Anamorphic formed in London in 1998. In 2000 they were signed to record label “Animal Noise” part of the “Barfly” group with whom they released an EP entitled “The Engine House Sessions” and recorded the Album “Hook”. Scroll down to listen to tracks from the EP and the Album. Harry’s role in the band was that of composer, guitarist and sample programmer to which Andrea Sparding wrote her vocal parts and Oz Bates wrote his lead guitar parts. Anamorphic recorded the EP and album in Harry’s bedroom based studio and the material was then mixed by producer “Teo Miller”.
Please scroll down for a review of Anamorphic by Alan Downes……
“When a band is described as ‘One of the best new bands of the millennium’ by xfM and Disorder magazine, it’s only polite to pay attention. Formed at the London School of Music in late 1998, Anamorphic are an Anglo/Swedish collective who manage to successfully meld Scandinavian cool with English rock; their stunning early demo’s led to an A&R bunfight, with London label Animal Noise winning the race to get their signatures. Advance copies of their forthcoming EP ‘The Engine House Sessions’ have become hot property, leading to an almost unprecedented wave of media interest before a note has been officially released. Their musical pallet draws on a veritable smorgasbord of references, the programmed precision of Stereolab, the easy swing of James Brown, the polyrhythmic percussion of Reprazent, and the scuzzy guitars of Killing Joke; a list that only scratches the surface. When Andrea Sparding croons softly into the mic the ghost of early Sneaker Pimps enters the room, her clipped Swedish vowels eerily echoing the Indonesian accent of Kelly Dayton; as she sighs and moans it is spine-tingling, like an ice cube sliding down your shirt, a glacially erotic dichotomy. Marcus Woxneryd’s bass seems to propel Tim Thornton’s complex, almost jazzy, drum-patterns into the stratosphere, particularly on ‘In a Ditch’, the aural equivalent of Munch’s nightmare portrait ‘The Scream’; the twin guitars of Oz Bates and Harry Neve provide splashes of musical colour, black, Kryptonite green, blood crimson, to create a visceral kick to the stomach, a technological nightmare to rival the wildest creations of Voivod. It’s early days, but if the cinematic vision of Anamorphic is allowed to develop there are interesting times ahead.”
ALAN DOWNES