Livingston
Rugby, England, United Kingdom | Established. Jan 01, 2005 | INDIE
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KKK
There are few bands that really manage to make the quiet/LOUD dynamic work to its full power, but Livingston are largely masters at this craft. Pitching Brooding, understated atmospheres against soaring melodies that are often as melancholy as they are beautiful, there’s echoes of everyone from Deftones to Depeche Mode here. That said, 13 tracks proves three or four too many and undermines the overall impact. At their best, they’re great. The ethereal squall of Skin & Bones and the surging Chemicals mark the high points, proving that, when they want to, this animal can be majestic.
DOWNLOAD: In My Head
For Fans Of: 30 Seconds to Mars, Deftones, Isis - Kerrang! Magazine (UK)
9/10
Formed by members from all over the globe, this foursome display their technical prowess and largely their independence from a major label, with this lone release recorded in a cabin in the woods. The result is a vicious soup of alternative rock with atmospheric elements that almost transport you back to the middle of those dark trees and being far away from civilization. Singer Beukes Willemse’s voice is simply haunting, especially with the synth-laden “Chemicals” and the chilling “The Hunter”. A surprising gem that will have them winning over the UK in no time. - Big Cheese Magazine (UK)
It’s good to have Livingston back.
Tonight has been a long time coming for fans of Livingston. It’s been some years since they played here but as soon as the music kicks in, it feels as though they’ve never been away. Free from the constraints of a major label and with new album Animal under their collective belt, Livingston have further expanded their brooding alt-rock sound, with vocalist and charismatic frontman Beukes Willemse leading the quintet into new tracks such as Big Mouth and Chemicals with powerful vocals and a piercing stare.
You can tell that a move to Germany paid off for them.
Not to say that Livingston’s music doesn’t translate to a UK audience, as it clearly does judging by the reaction of the crowd, but the industrial, stadium-rock feel it gives off has a much more mainland European flavour. A rapid fire rendition of The Hunter and the slide guitar/dual drumming on Skin & Bones sees Jakob Nebel shine as a multi-instrumentalist, with a sound so clear it could be playing out of a Pono. The move to Berlin clearly allowed them to fully embrace the gothic and at times oppressive elements of their sound without any sort of ridicule from an often hyper-critical British press and it has paid off in dividends.
Music is the best release.
Frontman Willemse takes a second to tell us a story in the latter part of Livingston’s set. For twenty years, he was bullied by a man in his native South Africa and one day he decided he wasn’t taking it anymore. Instead of lashing out physically, he wrote the lyrics to fan favourite Somebody, with which he is now touring the world with four of his best friends. How’s that for getting your own back?
Next time, they shouldn’t leave it so long.
By the time an epic Set Fire to Fire and a blistering encore roll around, Livingston are clearly feeding off the energy of the crowd and look like they could play another two sets. Completed by second multi-instrumentalist Chris Van Niekerk, live drummer Jan Siekmann and bassist/keyboard player Phil Magee (who gets a huge cheer every time his name is mentioned), they seem wild-eyed and hungry for more as they leave the stage and that’s surely the biggest proof of all that they've been away too long. - Team Rock (UK)
Discography
"Sign Language" LP released in 2009
Second Album "Fire to Fire" released in 2012
Third Album "Animal" released in 2014
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Bio
Livingston were founded in London, but relocated to Berlin in 2008, where they signed to Universal Music the following year. Their debut album "Sign Language" charted Top 20 in the German sales charts and became the iTunes Newcomer Album of the Year. The band’s tours sold out, and their hit single "Broken" brought them numerous accolades (Top20 airplay single; #1 and #2 in the Rock category for Amazon and iTunes). Two years later, when Livingston went on to record their second album "Fire To Fire" with acclaimed rock producer David Bottrill (Muse, Placebo, Tool), the band ended up making a compromise: Between the album they wanted to make and actually recorded, and what their label told them the market wanted to hear.
Jakob Nebel, the band’s guitarist, explains:
"Our 3-year stint with a major label had somewhat led us in the direction of seeking the more commercial route, always concerned that if we didn’t get it right, our label might not like us as much as they used to. This led to us taking some wrong turns, and we ended up re-writing parts of the second album to tailor the tunes for radio etc. It is something we are not very proud of now, but without this slightly painful experience we might never have stumbled upon this whole new path, our new way of working"
After the album they worked so hard on failed to deliver, the band separated from their label and vowed to never compromise again.
“When ‘Fire to Fire’ didn’t quite elevate us to the place in rock history which we thought it would, it took us a while to get over it. But, as with most moments of crisis, we also learned a lot about ourselves, what we would like from our future and especially what we didn’t want".
The band found a little cottage, a hunter’s cabin in the woods just outside Berlin, and started writing "Animal", their third and latest album. This time around, the band decided to do the whole process themselves: writing, producing, recording & mixing. The result can be heard in songs that flow like a live set, capturing the full range of emotions the band has always been known for, but never encapsulated so successfully. “Animal” is a record from a band who are free from the pressures of success, and open to their own potential.
“During our first writing session at the cottage, we made a pact to not play a single note to anyone until the album was truly finished. This decision resulted in one of the most free and artistically liberating experiences we have ever had. It made us find out who we really are and allowed us to develop a new and different voice. It made us love what we do more than ever before.”
Band Members
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