About Art Brut
Art Brut are an English indie rock band. Their debut album, Bang Bang Rock & Roll, was released on 30 May 2005, with its follow up, It's a Bit Complicated, released on 25 June 2007. Named after French painter Jean Dubuffet's definition of outsider art – art by prisoners, loners, the mentally ill, and other marginalized people, and made without thought to imitation or presentation – South London's Art Brut were tagged by NME as part of the "Art Wave" scene that also included bands such as The Rakes, Franz Ferdinand and Bloc Party. The band released further albums, Art Brut vs Satan in 2009 and Brilliant! Tragic! in 2011. A fifth album, Wham! Bang! Pow! Let's Rock Out!", was released in 2018.
The band's sound is characterised by their straightforward guitar rock setup, as well as frontman Eddie Argos' enthusiastic sprechgesang-style vocal delivery, and his humorous, often self-reflexive lyrics about music, relationships and other personal interests.
"In the UK at the time, it was very fashionable to be an 'art school band'. I thought that by naming our band Art Brut, that we would not be lumped in with those other bands, that we would stand apart. Our name meant that we didn't go to art school, that embodied the very definition of outsider art. We were punks.
Eddie Argos, "I Formed a Band".
Argos had formed The Art Goblins and moved to London in 2001 looking to form a new band. He met guitarist Chris Chinchilla at an afterparty hosted by London indie rock band Ciccone in 2002. Argos also invited Ian Catskilkin, whom he knew from the Bournemouth music scene, to join on guitars. They were joined by Freddy Feedback, Chinchilla's flatmate, on bass guitar and Mikey Breyer on drums; and rehearsed at Scar studios in Camden. The name 'Art Brut' was inspired by Argos's visit to the Musée d'Art Naïf – Max Fourny.
The band played their first gig in May 2003, at the Verge in Kentish Town. After gigging for several months, they recorded demos of "Formed a Band" and "Modern Art" with Keith Top of the Pops at Supernova Studios. The band became associated with the New Cross scene, and this version of a "Formed a Band" was released on new New Cross-based record label Angular's compilation The New Cross: An Angular Sampler, in November 2003.
Map & Directions To Venue
