en Chew Lips

Chew Lips
Chew Lips
	Chew Lips performing live in 2011
Background information
Origin	East London, UK
Genres	Electro, synthpop, drone, dance-punk
Years active	2008–2014
Labels	Family
Members	'Tigs' (Alicia Huertas), James Watkins, Will Sanderson
Website	www.chew-lips.com

Chew Lips was an English dance-pop trio, formed in spring of 2008.^[1] It consisted of singer 'Tigs' and multi-instrumentalists James Watkins and Will Sanderson ^[2]

Career

2008–2009: First steps

Formed in London as a three piece band in the summer of 2008, Huerta, Watkins and Sanderson armed themselves with a slew of electro-pop hooks and set about establishing Chew Lips as one of the most exciting new acts in the capital.

With Tigs developing into a charismatic whirlwind of a front woman who it was impossible to take your eyes off, Chew Lips increasingly compelling live performances grabbed the attention of uber-cool French label Kitsuné who insisted on putting out the band's debut single, "Solo".

Released in March 2009, "Solo" sold out almost instantly, causing a storm in the blogosphere and beyond, with Pitchfork calling the track "….classic, pristine,"^[3] and The Fly magazine labelling it "one of the most magnificent debuts of the year".

2009–2010: Second Kitsuné single and Unicorn

A relentless schedule of touring followed into 2009 as Chew Lips honed their sound into a sleek, sophisticated beast.

Kitsuné released a second sold out single, "Salt Air" in July 2009 – NME called it "an addictive slice of heart-wrenching disco-pop" – before the band begun work in summer '09 on their full-length debut with Bat For Lashes collaborator David Kosten.

The fruits of their labour came with the self-released album Unicorn in January 2010, such a giant leap forward for their sound that they were confident enough to leave off both of the previous singles. It was easy to see why – in the likes of "Play Together", "Karen" and "Slick", they had outdone themselves. The press agreed: the BBC called it "startling", NME "mesmeric", whilst a 4/5 review in The Guardian said it "drags you straight in."

Another stretch of touring followed and by the time the European festival season came round, and after a successful appearance at SXSW in Texas (Elle US described them as the best new act at the festival), Chew Lips were on top of their game. Topping off their tour they headlined the packed BBC Introducing Stage at Glastonbury Festival.

Other touring highlights include support slots with The Killers, Delphic, We Are Scientists, The Virgins, Joy Formidable, Howling Bells, three sold out UK tours and a sold out European tour in 2011.

Split

Huertas announced on Twitter in 2015 that she was now only writing material for other artists,^[4] implying that Chew Lips had disbanded.

Discography

Studio albums

Album Details	Release Date	Label
Unicorn	25 January 2010	Family

Singles and EPs

Release Details	Release Date	Label
Solo	January 2009	Kitsuné
Salt Air	6 July 2009	Kitsuné
Play Together	18 January 2010	Family
Karen	28 March 2010	Family
Do You Chew?	4 May 2012	Sony
Hurricane	3 September 2012	Sony

Chew Lips remixing

Bernard Sumner, Hot Chip and Hot City – Didn't Know What Love Was
Party Horse – Lazer Beam
Tape The Radio – Stay Inside
Amanda Blank – Make It Take It
Plastiscines – Barcelona
The Brute Chorus – Heaven

Chew Lips remixes

Solo

David E Sugar
Tepr (Yelle)

Salt Air

Alex Kapranos
Dekker & Johan
Jupiter
Plastician
Two Door Cinema Club

Play Together

WaWa

Karen

Analogue People in a Digital World
Mark Otten
Netsky
We Are Enfant Terrible

Slick

FC Kahuna

Soundtracks and syncs

Pretty Little Liars (US TV series)
The Vampire Diaries (US TV series)
MTV (Various)
Paris Connections (UK film)
Skins (UK TV series)
Made in Chelsea (UK TV series)

Live appearances

UK highlights

United States

SXSW

European festivals

Electric Picnic
London Calling Festival, the Netherlands
Les InRocks Festival & Ground Zero Festival, France
Dockville Festival, Germany
Paredes de Coura Festival, Portugal
Gjon Sports Dome, Spain
Cupola Festival, Switzerland
Summer Well Festival, Romania
Bažant Pohoda Festival, Slovakia
Off Festival gości Electronic Beats, Poland

Press

Unicorn

"4/5 – an accomplished first offering" – Q
"4/5 – sharp-edged, sharp-witted electro rock...success looks like an open goal" – Mojo
"4/5 – a spine tinglingly awesome debut" – Time Out
"4.5/5 – it deserves to be massive...make it so" – The Fly
"4/5 – brilliant...a record that gets better over time" – MusicOMH
"4/5 – Synth heaven!" New!
"Beautiful...clattering electronic pop with big melodies" – The Independent
"Wistful, discoid confections... like Blondie backed by Simian Mobile Disco" – The Observer
"A band to look out for this year… absolutely superb" – Sunday Mail
"Our new favourite" – NME
"An utterly peerless work; ten tracks to completely lose yourself in" – NME.com^[5]
"Catchy electro tunes...you'll love 'em" – Grazia
"Unicorn is that rarest of things; a record imbued with genuine talent and emotion which wipes the floor with the majority of its makers' contemporaries... quite startling" – BBC
"Chew Lips confidently reveal their crossover potential... the rhythms are edgy and the songwriting is something you can really get your teeth into" – Metro
"Chew Lips' blending of electronic punk ala 'Yeah Yeah Yeahs go 8-bit' is so infective it's dangerous" – Super Super

References

^ "Q Radio – Chew Lips introduction page". Ash Meikle, Q. Archived from the original on 20 July 2009. Retrieved 26 July 2011.
^ Paul Lester. "The Guardian – New band of the day". The Guardian. Retrieved 26 July 2011.
^ "Pitchfork – Chew Lips 'Solo' Review". Jonathan Garrett, Pitchfork. Retrieved 26 July 2011.
^ @tiggington (24 November 2015). "i write for other artists now!" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
^ "NME.com – 'Unicorn' First Listen". Camilla Pia, NME. Archived from the original on 22 October 2012. Retrieved 26 July 2011.

External links

[Q_Radio_-_Chew_Lips_introduction_page-1] "Q Radio – Chew Lips introduction page". Ash Meikle, Q. Archived from the original on 20 July 2009. Retrieved 26 July 2011.

[The_Guardian_-_New_band_of_the_day-2] Paul Lester. "The Guardian – New band of the day". The Guardian. Retrieved 26 July 2011.

[Pitchfork_-_Chew_Lips_'Solo'_Review-3] "Pitchfork – Chew Lips 'Solo' Review". Jonathan Garrett, Pitchfork. Retrieved 26 July 2011.

[4] @tiggington (24 November 2015). "i write for other artists now!" (Tweet) – via Twitter.

[NME.com_-_'Unicorn'_First_Listen-5] "NME.com – 'Unicorn' First Listen". Camilla Pia, NME. Archived from the original on 22 October 2012. Retrieved 26 July 2011.

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Chew Lips