Artist deconstruction

Hard fi are British alternative rock band that started in surrey. Lead singer Richard Archer returned to his hometown of Staines after the death of his father and the failure of his first band ‘Contempo’. When he asked his record company for more money to record some new songs they terminated his contract. The band formed when Richard went to a Hi-Fi shop in staines to listen to demo CD’s which Ross Phillips worked in. they then recruited Steve Kemp who was an old friend of Richard and persuaded Kia Stephens to join as well

They released their first album stars of CCTV in July of 2005. they were signed to record company necessary records which the majority of this album was recorded. They recorded is some unusual places including a Mini-cab office and. It became a lot more popular then expected as it became to be played on the Radio. They were then licensed to Atlantic

record who offered them the chance to re record the album in some high studio. They turned the offer and stuck with the cab office to retain their sound. The album hade a delayed release after a series of events caused it to be delayed. The album reached number 1 in the album chart in January 2006 and was nominated for a mercury price award.

1. Cash Machine 2. Middle Eastern Holiday 3. Tied Up Too Tight 4. Gotta Reason 5. Hard To Beat 6. Unnecessary Trouble 7. Move On Now 8. Better Do Better 9. Feltham Is Singing Out 10. Living For The Weekend 11. Stars OF CCTV

The second album that they released was Once upon a time in the west. They released the album in September 2007 with albums lead single being suburban knights. The album reached number one in the album chart and was widely praised by magazines and newspapers. The album artwork was critics by some but promoted by others .

1 Suburban Knights 2 I Shall Overcome 3 Tonight 4 Watch Me Fall Apart 5 I Close My Eyes 6 Television 7 Help Me Please 8 Can't Get Along (Without You) 9 We Need Love 9 Little Angel 10 The King

Hard fi’s third and final album is killer sounds. It was released in august 2011. it was not as popular as the other two album but still did reach some success. The album highest chart place was number 2

They had a very unique sound. It was a post-punk and indie with a dance twist. The albums they made did change over the years. The first album was raw and had loud guitar backing. The second album had a more orchestral feel to it.

Hard fi had a very high critical opinion. Being nominated for many awards such as Brits and mercury music prize award meant that they had established themselves with other big British alternative rock groups such as Coldplay and Franz Ferdinand. This meant that they received a lot of press and it was often posotive

Stars Of CCTV – Atlantic / Necessary Once Upon a Time in the west- Atlantic /

Necessary Killer Sounds – Atlantic / Necessary Once Upon Time In December – Atlantic /

Necessary In Operation- Atlantic / Necessary Sessions@AOL- Necessary Hard-Fi Live from the Bowery Ballroom NYC-

Necessary

Hard-fi fit into the genre of alternative rock. They have stay away from real mainstream plays and performances. They have a standard rock band set up and are signed by an independent record label. They are not similar to any other band out there.