The Parlotones singer and songwriter, Kahn Morbee, started learning to play the guitar at the age of 17, where he began a journey into song writing that would eventually end up defining The Parlotones sound.
In the summer of 1998, Morbee was introduced to Neil Pauw, a drummer who had attended the same high school as him. On hearing Morbee’s songs, and realising a shared vision for music, the two decided to start a band together.
At university Morbee met guitarist Paul Hodgson. One day after both of them were thrown out of the library for playing guitar, Morbee asked Hodgson to join himself and Pauw for a jam. He came to a practice, liked the songs, and joined.
At the time Hodgson’s younger brother was still in high school and could play guitar, piano and bass, so the band asked him to bring his bass to a band practice. With that the band line up was complete.
The Parlotones played as a four-piece for almost three years until July 2002 when they asked John Boyd to join, adding a subtle synth and sound effect element to the band, as well as contributing to the engineering during live shows.
During 2006, The Parlotones earned a number of remarkable praise, the most recent of which is signing a worldwide license deal with the international division of Universal Music.
The deal, which covers the territories of France, Japan, Germany, Holland, Northern Ireland and the United Kingdom, was set in motion by their single ‘Beautiful’ being used in the FUJIFILM TV advert for Ireland.
Other international achievements include being play listed on one of Germany’s biggest alternative rock radio stations Motor FM (7.5 million listeners). Their single ‘Overexposed’ has been Gold play listed, which is the highest rotation the station offers.
Video play of their music video for ‘Colourful’ on MTV Dubai got the bands name on to the ‘hot list of opportunities’ of MTV Europe.
In 2006, they won the SAMA award for Best Rock Album when they released their album “Radiocontrolledrobot”
The band’s single ‘Overexposed’ was used as the theme song for FHM World’s Hottest Woman short film
In 2007 The Parlotones – International Conference Band signed with the international artist agency Primary UK. The agency, which has a massive international reach, books for such names as: Panic! at the Disco, Allen, The Cure, Fall Out Boy and The Streets.
The band finished recording their new album, entitled A World Next Door To Yours in July 2007. The first single from the album, “A Giant Mistake” was released on 1st July 2007 to much critical acclaim.
The Parlotones bassist Glenn says: ” The sound on the new album is still distinctly Parlotones.
It’s leaning towards being a little edgier than Radiocontrolledrobot, but still caters for everyone, having an equal mix of upbeat and slower, ballad-type songs.
This album sees Kahn’s songwriting taking on a whole new level, with him drawing inspiration from his favourite cache of artists, ranging from The Beatles and The Stones to Coldplay, R.E.M., and Snow Patrol.”
The band played at South African leg of Live Earth on July 7, 2007.
The Parlotones are known for their electric, polished stage performances delivered against the backdrop of their deftly crafted and darkly romantic lyrics. Their sound, described as alternative in their formative years, has evolved substantially becoming more refined and focused with each album.
The band experiment sonically with their sound and various structures are utilised in their songs, including the typical Doo-Wop cycle or traditional Folk structure.
It took the bands debut album ‘Radiocontrolledrobot’ two years to reach Gold status and their follow up ‘A World Next Door To Yours’ achieved this in three months.
Three months later the album was certified Platinum. Testimony to just how much the band has grown over the past few years.’
A World Next Door To Yours’ remained on the South African top 20 sales chart for more than twelve months and is currently South Africa’s biggest selling rock album of this decade. The album spurned seven radio singles.
Key performances include Live Earth, Coke Fest, V Fest and World Cup Kick Off Concert
Key acknowledgements for The Parlotones include Best Rock Album 2006 at South African Music Awards. Best Music Act- People’s Choice awards 2008, Best Band – You Awards 2007, FHM Readers Choice 2007, Best Video MK Awards 2007, Best Video nomination Resfest 2007
KEY PERFORMANCES
World Cup Kick Off Concert
Live Earth
The Coca Cola Dome
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