1998 Inspired by Aphrodite’s Child and David Axelrod, 22 year old, half-Greek man mountain Andy Dragazis aka Blue States records demos on his home studio set up in a barn on the Sussex Downs in England. Sends demos to fledgling label Memphis Industries who like them very much and get in touch.
1999 First release for both Blue States and Memphis is the “Blue States Forever” EP. Further EPs follow – Your Girl and Walkabout. Blue States find themselves in some weird downtempo twilight zone inhabited by Zero 7, Bent, Lemon Jelly and many more.
2000 Blue States release their first album Nothing Changes Under the Sun, an expansive, windswept, epic stand out tracks include Your Girl and Stereo 99. It’s critically acclaimed and starts to sell surprisingly well.
2001 Blue States are naturally asked to perform at the Big Chill Festival in Somerset, England and Andy hastily puts a band together including Sam Walker (drums), Chris Carr (guitar), Dicken White (guitar) and Karl the Jackal (bass) – Andy takes up keyboard duties. This ramshackle unit starts touring round the UK. The album is licensed to the Thievery Corporation’s record label ESL Music and gets a US release. Lady singer Ty Bulmer joins the band to add some sass and vocals.
2002 Andy begins work on second album Man Mountain with Ty plus a gaggle of other local musicians – there’s a brass section, a string quartet, congas, live drums, Theremins and more. The result is a rich, melodramatic brew and the album is licensed to XL Recordings for the world, save the US were it stays on ESL. The band head to the US to tour, with Jon Chandler joining on drums, and perform at the Winter Olympics in Salt Lake and SXSW. Season Song, one of the albums stand out tracks is used as the lead track on the movie 28 Days Later.
2003 Ty leaves Blue States to start her own band, New Young Pony Club. Andy regroups, reappraises and decides he wants to be in a proper indie rock guitar band, the downtempo tag having becoming pretty tiresome. He coalesces around Jon Chandler and Chris Carr, with Chris taking up vocal duties. The new three piece start recording next album The Soundings. Its Blue States’ best album yet with nods to My Bloody Valentine and Ride, the sound of Andy, Jon and Chris’s early tennagedom.
2004 Memphis release The Soundings and the band tour UK and the Scandinavia with label mates The Go! Team. Fractures appear in the triumvirate and the three piece splinters after a bun fight at Reading Festival.
2005 With Blue States seemingly in ashes Andy builds his own studio in a space in Whitechapel in London with the intention of producing other bands. He starts recording Memphis’ eccentric axe god Toby Jenkins a.k.a. The Squire of Somerton and his mates’ The Eighteenth Day of May debut album for Ryko Disc.
2006 Andy gets the all singing all dancing The Pipettes gig and co-produces their debut album with Gareth Parton – Andy contributes all of the string arrangements to the record – its his strings that open stand out track Pull Shapes. Inspired by his time writing and recording with The Pipettes Andy decides to give Blue States another crack but this time on his own. He also starts playing live with the Squire of Somerton’s new band, glam/prog outfit Zan Pan.
2007 Andy completes fourth Blue States’ album First Steps Into... which includes vocal samples from an old ex girlfriend’s Serena and Andy himself. It’s a monumental, prog flavoured, filmic and highly melodic monster that outstrips anything that he has done before. Memphis Industries are all set and proud to release in 2007.
Allies
Blue States Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Leaving me high
I'm watching it now
Learning to cry
These cities build up
Leaving me high
I'm watching it now
Lately
Can't believe it
To be here again
Be here again
Be here again
Be here again
Be here again
Be here again
Be here again
These cities build up
Leaving me high
I'm watching it now
Learning to cry
These cities build up
Leaving me high
(Be here again)
(Be here again)
I'm watching it now
(Be here again)
(Be here again)
Learning to cry
The lyrics to Blue States's "Allies" are deceptively simple, yet poignant in their observation of urbanization and loneliness. The singer seems to be watching as the cities around him "build up," growing taller and more crowded, while he is left "high," or alone, contemplating the changes. The repetition of the lines "These cities build up/Leaving me high" adds to the sense of isolation and powerlessness that the singer feels.
The parallel lines "I'm watching it now/Learning to cry" suggest that the singer is deeply affected by the changes he sees, whether it's the physical changes occurring in the city or the emotional changes taking place within himself. This sentiment is emphasized in the repeated refrain of "Be here again," which could be a plea to return to a simpler time, or an acknowledgment of the difficulty of accepting and adapting to change.
Overall, "Allies" is a reflective and introspective song about the ways in which our surroundings can shape and influence our emotions. It suggests that even in a crowded, bustling city, it's still possible to feel incredibly alone.
Line by Line Meaning
These cities build up
The development and growth of these urban areas is escalating rapidly
Leaving me high
I feel isolated and disconnected from the changes happening in these cities
I'm watching it now
I'm observing the metamorphosis of these cities with a sense of detachment
Learning to cry
I'm learning to understand and express my emotions, which seem to be brought on by the changes that are happening around me
Lately
Recently
Can't believe it
I am having a hard time comprehending the changes that are taking place
To be here again
To experience this situation anew, but with a sense of familiarity
Be here again
To relive the experience and emotions that come with it
These cities build up
The development and growth of these urban areas is escalating rapidly
Leaving me high
I feel isolated and disconnected from the changes happening in these cities
I'm watching it now
I'm observing the metamorphosis of these cities with a sense of detachment
Learning to cry
I'm learning to understand and express my emotions, which seem to be brought on by the changes that are happening around me
(Be here again)
To repeat the experience
(Be here again)
To relive the situation and its attendant emotions
I'm watching it now
I'm observing the metamorphosis of these cities with a sense of detachment
(Be here again)
To relive the experience and emotions that come with it
(Be here again)
To experience it anew, but with a sense of familiarity
Learning to cry
I'm learning to understand and express my emotions, which seem to be brought on by the changes that are happening around me
Contributed by Alaina A. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
MATTKBAN
Lyrics
These cities build up
Leaving me high
I'm watching it now
Learning to cry
These cities build up
Leaving me high
I'm watching it now
Learning to cry
Lately
Can't believe it
To be here again
Be here again
Be here again
Be here again
Be here again
Be here again
Be here again
These cities build up
Leaving me high
I'm watching it now
Learning to cry
These cities build up
Leaving me high
(Be here again)
(Be here again)
I'm watching it now
(Be here again)
(Be here again)
Learning to cry
Benedetto Bruno
@Hatman How odd that yesterday while I was listening to my Spotify Playlist "Allies" came up (it hadn't happend for a number of months or a year at least) and today I get a notification of your comment Deri!
But while I have you here may I ask you one question?
English isn't my native language (I am Italian) so I can't really grasp what your wife Serena Strong says, yet the lyrics available on the internet just do not convince me as they sound totally different (at least to my ears) to what Serena sings
Do you confirm, or do you not, the lyrics are...
These cities build up
Leaving me high
I'm watching it now
Learning to cry
These cities build up
Leaving me high
I'm watching it now
Learning to cry
Lately
Can't believe it
To be here again
Be here again
Be here again
Be here again
Be here again
Be here again
Be here again
These cities build up
Leaving me high
I'm watching it now
Learning to cry
These cities build up
Leaving me high
(Be here again)
(Be here again)
I'm watching it now
(Be here again)
(Be here again)
Learning to cry?
Thank you in advance.
megalopolis2015
This video seems to demonstrate how little control over our destinies we actually have. Slight variations are all it can take to alter everything. Brilliantly done.
Saloth Sâr
I've always thought this was a fascinatingly brilliant music video!
Kebolero
Una de mis canciones favoritas + uno de mis videos musicales favoritos ⭐⭐🌟⭐⭐
_K O R A L_
X2 jsjsjsjs
Matthew Stone
This track is fantastic. I've been into blue states since I got a copy of everything changes. And you are, my friend, quite simply, wonderful.
Mark Edger
Absolutely amazing song, only first heard it on the Cutting Edge adverts and have been searching for it for weeks. So pleased to have found it, have listenened to it on repeat now!
Derfonic
I love Blue states, this song has a certain charm to it. Absolutely fantastic.
polishsoup
I can't get over how amazing the video for this song is: so beautiful.
thomas pomas
one of the most beautiful song i came across in the past months...the notes are just right and melancholy, the melody is mesmerizing. wow
Autocraticus
I loved this group ever since I heard Season Song in 28 Days Later. Went with Man Mountain First, and I've been impressed with all their releases so far. Keep it up!