Gorman

Artist Information

Biography

Gorman have been in existence since 2006 when it became apparent to pianist, song writer and front-man Chris Gorman that reproducing the light and dark dynamics of the songs that he was painstakingly committing to tape in a live setting, without sacrificing the broad spectrum of sounds and textures that they contain, would require the assistance of versatile, dedicated and patient musicians. These he found in Iain (Drums), Gerry (Bass) and finally Dave (Guitar).

Taking melodic cues from the likes of Radiohead and Jeff Buckley, the abstract soundscapes of Robert Fripp and the dynamics of post-rock pioneers Mogwai, Gorman can switch from a single voice with piano to a searing rock collaboration without warning.

With the release of debut album "Kairos” (2009), Gorman honed their sound to a keen edge. With the album garnering critical acclaim, Gorman gigged extensively with shows from Elgin to Leicester. Particular highlights came in 2010, with Chris's appearance at Scotland's 'T in the Park' festival and a solid week of headline performances by the band at 'Japan Music Week 2010' in Tokyo to an unbelievable public reception.

Now coming to end of a run of domestic festival dates and with the recording of their next release underway, 2011 promises ever more exciting times for Gorman.

Instrumentation

Chris Gorman - Vocals, Guitar, Piano
David Farmer - Guitar
Gerry Loughran - Bass
Iain Pollock - Drums

Discography

"Teargas" - EP, 2005 - numerous podcast plays in the UK and abroad.

"Ashes" - EP, 2006 - received radio airplay in Scotland, England, USA, and podcast in the UK, Europe and USA. Title track won XFM Uploaded's Track of the Week, and featured in the PRS New Music Podcast.

"Kairos" - album, 2009. Tracks have so far featured on US station WMSC in New Jersey, and on several UK and US podcasts, including Radio Magnetic in Scotland and Darkhorse Radio in England.

Official Website

http://www.gormanband.com

Links

• Facebook
• MySpace
• Twitter
• Youtube
• Bandcamp

Audio

• Plastic People
  Listen   Download
• We'll See
  Listen   Download
• Porcelain
  Listen   Download

Lyrics

• Plastic People
• We'll See
• Porcelain

Video

Photo Gallery

Press

• Gorman - Kairos [+ Show ]
  

  The first time I saw Chris Gorman – front man of Gorman – he was perched behind a piano, the sole fi...The first time I saw Chris Gorman – front man of Gorman – he was perched behind a piano, the sole figure on the stage preparing to provide us with a solo set as the main support to Regina Spektor at the Glasgow Barfly in 2005. Though not an easy task, the musically gifted and spectacularly voiced Glaswegian took us on a journey throughout a dynamic set, juxtaposing quiet, eerie moments with loud, heartfelt sections, effortlessly drifting through the full range of emotions in just a thirty minute set.
  Half a decade later and with a full band in tow this time round, we are blessed with a full length ten track album in the form of Kairos, an offering that still nods back to the frontmans’ early days while showing great progress with his songwriting ability and boasting a great chemistry with his backing band.
  Nestled perfectly in between Guillemots, Radiohead and Coldplay in terms of sound, feel and potentially popularity given a few years, this is a spectacularly crafted debut effort from a band that clearly know their way around a mixing desk as well as their own instruments, experimenting with samples, synthesizers and various effects to fill out this mixed bag of uplifting and sombre pop tracks and doing so with great success, where many similar bands have failed.
  Opening track ‘You Know Nothing’ is both beautiful and eerie, a perfect taster of what is yet to come for the rest of the album, with Gormans voice being pushed straight to the forefront, heartily backed up by some beautiful reverbs that Nigel Godrich would be proud of against a backdrop of spacious instrumentation while follow up song ‘Faith’ is a wonderful pop track, perfectly suited to a lazy sombre morning with its anthemic, feel-good chorus line “Having faith in what you do despite what you’ve witnessed”, exploding into a wall of sound, fully deserved of filling stadiums in years to come.
  Rather than capitalising on this elevated mood as you’d expect from an upcoming band looking to reach and please as wide an audience as possible, this band do what they excel at by straying away from the expected and playing by their own rules, dropping ‘Great Expectations’, a track that sits nicely in between Coldplays ‘Spies’ and Radioheads ‘Sail To The Moon’ before launching into ‘Battlefield’, a track that exceeds the five minute mark and is a damn sight more morbid that Jordan Sparks effort by the same name with its cry of “a million miles seems like a long way to go just to die”.
  Thankfully, we still have the best part of an album to see the tender, inspirational side of this band and come ‘Porcelain’ – the standout track of the album for me – we get just that. With a piano intro well worthy of making the cut for Death Cab For Cuties’ ‘Plans’ album and at time Gary Barlow-esque vocals, this is a piece that could easily have been the most popular single from this album hadn’t it exceeded the radio-friendly four minutes mark, proof yet again that this band will not compromise their music for anyone else, instead tailoring it solely to their own liking. Just as beautiful as the intro, though far louder and wholesome in sound for the most part, the outro, with it’s chant of “I’ll wait for a break in the beating of your heart”, reminiscent of Death Cabs’ earlier ‘Transatlanticism’ and the standout lyric of the album, ends on a high, despite dropping from the full band to just vocals and piano.
  Despite having a piano intro fairly similar in melody to the intro of Seals ‘Kiss From A Rose’, ‘The Morning Song’ is the perfect way to end an incredible debut offering, with its jazzy feel and heartfelt vocals, lead singer Chris once again proving that his vocals alone can really hold a track as his Matt Bellamy-esque falsetto vocals eerily ring out the last notes as if to say “to be continued”. Expect to see a lot more from this band.
  
  - Colin Keenan
  

• Debut album "Kairos" [+ Show ]
  

  Gorman - Kairos A BAND at odds with their image. Gorman (who revolve around multi-instrumentalist...Gorman - Kairos
  
  A BAND at odds with their image. Gorman (who revolve around multi-instrumentalist and singer Chris Gorman) look mean and moody and wear industrial metal black. But the music is tender and heartfelt. It's like looking at a bear and hearing the voice of a nightingale. Which makes them an interesting listen. Debut album Kairos kicks off with You Know Nothing - a dreamy acoustic guitar led number which owes more to Jeff Buckley than say Green Day. It's a stunning start. The album has the perkiness of pre-stadium Coldplay and final song The Morning Song is a massive power ballad. Also noticeable is Chris' clear voice which sounds like Michael Buble in parts - perhaps he's trying too hard to hide his mainstream pop possibility.
  
  Rick Fulton, Daily Record
  
  
  

Setlist

All original material, typically between half an hour and an hour long.

Basic Requirements

Calendar