Proxy

"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.”"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 ..ing 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 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"Like a scrawnier Strokes with a summery mix of nostalgia and melancholy, Proxy saunter by with the charm and energy to ensure this goes straight on yer IPOD!" - Jet Lag single review by Subba Cultcha"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 'Jet Lag' 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" - Is this Music Magazine
Music video 'Jet Lag' made by: PRIMAL PRODUCTIONS www.primalproductions.co.uk, Producer: Tammy Legg, Director: Don McVey