Explosions in the Sky
is an American instrumental post-rock band from Texas. The band has garnered popularity beyond the post-rock scene for their cinematic, elaborately developed guitar work, narratively styled instrumentals, what they refer to as "cathartic mini-symphonies," and their enthusiastic and emotional live shows. [1] They primarily play with three electric guitars and a drum kit, while band member Michael James will at times exchange his electric guitar for a bass guitar. [2]
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EXPLOSIONS IN THE SKY TICKETS
EVENT | DATE | AVAILABILITY |
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Explosions In the Sky Tickets 9/12 | Sep 12, 2024 Thu, 8:00 PM | | Explosions In the Sky Tickets 9/14 | Sep 14, 2024 Sat, 8:00 PM | | Explosions In the Sky Tickets 9/18 | Sep 18, 2024 Wed, 8:00 PM | | Explosions In the Sky Tickets 9/19 | Sep 19, 2024 Thu, 7:00 PM | | Explosions In the Sky Tickets 9/20 | Sep 20, 2024 Fri, 7:00 PM | |
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History
Originally called
Breaker Morant, Explosions in the Sky was formed in
Austin, Texas in 1999. Drummer Chris Hrasky is from
Rockford, Illinois, and the rest of the band hails from
Midland, Texas. The new name of "Explosions in the Sky" came from a comment Hrasky made in reference to the noise
[3] or sight
[4] of fireworks when they left
KVRX on the night they played their first set and recorded their first track, "Remember Me as a Time of Day", that would be released on
a compilation.
Their 2000 debut album,
How Strange, Innocence
, was locally distributed in the form of
CD-Rs. Rehearsal footage is featured on the short film
Cicadas
, which won an
Austin Film Festival award.
[5]
Explosions in the Sky quickly gained a reputation for themselves among other established local bands such as
Lift to Experience.
Temporary Residence Limited signed the band on the strength of their demo after only half a listen; the demo was submitted by fellow Austin band
The American Analog Set with a brief note saying, "This totally fucking destroys."
[6]
They garnered a small amount of media attention with their second album,
Those Who Tell the Truth Shall Die, Those Who Tell the Truth Shall Live Forever
, due to rumors linking it to the
September 11, 2001 attacks. The band denied any connection in interviews. The album art shows an airplane with the caption "This plane will crash tomorrow." There were false reports that the last track was called "This Plane Will Crash Tomorrow" and that the album was released on
September 10,
2001;
[7] [8] the concept had actually originated in 2000, and the album was released on
August 27,
2001. Bassist Michael James was detained in an airport as a threat to security, and had to explain why his guitar contained the words "this plane will crash tomorrow".
After being contacted by Brian Reitzell, Explosions in the Sky wrote the soundtrack for the 2004 film
Friday Night Lights
. Despite having access to rare equipment in the studio for that project, the band kept to their songwriting style in creating original material.
[9]
Their most recent album,
All of a Sudden I Miss Everyone
, which debuted
February 20,
2007, exists as both a one-disc version and a two-disc special edition featuring
remixes by multiple artists.
[10]
The band began touring on
February 19 in the U.S. and Canada.
[11]
They played a shortened version of "Welcome, Ghosts" on the
February 20 episode of
Late Night with Conan O'Brien
.
On
May 10, they canceled the shows up to August due to a family illness.
[12]
They performed on
Austin City Limits
on
June 29,
2007.
[13]
They acted as curators of the UK-based
All Tomorrow's Parties music festival in May 2008.
Music styles and characteristics
Although the band's music deviates from
pop, Hrasky said that they have similar goals "like immediately grabbing your attention and getting to your emotions."
[14] Rayani said, "We don't consider ourselves post-rock at all; we consider ourselves a rock band."
[15]
In a post-show interview clip on
Austin City Limits, guitarist Munaf Rayani said about their status as
instrumentalists, "I mean, I think we discussed singing for half a second, and then it just kinda, we just dropped it. We just didn't go back to it because we weren't comfortable enough." Drummer Chris Hrasky added "There were a couple of instrumental bands at the time that we were heavily into;
Dirty Three and
Mogwai; we were listening to those bands a lot. And I think we just liked the idea of a band that there was not a leader or main songwriter, everyone collaborating and has their own say. I don't think any of us want the sort of 'leader role', so a leaderless band is kind of the best option for us."
[16]
Band members
- Munaf Rayani – guitar
- Mark Smith – guitar
- Michael James – bass and guitar
- Chris Hrasky – drums
Discography
Studio albums
- How Strange, Innocence
(2000)
- Those Who Tell the Truth Shall Die, Those Who Tell the Truth Shall Live Forever
(2001)
- The Earth Is Not a Cold Dead Place
(2003)
- The Rescue
(2005)
- All of a Sudden I Miss Everyone
(2007)
Soundtracks
- Friday Night Lights
soundtrack (2004)
Compilations
- "Remember Me as a Time of Day" on Refurbished Robots
(1999)
- "The Long Spring" on Thank you
(2004), Temporary Residence Limited
- "Welcome Ghosts" sampler on Destroy Independent Music!
(2007), Temporary Residence Limited
- "First Breath After Coma" on Friday Night Lights (television soundtrack)
(2007), Adrenaline Records
- "Your Hand in Mine" on The Steel People
(2009)
References
- NPR Music
- Title Unavailable
- Born on the Fourth of July
- Explosions In The Sky, 4 July 1999
- Explosions in the Sky
- Explosions in the Sky > Biography
- Post-rock explodes in Taipei
- The day the music died an accidental death
- "Friday Night Lights Original Soundtrack"
- Explosions in the Sky Album Details Surface
- Shows
- Shows
- Austin City Limits
- Explosions in the Sky to light up Sokol
- Out of Texas, a Wordless Wonder
- Austin City Limits