EXPATRIATE
EXPATRIATE are Ben King (Vocals/Guitars), Cristo (Drums), Damian Press (Keys/Guitars) and Dave Molland (Bass).
Expatriate by name, Expatriates by nature. Originally from Australia the 4 piece, fronted by lead singer and guitarist Ben King, was created by its definition and due to their own life story. Two of the four band members spent their childhoods as expatriates – growing up in a foreign culture, a country far away from home, a cultural circle, as alien as exotic, as exciting as disturbingly bold.
Expatriate released their first material in the form of 2 EP’s in 2006, ‘Lovers Le Strange’ and ‘Play a Part’ followed by debut album ‘In The Midst Of This’ in 2007. Produced by John Goodmanson and recorded at the Robert Lang Studios in Seattle, it was released on Universal imprint label Dew Process and debuted at number 38 in the ARIA charts and were subsequently nominated for an ARIA Award for “Best Breakthrough Artist for an album”.
An Australian touring campaign followed, including numerous festival appearances and national headline shows and in the winter of 2008, Expatriate packed up and left for the colder climate of Berlin to coincide with the Continental European release of the album through [PIAS] International in 2009. The European touring campaign saw them play most of Europe’s largest rock festivals and was spectacularly rounded off with a 26 arena date tour across 7 countries as main support to PLACEBO, rounding up the year with sold out headline shows in Switzerland, France, Germany, UK and Greece.
In 2010, the band headed to the famous Monnow Valley Studios in the Welsh town of Monmouth in the UK to start production on their 2nd studio album ‘Hyper / Hearts’ with producer Andy Savours (Pnau, The Killers). However, on the band’s return to Berlin feelings were that the songs weren’t quite finished yet and were consequently taken back into their home studio, adding additional production to a number of the tracks plus re-producing another two tracks from scratch, up to a level where thy were ready to finally let go of it.
Four tracks were collectively co-written by the band; ‘School’, ‘Easier’ and ‘KunstKopf’, born from a band writing period together at Damian’s Ginsberg Studios in Sydney, and ‘On The Inside’ written together in their Berlin studio with the remainder of the tracks written by Ben in various modes of bedroom / apartment home studios across the globe; ‘Miracle Mile’, ‘By Design’ and ‘Do You Remember’ were all written in Jakarta whilst visiting his Dad and ‘Dangerous Stranger’, ‘World To End With You’ and ‘Love Away’ were written at the bands Berlin apartment.
The new album, titled ‘Hyper / Hearts’, is a product of the bands experiences over the past few years, from going back to the beginning of the whole album campaign, which, for the most part coincided with moving to Europe, taking that step to move opened a magical window through which passed a stream of fresh and at times surreal experiences. The feeling of looking at a new horizon, as though experiencing it all through a hyper state – fuelled by new energy and momentum. The idea that change can be a good thing if you throw your heart into it and work hard to make it work, which in a much bigger sense, ties into what the world feels like it has going on at the moment, apparent in lead track ‘Miracle Mile’, a bass driven high energy track drawing on political issues and awareness to citizens and cultures living in rapidly evolving 3rd world countries, awakening to their own ‘Hyper Heart’ state. “All these hyper awakened hearts, banging the drums for survival and living through change, not being stuck in a negative experience but rather, wanting to push on and go beyond that. The majority of the songs have the same sort of theme throughout them.”
‘Hyper / Hearts’ is a record with a great sense of detail- true to the energy, intensity and passion in the classic Expatriate style.
Simple Plan
With the recent release of their fourth studio album, Get Your Heart On!, Simple Plan continues to gain worldwide recognition. Currently on a sold-out European tour, the multi-platinum, Montreal-based band boasts worldwide sales topping 7 million. Simple Plan’s fourth album, this summer’s Get Your Heart On!, has already reached gold status in Canada and spawned a radio hit in Jet Lag. A testament to their outstanding popularity, the band has been voted Favourite Canadian Band an unprecedented five times by viewers of the MuchMusic Video Awards. Accolades also include the 2006 JUNO Fan Choice Award and the 2005 Teen Choice Award. The members of Simple Plan have used their global popularity for good by starting the Simple Plan Foundation, which raises money for a variety of charities. In 2009 proceeds from the sale of the band’s single, Save You, were distributed to various cancer charities. Most recently, the Foundation donated $10,000 towards The Canadian Haiti Relief Fund. Simple Plan is made up of Pierre Bouvier (Vocals) / Chuck Comeau (Drums, Backing Vocals) / David Desrosiers (Bass, Backing Vocals) / Sebastien Lefebvre (Guitar, Backing Vocals) / Jeff Stinco (Lead Guitar).
Brown Eyed Girls
Brown Eyed Girls often abbreviated as B.E.G., is a South Korean girl group managed by Nega Network. The group consists of four members: Jea, Miryo, Narsha, and Ga-in. Brown Eyed Girls released their debut album Your Story in South Korea in February 2006 as an R&B/ballad vocal group. After a short break, the group went back into the studio to work on their second album Leave Ms. Kim (떠나라 미스김), which included their R&B title track You Got Me Fooled (너에게 속았다) as well as the subsequent single Oasis (오아시스). The first two albums contained typical R&B ballads, which heightened their popularity in the K-pop scene. In January 2008, Brown Eyed Girls came back with their first mini-album, With L.O.V.E. The single was an instant success and scored as their first No. 1 song that also became one of the top hit songs in the first half of 2008 in Korea. On 20 July 2009, Brown Eyed Girls released the third full-length album, the double-disc Sound G. The release of this album also saw a shift in the image of the group as the members redefined themselves as independent and mature city girls. The band took the K-pop world by storm with their outstanding performances at music shows and year-end music awards. Their signature sexy hip dance became a national popularity with a lot of fellow celebrities doing a parody of it. Thereafter, the band revealed a repackaged version of the album titled, Sign that included a new single, Sign along with Drunk On Sleep and a remix of their previous hit Abracadabra. On 6 September 2011, NegaNetwork released an official comeback date to mark the end of their two-year hiatus. Prior to the band’s first performance, Sixth Sensesoared to the top in all major charts in Korea. They kicked of their official promotions with a double stage performance of Hot Shot and Sixth Sense on 24 September on Music Core and achieved the top spot on M! Countdown and Inkigayo, which impressed audiences with their concept, choreography, and music.
Kate Miller-Heidke
Kate has recently finished recording her 3rd studio album, Nightflight, which is due for release in April 2012 through Sony Music. Her debut ‘Little Eve’ went gold and received four ARIA nominations. Her second album ‘Curiouser’ reached double platinum sales in Australia, spawning two platinum hits ‘Last Day On Earth’ and ‘Caught In The Crowd’. In 2009 Kate became the first Australian to win the grand prize in the International Songwriting Competition for ‘Caught In The Crowd’. ‘Last Day On Earth’ was the 3rd most-played song on Australian radio in 2009. The last two years have seen Kate tour the US, UK, Asia and Europe extensively as well as performing over 100 shows with Ben Folds, and appearing on his latest album “Lonely Avenue.” In 2012 she opened the Coachella Festival in California. Her electronic side project with collaborator/husband Keir Nuttall has been making waves in the US since appearing in a commercial for the New York Lottery and being played on America’s largest radio station Z100. If electronic and pop music weren’t keeping her busy enough, Kate is performing “The Death of Klinghoffer” with the English National Opera in their 2012 season. This is not her first foray into opera, Kate studied classical voice at the Queensland Conservatorium. Her opera roles include Flora in The Turn of the Screw and Baby Jane in Jerry Springer the Opera, at the Sydney Opera House.
The Click Five
US power pop band, The Click Five, has performed across Asia with MTV Exit this included the first ever rock concert held at iconic Angkor Wat in Cambodia. The band’s support for the campaign went far beyond concerts, as they also visited a shelter in Cambodia to interact with trafficking survivors and share their message of hope. In their most recent involvement The Click Five joined hands with MTV EXIT in raising awareness on human trafficking in a new music video for the song “Don’t Let Me Go.” The music video premiered across MTV on-air and to over 100,000 hits on youtube. The music video conveys the core message that everybody has a role to play in curbing the social menace of human trafficking.
After School
After School is a South Korean girl band that made their debut successfully in 2009 with a unique rendition of ‘hip hop style’ as compared to any other female bands in Korea. They are the first group to debut with a unique admissions and graduation concept in Korea, where members are added or withdrawn in the process. The current band members are formed with the original members; KAHI, JUYEON, JUNG-A and the new members; U-IE, RAINA, NANA, LIZZY and E-YOUNG. ‘Because of you’, ‘Bang’, ‘Shampoo’ made them as a top female group. After School also performs as units, also known as sub-band groups, such as ‘Orange Caramel’, ‘After School RED’ and ‘After School BLUE’, which expand to an even greater fan base across the region.
Member: KAHI, JUNG-A, JUYEON, U-IE, RAINA, NANA, LIZZY and E-YOUNG.
Debut: 2009 January Single [New Schoolgirl]
Album in Korea
2009. 01. 15. 1st Single [New Schoolgirl]
2009. 04. 09. Digital Single [Diva]
2009. 11. 25. 2nd Single [Because of you]
2010. 03. 25. 3rd Single [BANG!]
2010. 12. 07. Happy Pledis 1st Album [Love Love Love]
2011. 04. 28. First Regular Album [Virgin]
2011. 07. 20. The 4th Single Album – Red [Night into the sky]
The 4Th Single Album – Blue [Wonder Boy]
Single in Japan
2011. 08. 17. 1’st Single [BANG! Japan ver.]
2011. 11. 23. 2nd Single [Diva Japan ver.]
Featuring
2009. 05. 22. (VS. Tokyo Girls) O.S.T.
2009. 07. 23. SAMSUNG Mobile Phone Anycall song [AMOLED]
2009. 08. 06. Sunny Side [It hurts]
2009. 08. 21. MBC Drama [Love the Island] O.S.T
2010. 05. 18. The Shouts of Reds. United Korea [Dreams Again]
CM
2009. 07. SAMSUNG Mobile Phone Anycall [AMOLED]
2009. 09. dressedtokill
2011. 09. The Sam
2011. 10. (Land Rover)
TV
2009 MTV Korea MTV Diaryー of After School
2010 MBC every1 (Play Girls School)
Awards
2010 19th Hi One Seoul K-Pop Awards – Best New Artist
2010 1st Billboard Japan Music Awards – Best Music
2009 12. SBS K-Pop Awards
2009 12. MBC K-Pop Awards
2009 34th Cyworld Digital Music Awards
2009 12. SBS TV Variety Awards – Rookie of the year: U-IE)
2009 Dong-A TV [Style Idol Awards]
2009 Korea Life Style Awards – Style Icon
2010 1st Billboard Japan Music Awards – K-Pop New Artist of the Year
2010 GomTV 2010 the first half top 10 Music Video
Book
2010. 05. Play Girlz! (After School Bruch Essay)
2011. 09. After School Photo Essay (After School Bruch Essay Japan Ver.)
KAHI
Birth: 1980.12.25.
Height/Weight 167cm/50kg
Bobby/Things to like: Snowboard/Piano
Blood/Horoscope O/Capricorn
JUNG-A
Birth: 1983.08.02
Height/Weight: 166cm/48kg
Hobby/Things to like: Internet Surfing/Eating/Singing
Blood/Horoscope: O/Leo
JUYEON
Birth: 1987.03.19.
Height/Weight: 167cm/45kg
Hobby/Things to like: Chat/Drawing
Blood/Horoscope: AB/Pisces
U-IE
Birth: 1988.04.09.
Height/Weight: 169cm/51kg
Hobby/Things to like: Internet Surfing/Swimming
Blood/Horoscope: O/Aries
RAINA
Birth: 1989.05.07.
Height/Weight: 166cm/46kg
Hobby/Things to like: Listening to Music/Playing Piano/Writing
Blood/Horoscope: B/Taurus
* After School Unit ‘Orange Caramel’ Leader
NANA
Birth: 1991.09.14.
Height/Weight: 171cm/48kg
Hobby/Things to like: Watching Movie/Listening to Music
Blood/Horoscope A/Virgin
* After School Unit ‘Orange Caramel’ Member
LIZZY
Birth: 1992.07.31.
Height/Weight: 167cm/48kg
Hobby/Things to like: Listening to Music/Handcraft/Swimming
Blood/Horoscope: A/Leo
* After School Unit ‘Orange Caramel’ Member
E-YOUNG
Birth: 1992.08.16.
Height/Weight: 167cm/45kg
Hobby/Things to like: Playing Piano, Bass, Cello and Flute/Ballet
Blood/Horoscope: A/Leo
Evaline
EVALINE – with a full quota of startling tracks – rock songs that use layered sounds, intense guitars and swooning vocals matched with a high energy live show that has been gathering fans throughout the world in every city they play.
Fresh out of school, Evaline’s earliest recordings found their way to The Used’s Quinn Allman who produced the EP: Postpartum Modesty, a Portrait of Skin - released on Madonna’s Maverick label in 2006. Two Warped tours and a Taste of Chaos tour quickly attracted a loyal and ardent fanbase in USA. Now in their early twenties Evaline are Richard Perry, (Vocals, Cello and keys) Dominic DiCiano (Guitar), Steven Pedersen (Bass), Christian Lewis (Guitar) and the Petersen brothers Greg (drums) and Dan (guitar).
By late 2010 the band had finished recording a stack of new songs for their debut album, titled ‘Woven Material’, produced by Dan Austin (Doves, Cherry Ghost, QOTSA ) which includes the singles Hours and There There (mixed by Adrian Bushby). The lead album track ‘Beneath The Fire’ was also chosen as iTunes Single of The Week in USA on 28th June, and consequently helped the album to no. 8 in iTunes Rock chart and no.43 on Billboard Heatseekers chart in week of release. ITunes UK chose There There to be their Single of the Week on the 19th July. The album has been released throughout SE Asia on Universal and is due for Autumn release in Australia in October on Shock.
In the last year the band have supported Deftones, Neon Trees, Dredg, Placebo, Young Guns and Paper Tongues and their shows at SXSW 2011 earned them rave reviews including andPOP’s ‘top 6 bands of SXSW’. The band have just left Europe after impressing European festival crowds with shows at Hard Rock Calling (London), T in The Park (Scotland), Werchter (Belgium), Hurricane/ Southside (Germany), Arras Festival with Coldplay (France) and were handpicked by My Chemical Romance as support at the iTunes Festival in London. They returned to the USA for a West Coast club headline tour and to support Linkin Park at Las Vegas. They will be back in Europe and the UK in the autumn to support Bush.
In addition they played Music Matters in Singapore in May to rapturous praise.
UK Press on the band includes Kerrang (Introducing piece), Music Week (Panel Piece), Total Guitar (New Band Piece), Rocksound ‘Exposure Piece’, Big Cheese (Full page ‘Blast’ new band piece), Rhythm Mag (Introducing piece) and NME.com coverage.
Super Junior
Korean megastars, Super Junior, best known for their international smash-hit “Sorry Sorry”, has been a passionate supporter of MTV EXIT. They have performed at our MTV EXIT concert in Hanoi, Vietnam and Super Junior-M recently performed in Chiang Mai, Thailand to sell-out crowds. Super Junior have grabbed numerous awards and nominations throughout Asia including the “Best K-Pop Group” in ASAP Pop Viewers Choice Awards 2010, Original Sound Track of The Year in 2010 Cyworld Digital Music Awards, Asian Popularity Award and Best Album in Golden Disk Awards, Most Popular Group of The Year and Best Korea Album of The Year in Global Chinese Golden Chart Awards. Members of the group have also volunteered to visit shelters for survivors of human trafficking to learn about this important global issue firsthand. Go to the Official Super Junior website for more information http://superjunior.smtown.com/