Marconi Union

Did You Know?

• In September 2012, they appeared at the Punkt! Festival in Norway at the invitation of Brian Eno, performing live remixes instead of a regular set.
• Despite the global success of "Weightless", the band rarely plays it live, considering it a separate project.

History

Talbot and Crossley met while working in a Manchester record shop and formed the band in 2003. They have a reputation for being elusive, frequently refusing interview requests and showing little interest in self-promotion despite critical acclaim; more recently they have given online interviews and appeared in Electronic Sound Magazine. Their self-produced debut album, Under Wires and Searchlights, was released in 2003 on Ochre Records, after which they were picked up by All Saints Records.

In 2005 they released Distance, which featured a darker, more electronic sound. The follow-up, A Lost Connection, was originally slated for release on All Saints but became delayed due to label politics following the label's takeover by Warner Bros. Frustrated, Talbot and Crossley launched their own digital label, MU Transmissions, selling music through their website. Starting in 2008, they gave away 12 exclusive downloads on their website, each available for one month only, including outtakes, unreleased tracks and alternate mixes; these were released as the compilation 13 in 2009.

Also in 2009, the album Tokyo was released on Binemusic, inspired by images of the Japanese city. In 2010, A Lost Connection was remastered and released on CD, and the group announced Duncan Meadows had joined permanently. In July 2011, Beautifully Falling Apart (Ambient Transmissions Vol:1) was released on Just Music, a beatless diversion from previous work with greater emphasis on texture, met with critical acclaim. Different Colours, their first album featuring Meadows as a full-time member, focused on tightly structured arrangements assimilating ideas from jazz and soundtrack composers like Bernard Herrmann, achieving greater commercial success and featuring in several best-of-year lists; Echoes named it CD of the month.