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A BRIEF HISTORY OF: PHOENIX

A BRIEF HISTORY OF: In which I talk about a band in a very brief essay.

Phoenix is a Grammy Award winning French alternative rock band from Versailles, founded by Thomas Mars, Deck d’Arcy, Christian Mazzalai and Laurent Brancowitz.

When the frenchmen behind Phoenix first started the band in 1999 with Laurent Brancowitz permatently joining the roster after the end of short lived pre Daft Punk band Darlin (that consisted of Brancowitz, Bangalter and de Homem-Christo) little did they know that one day they would become one of the most succesful and influential bands in the indie scene.

They first aquired the name Phoenix in 1997 when they released their first single independently only to be signed shorly by Paris based label Source Records, where they first met labelmates AIR to which they became opening acts for their shows and close friends.

Soon they released their first full LP entitled United, an album that has grown to be one of the most important pieces of music in the history of the modern indie scene. The album has some heavy 70’s funk influence, a sound that later helped Phoenix achieve their masterpiece Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix. This first release helped them gain praise in the underground music scene as well as earning them a soundtrack spot in the Sofia Coppola (later Thomas Mars’s girlfriend) film Lost In Translation. 

Four years later after touring with AIR and other associated acts, came the second production which was entitled Alphabetical, an album that dramatically changed the sound and feel of the band as it walked away a little from the funk and instead made a bold switch to the now famous Phoenix trademark synth-pop, the album brought them more mainstream success as well as some praise from the media. The album was supported heavily by touring of both Europe and the U.S but never gained much attention after is initial release. Contrary to the fanbase that considers it instrumental to the band’s evolution.

Two years later, in their 2005 summer in Berlin, the band produced in Planet Roc Studios their third album, a personal favorite and one of critical success entitled It’s Never Been Like That, a name that in the words of the band was a statement regarding their underground fame and relative anonimity in the mainstream music industry, they never meant to became huge rockstars they just wanted to release their music and have fun, “it had never been like that”. The album was praised for the combination of both their synth-pop, funk-rock and energetic alternative rock compositions. The band then toured the U.S and Europe gaining even more fans and elevating their status in the indie scene.

Finally in 2009, the band returned with a brand new album entitled Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix, an album that gained them critical praise and mainstream international success, further elevating them into Indie rock gods. The album helped newly devoted fans into their previous productions and spread the music everywhere. Phoenix became one of the most important bands in the last 10 years both for the indie scene and the mainstream music industry. Unlike Nashville rockband Kings Of Leon which was despised after their penultimate album Only By The Night also made them extremly successful in mainstream audiences, Phoenix was well recieved and cherished by all types of audiences including independent media.

Some consider Phoenix to be a gateway for mainstream audiences that want to enter the indie scene and they are right. Their success and excelent music has made it posible for so many new bands to gain attention and success. All of their albums are fantastic, the learining curve of their music can be seen clearly and that is what makes their latest production so exquisite. 

What does the future hold for Phoenix? After ending their exhaustive tour throughout the world and winning a Grammy for Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix, the band will continue to create music but as all of their productions, we can expect them to take their time.