About The Cat Empire
The Cat Empire are an Australian jazz/funk band, formed in Melbourne, Victoria, in 1999. For most of the band's duration, the core members were Felix Riebl , Harry James Angus , Will Hull-Brown , Jamshid "Jumps" Khadiwhala , Ollie McGill and Ryan Monro . Monro retired from the band in March 2021, while Angus, Hull-Brown and Khadiwhala all left in April 2022. They are often supplemented by The Empire Horns, a brass duo composed of Ross Irwin and Kieran Conrau , among others. Their sound is a fusion of jazz, funk, ska, and rock with heavy Latin influences.
The Cat Empire's origins are traced back to Jazz Cat, a Melbourne-based band, led by Steve Sedergreen in 1999. Jazz Cat was a nine-piece group from different schools and backgrounds which debuted at the Manly Jazz Festival in Sydney. They gigged around Melbourne's jazz club scene, including at Dizzy's, where Sedergreen was a part-owner. Late that year, Jazz Cat spawned the Cat Empire, originally as a three-piece, with Ollie McGill on keyboards, Felix Riebl on percussion and vocals and Ryan Monro on double bass. The band's name was taken from the title of a drawing by Riebl's younger brother, Max, and its distinctive cat's eye icon, known as "Pablo", was created by Ian McGill, Ollie McGill's father. For a few months, both groups performed on alternate Thursdays at Dizzy's. They started playing a variety of gigs at other clubs, including Bennett's Lane. The band expanded in July 2001 by adding Harry James Angus on trumpet, Will Hull-Brown on drums and Jamshid "Jumps" Khadiwala as a DJ on turntables .
In late 2001, the band appeared in the Spiegeltent at the Melbourne Festival. By year's end, they had released an independent single, "Feline", in October, and a live six-track extended play, Live @ Adelphia, in December. In early 2002, the group played gigs at the Adelaide Festival of Arts, and in March, they headlined the Melbourne International Comedy Festival and St Kilda Film Festival. The ensemble commenced its first overseas tour on the West Coast of the United States, playing at The Matrix in San Francisco and at the Napa Valley Wine Auction in June. The band received a Music for the Future grant to fund the recording of a live album, The Sun, at Melbourne's Adelphia Studios. At the Edinburgh Festival, they played sixteen successive shows in the Late 'n' Live slot between 3 A.M. and 5 A.M. They performed at the 2002 Melbourne Festival and a series of local gigs; Kate Ceberano appeared as a guest vocalist at their final show for the year.
The Cat Empire recorded their debut studio album, The Cat Empire, in seven months during 2003 with producer Andy Baldwin in Melbourne. Between recording sessions they toured Australia, including appearing at the St Kilda Festival with Ceberano, and at the East Coast Blues & Roots Music Festival in April. The ensemble was nominated in two categories at the Australian Jazz Bell Awards. They successfully applied for an International Pathways grant from the Australia Council for the Arts. The band was featured on BBC Four performing at the 2003 WOMAD festival. The lead single, "Hello", was placed on high rotation on BBC Radio 1 in August. The group's growing live and critical reputation enabled them to approach record companies for a deal to issue the album in August. They signed with EMI and Virgin Records, and, in the UK, with an independent label.
The Cat Empire released their second album, Two Shoes, on 19 April 2005. It was recorded in Havana, Cuba, at Egrem Studios, late in 2004, with production by the Cat Empire, Riebl and Jerry Boys. It debuted at number 1 and until 2016 was their only album to reach the number-one position. The tracks were more Latin in flavour, with a higher proportion written by Angus than on the first album. AllMusic's Jeff Tamarkin wrote "Skipping merrily from alt-rock crunch to hip-hop beats, landing on reggae/ska, Latin jazz, and points in between, Two Shoes is clever and brainy, danceable and absorbing". The Australian version contains a hidden track, called "1001", which is coupled with the track, "The Night That Never End". The lead single, "Sly", was issued ahead of the album on 28 March and reached the top 30. The song appeared on EA Sports' FIFA 08 soundtrack. "The Car Song", written by Angus, was released as the second single in July, and peaked in the top 50.
In July, the band played two sets at the Cambridge Folk Festival. Later in the month, they performed a set on Sunday evening of Sheep Music. In October, Two Shoes Deluxe Edition DVD was released, which contained live footage of "Lullaby" and "The Car Song", a documentary on the making of the album in Cuba, the original video clips created for the album, and behind-the-scenes footage. The ensemble also featured on a Triple J CD entitled Like a Version, featuring cover versions of songs performed by artists on Mel Bampton's show, Mel in the Morning. Their track was a version of "Hotel California" , sung in French by Angus. By the end of 2005, The Cat Empire achieved double platinum certificate and Two Shoes achieved platinum status.
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