Submotion Orchestra Explained

Submotion Orchestra are a seven piece band formed in 2009 in Leeds, Yorkshire, England. They are influenced by dubstep, soul, ambient electronica, jazz and dub.

Their debut LP Finest Hour was released in 2011 on Exceptional Records. They have toured and performed all over the UK, Europe and worldwide, including festival shows at The Big Chill, Latitude, Glastonbury, Outlook, Bestival, and in Thailand at Wonderfruit.^[1] They have released five full-length albums and five EPs.

Career

The original members of the band - Ruby Wood (vocals), Simon Beddoe (trumpet), Taz Modi (keyboards), Chris 'Fatty' Hargreaves (bass), Tommy Evans (drums), Danny Templeman (percussion) and Dom 'Ruckspin' Howard (effects, production) - came together after an Arts Council-funded event to mix electronic and classical music at York Minster in 2009.^[2] Their first EP was released in 2010 on Ranking Records, and led to a live session for BBC Radio One with Gilles Peterson.^[3] Their first album, Finest Hour, was released in 2011 on Exceptional Records to positive reviews, with BBC Music saying 'this intriguing debut suggests the group as one to keep an eye on'.^[4]

Second album Fragments followed in 2012 to more critical acclaim, with Sputnikmusic saying 'the change in overall tone and some slight tweaks to their formula easily make this one of the year’s must listen releases'.^[5] After releasing the 1968 EP on Circus Records in 2013, the band signed to Ninja Tune through their Counter Records imprint, and released Alium in 2014, the III EP in 2015 and Counter Theory in 2016.^[6]

After forming their own label, SMO Recordings, in 2018, the band released Kites, with The Skinny saying it 'marks a fine return to Submotion Orchestra's cinematic jazz roots'.^[7] Two Unplugged collections followed, with the band revisiting older tracks in an acoustic format, before touring with the Prism String Ensemble in 2023 to perform this material.^[8] In 2024, the band announced the upcoming release of the 'Five Points' EP.^[9]

Their track 'All Yours' was sampled by Bryson Tiller on his track 'Right My Wrongs' in 2015.

Discography

Albums

• Finest Hour (2011, Exceptional Records)
• Fragments (2012, Exceptional Records)
• Alium (2014, Counter Records)
• Counter Theory (2016, Counter Records)
• Kites (2018, SMO Recordings)

EPs

• Submotion EP (2010, Ranking Records)
• 1968 (2013, Circus Records)
• III (2015, Counter Records)
• Unplugged Vol.i (2020, SMO Recordings)
• Unplugged Vol.ii (2020, SMO Recordings)
• Five Points (2024, SMO Recordings)

External links

• Submotion Orchestra - Home
• Submotion Orchestra - MusicBrainz
• BBC Radio 2 - Radio 2 In Concert, Beverley Knight, Submotion Orchestra - Interview with Jo Whiley and Trevor Nelson
• BBC - Music - Review of Submotion Orchestra - Finest Hour

Notes and References

1. Web site: Wonderfruit Signals Major Growth in Thailand's Fest Scene . Fest 300 . 6 January 2016.
2. Web site: Interview with Submotion Orchestra . 2024-09-28 . Outline Magazine.
3. Web site: BBC Radio 1 - Gilles Peterson, The Roots and John Legend . 2024-09-28 . BBC . en-GB.
4. Web site: Katz . David . BBC - Music - Review of Submotion Orchestra - Finest Hour . 2024-09-28 . www.bbc.co.uk . en-GB.
5. Web site: Submotion Orchestra - Fragments (album review 2) Sputnikmusic . 2024-09-28 . www.sputnikmusic.com.
6. Web site: Submotion Orchestra . 2024-09-28 . Ninja Tune . en.
7. Web site: Submotion Orchestra album review: Kites - The Skinny . 2024-09-28 . www.theskinny.co.uk . en.
8. Web site: Klubikon . 2024-09-26 . PREMIERE: Submotion Orchestra - Side Two . 2024-09-28 . Klubikon . en-US.
9. Web site: 2024-10-25 . Submotion Orchestra - Five Points . 2024-09-28 . Kartel Music Group . en.