?: “Zero – one, zero
– one / One - zero…whatever".
Lyrically, Proxy blend metaphors
with abstractions, emotional insight with detachment. ”We’re very self-critical
people,” says Jon. “The question we’re always asking is, is this
pompous? Is this self-indulgent? Because even though we want to make intricate
music in the way that a perceived ‘indie’ band like Radiohead are intricate
and challenging, it’s not at the expense of the raw, carnal element that
attracts you to music in the first place.”
Though they’ve cut their
teeth playing gigs for years, such is there ambition that today the band contest
that they’ve yet to play a ‘proper’ gig. “Endless shows in
far-flung towns where fans know the word to every single song,” enthuses
Jon. “That’s our next move, our next ambition. We want people to become
obsessed.”
"For
a taster follow this link for a free download of a live acoustic version of Between
Screens...
http://www.u-download.co.uk/betweenscreens"
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"These
guys have a very bright future ahead".
Zane
Lowe, Radio 1
"As
their first footing here, second act, Proxy, seize the opportunity to showcase
their raw but brilliant talent within the compact environs of Henry's. Hailing
from London and signed to A-Records, this lot could be worth keeping an eye on.
Starting out sounding a wee bit Yo La Tengoey and touching on late Blur with an
accomplished Cockney swagger throughout, their sound is derivative in the most
respectful way possible, taking the best bits from each of the aforementioned.
With such a sprawling palette and two potential lead singers in their rank, Proxy
have, on this evidence, the makings of a very decent début album".
Skinny
Magazine
"Proxy are what we like to describe as a ‘proper' band".
FHM.com
"Proxy,
from London, bring us this EP/album sampler to whet the appetite for their forthcoming
debut and having been championed by the likes of Lamacq, they are surely ready
to cause a splash. Lead track 'Jetlag' a forthcoming single has the sort of vibrant,
fresh sound that sets it aside from much of the bile currently spewing its way
out of London. There are no pretensions from this bunch, you get the feeling they
care more about their music than whether they conform to any scene. Indeed 'Jetlag'
sounds a little like the vastly underrated Electric Soft Parade, with the chorus
packing the right amount of energy to compliment the verses. 'Strangers in a fight'
starts off sounding a little like a 50's doo wop number, moving starkly away from
the sound of the first track, it takes you a little by surprise at first but is
pleasant none the less. 'Pole star navigation' clearly meanders through Pavement
territory but that's not a bad reference point to have. 'Footprints' follows suit
and by now you get the impression that there is a lot more to this band than first
expected. Final track 'Binary' confirms this and was, for me, the standout track
of their recent live performance in Edinburgh. It more than signals a very bright
future and potentially fantastic first LP from this exciting outfit."
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this Music Magazine