About this Event

Man Without Country

plus Tusks



Tickets: http://www.theboileroom.net/listings/events/1-mar-15-man-without-country-the-boileroom/



Man Without Country aren’t your typical electronic act or your average band. Not that they’re an electronic act or a regular band at all, not really. At a time when genre boundaries have become effectively meaningless, Ryan James and Tomas Greenhalf fuse electronic precision with a love of timeless melodies and James’ hypnotic, fragile vocals. By the time you work out how to label their new album Maximum Entropy, chances are you’ll have already fallen under their spell.



In one respect, Man Without Country are a traditional band: James and Greenhalf have the gang mentality of the best groups. Friends since meeting at Glamorgan University, they share a dry wit and eclectic passions. “We love bands like Blonde Redhead and The National,” says Greenhalf. “Electronic acts such as Trentemøller, Daniel Avery and Son Lux could also be considered an influence on the sound of the record.”



Regular M83 singer Morgan Kibby provides the haunting female vocals on Laws Of Motion, instantly supplying ideas after being sent the track. “We instantly went ‘Woah, that’s amazing!’ after Morgan sent her vocals over,” laughs James. “It was a perfect example of not overthinking songs. The initial creative idea can get lost if you work at it too much. It can turn into a totally different song altogether if you’re not careful.”



James also sings the lead vocal on Röyksopp’s Sordid Affair, the first single from the duo’s forthcoming album The Inevitable End, due in November. James travelled to Torbjørn Brundtland and Svein Berge’s hometown Bergen in Norway to record at their studio. “It was quite a surreal experience”, reveals James. “I’d only spoken to Torbjorn once via Skype prior to recording and I hadn’t heard any of the music they wanted me to sing on. I felt slightly out of my depth at first.” The Inevitable End also features acclaimed vocalists such as Robyn, Susanne Sundfør and Jamie McDermott from The Irrepressibles. James adds: “I felt privileged to be asked to collaborate with Röyksopp, and to be invited into their unique musical world.”



Since Foe, Man Without Country have developed into a formidable live force, having recently wowed Berlin Festival alongside Editors and Moderat. After supporting M83, they embarked on a lengthy US headline tour. “M83 made us realise touring is about performance, not just playing the songs,” James acknowledges. “You want to create different atmospheres within your show. It’s overwhelming, how much our music means to people. Fans would travel six hours to see us play in the US, when we’d never played there before. That’s so special.” He recalls a sixtysomething fan who came to a Newcastle gig, who converted his grandson into being a Man Without Country fan – and whose wife made an embroidery based on Foe’s artwork.



Man Without Country have become men without limits



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