The Lo Fidelity Allstars are a Brighton, England, based Electronic/Alternative group formed in 1996. The band's lineup upon formation was Dave Randall (vocals), Phil Ward (vocals, sampler), Andy Dickson (vocals, bass), John Machin (drums), John Stone (keyboards) and Martin Whiteman (engineering). Randall and Stone left shortly after the release of their album "How to Operate With A Blown Mind" with Dale Maloney replacing Stone on keyboards Their earlier work is noted for genre-crossing style, distorted and at times alien lyrics, distinctive funk bass lines and extensive use of lo-fi recording practices; although it would be a stretch to call the style of the music as a whole 'lo-fi' in the more traditional sense. This work is best exemplified by their debut album "How To Operate With A Blown Mind" on Skint Records. After its release, on the eve of a UK tour, the band's singer left with Sheriff John Stone.
Phil took over as the singer but since then other members of the band (Johnny, Andy and Martin) have all sung, along with guests Greg Dulli, Jamie Lidell and Bootsy Collins. Their later work has less vocal distortion but the lyrics and sound remain distinctive.
The 2002 album "Don't Be Afraid of Love" covers a range of styles but all are drenched in funk and includes the aforementioned guest vocalists. The group have recently finished working on their third studio album "Northern Stomp", featuring the tracks "Northern Stomp", "Smash and Grab World" and "Southside Lowdown" (featuring Greg Dulli).
The album is set for release around Easter 2009 on Corsair Records. They are also recording and playing live under the name Technically Men.
Tracks are available on www. lofidelityallstars.
co. uk www.
technicallymen. com and the bands' MySpace pages (www.
myspace. com/lofiallstars www.
myspace. com/technicallymen).
Phil also has a weekly radio show on www. wirelessfm.
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