Career
Their members originate from various cities in Northern England where they were formed in Leeds, before relocating first to London where they came to the attention of major record labels. After signing to Skint Records the band relocated to Brighton on the south coast, where that label is based. Subsequent to parting company with Skint, the band liquidated their Brighton studio complex 'The Brainfarm', and the personnel are now based variously in Brighton, The Midlands and New York.
Their earlier work is noted for genre-crossing stylings, distorted, morose, and at times alien lyrics, distinctive funk bass lines, and extensive use of lo-fi recording practices (although it would be a stretch to call the style of the music as a whole "lo-fi", in the more traditional sense). This work is best exemplified by their 1998 debut album How to Operate with a Blown Mind on Skint Records. At this time, the Lo Fidelity Allstars were credited by pseudonyms rather than their actual names. After its release, the band's lead vocalist David Randall (credited as The Wrekked Train) left, shortly followed by the keyboard player "Sheriff" John Stone. For their second studio album, Don't Be Afraid of Love, the members of the band discarded their pseudonyms in favor of using their real names.
Before the split, they found time to record a mix album On the Floor at the Boutique (a follow-up to Fatboy Slim's mix album of the same name) containing an eclectic selection of tracks, including two short tracks recorded by the original line-up especially for the mix: "You're Never Alone With A Clone," and "Bootsy Call". Another track, "Many Tentacles Pimping on the Keys," was also included which was released previously as "Disco Machine Gun Part 2" on the "Disco Machine Gun" EP released in September 1997.
The 2002 album Don't Be Afraid of Love included a number of guest vocalists, including funk legend Bootsy Collins.
2007 saw the release on Skint Records of the double CD Warming Up the Brain Farm: The Best of, a compilation featuring tracks from the first two albums along with rare and unreleased tracks.
The group's third studio album Northern Stomp was released on July 27, 2009, on Corsair Records, preceded by the single "Smash & Grab World" which was released worldwide in April, and was the band's first new material for four years.
Northern Stomp was widely well received, with DJ Magazine giving 4 stars saying "This is a fully-blown band album dripping with (northern) soul. The Lo-Fis are back and they deserve adoration all over again" and the world's best selling music monthly Q, calling it "a dance-tinged hybrid that becomes more fascinating with each listen".
The second single taken from the album was "Your Midnight" which featured remixes from Phil Ward's alter ego Lord Warddd, and label mate IDC, and was released on 31 August 2009.
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