Alex Watts & the Foreign Tongue are an Australian rock band from Melbourne. The group was formed in 2010 as a solo project for singer/songwriter Alex Watts, who continues to perform with and without the band.
Biography
editOriginally encompassing punk and blues based rock, the Alex Watts & the Foreign Tongue shifted over its several releases to include singer-songwriter pop, rhythm and blues and soul.[1]
As of 2014, Watts expanded the group from a traditional rock'n'roll four piece to encompass horns, keyboards and backing vocals.[2]
In 2011, the band released the Desperate Love EP, which was typified by its raw, live sound, and moved stylistically from pop, garage rock, country and acoustic music.[3]
In November of that year the band appeared at Queenscliff Music Festival alongside The Triffids and Kimbra.[citation needed]
In 2012 the band released This Haunting, a single co-written with Mick Thomas, of Weddings, Parties, Anything, which received a self-directed video. The song was well received in both Australia and Europe, receiving airplay from the main community radio stations in Australia.[4] From that point on the band began a regiment of constant touring, helping to cement their reputation as an exciting live act.[5]
They appeared at The St Kilda Festival, one of the largest events in the Melbourne music calendar, in both 2013 and 2014.[6]
In 2013, Watts took a break from the band to undertake an acoustic tour of Australia followed by a tour of house concerts in the UK in December 2013-January 2014. These shows led him to record a solo EP, Sing, Strum & Strut, which was released through his own label, Astound Records, on 27 May 2014.[7]
Members
edit- Alex Watts - vocals, guitar
- Andy Phillips - guitar
- Michael McHugh - drums
- Brian Juffs - bass
- Jason Jennings - baritone sax
References
edit- ^ "Alex Watts & the Foreign Tongue". 18 February 2013.
- ^ "What Sound | Alex Watts: Sing, Strum & Strut". www.whatsoundmelbourne.com. Archived from the original on 2 June 2014.
- ^ "EP Review: Alex Watts & the Foreign Tongue – Desperate Love | unpaved.com.au". Archived from the original on 19 October 2013. Retrieved 19 October 2013.
- ^ "Single Stream: Alex Watts & The Foreign Tongue - "This Haunting" (2012) | the AU review". www.theaureview.com. Archived from the original on 20 September 2014.
- ^ "Alex Watts - Undercover Interview @ Uctv.fm, Your Daily Entertainment Fix, online across PCS, smart phones, tablet computers and major brands of internet connected TVS".
- ^ "Exclusive Album Premiere: Alex Watts - Sing, Strum & Strut (2014 EP) | the AU review". www.theaureview.com. Archived from the original on 1 June 2014.
- ^ "What Sound | Alex Watts: Sing, Strum & Strut". www.whatsoundmelbourne.com. Archived from the original on 2 June 2014.