2… Read Full Bio ↴1. A British indie pop and "urban folk" band fronted by Darren Hayman.
2. electronic downtempo artist Lee Jones who released an album called Residue,
3. An experimental side project of Swedish indie, electronic, hip hop artist Lechy
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1. Hefner were a British indie pop and "urban folk" band fronted by Darren Hayman. They were active from about 1996 until 2002; since then they have played together only once, for a tribute to the DJ John Peel, who was a strong supporter of theirs.
Hefner began as a live band in 1995. In 1996 Darren Hayman recorded a tape for Sticky Records (named The Devotion Chamber) on which all instruments were played by Darren himself. His friend from art school, Antony Harding, assisted, providing backing vocals.
The band's first release was in April of 1997 when the 7" single "A Better Friend" was released by Boogle Wonderland. The single featured Antony on drums and John Morrison (from Rhatigan) on bass. Shortly after the release, the record label Too Pure offered a record deal to Darren, who extended the offer to Antony and John.
After a few more singles, Hefner recorded their debut album Breaking God's Heart. A lo fidelity album primarily recorded in one take, Hayman has declared that this album is the one he is least interested in listening to, due to its unrealized potential.
The Fidelity Wars would be their next record (with the recent addition of multi-instrumentalist Jack Hayter playing on some tracks, who would later join the band properly); a darker collection of songs. In the official website of the band Darren has explained that all of the songs gravitate around the concept of breaking up.
Hefner had, at this point, recorded a large number of singles and EPs. Boxing Hefner collected some of those tracks that had not appeared on the previous albums, often as new recordings. The compilation also included some unreleased material. The band stated that this album was released primarily to mark Jack's actual joining.
We Love the City marked a change in direction for the band. In contrast with previous records, which had older songs, all of the compositions on We Love the City were made for this record, which had better production value and more varied instrumentation.
Dead Media, released in 2001, continued the interest that Hefner had shown in exploring new ways. Dead Media is certainly different from previous records in the sense of its electronic weight, an interest that led Darren to eventually create The French.
After the band's final gig at the ICA in London on 10 December 2001 and the release of an EP called The Hefner Brain the following March, the band went on a seemingly permanent hiatus, save for one reformation for the "Keeping It Peel" tribute show, marking the death of one of their biggest supporters, Radio 1 DJ John Peel. In 2005 a t-shirt was released that read "Hefner, Britain’s Largest Small Band (1997-2002)", and in an interview Darren Hayman said "no, no reunion planned".
In 2005, after a legal dispute between Darren Hayman and Too Pure, the rights to all the band's Too Pure recordings have reverted to Darren. As a result, he has released The Best of Hefner 1996-2002 (on Fortune & Glory) and Catfight (Cargo), a 2 CD collection of 43 unreleased songs, both in 2006. The full recording of Hefner's special live Peel Session performance from 23rd August 2000 in the eight piece We Love the City formation (amelia fletcher and a horn section - part of which appeared as a limited bonus disc with some copies of the CD of We Love the City) has been released under the title of Maida Vale in November 2006. All of the band's albums have also been reissued with bonus tracks.
In 2008 Darren and Jack got together and played Hefner songs on a limited number of venues around Europe. This project is not planned to continue further after September 2008 though.
Darren Hayman tours and releases music as a solo artist - sometimes as Darren Hayman and the Secondary Modern, but he has been involved in several solo projects: The French, the Stereo Morphonium and Hayman, Watkins, Trout and Lee.
Antony Harding's solo project is known as Ant
Jack Hayter releases solo stuff as well.
www.hefnet.com
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2. The other is Lee Jones who released an album called Residue, a number of 12"s and remixes on Inertia Records.
Residue sold 85,000 albums independently through Inertia Records. Lee Jones, in response, took the project on the road around Europe, playing throughout Holland, Germany, Italy and France. Also appearing on national TV in both Germany and Holland. The album was voted number 3 in the BBC Radio 1 urban albums poll.
Then all went quiet. He worked on Josee's solo album, Lost Souls Dancing, and moved to Berlin.
At this time in order to satisfy demand Inertia released a compilation of his best remixes called "Reworks" featuring his versions of tunes by Lamb, 4 Hero, Omar faruk Takbilek and others and took time off to produce some other artists.
In 2003 Inertia hooked Hefner up with Frazey Ford, lead singer of The Be Good Tanyas, a fantastic rootsy, folky band from Vancouver. The resulting material was magical but due to recording commitments to EMI the project had to be stalled until the Be Good Tanyas album was finally released. As of the end of 2006 the project has been revitalised with the partnership working together again. An album is due at the end of 2007.
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3. Dr. Hefner, the Prince of Holmiapolis
Smoke
Hefner Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
He was very much his father's son
He could not believe she was contemplating kissing him
But she was
She pretended she was asleep
So he pretended he was asleep
And her head lolled
She asked him for a smoke
And he gave it to her
He said, "Would you be more comfortable
upstairs?"
Things she'd forgotten feeling
She was feeling them again
So she said, yes, she would like to go
upstairs.
So, clutching hands,
they ascended up
The stairs.
He took off her dungarees
But soon that boy was on his knees
And he planted many kisses upon
Her big white hips
Starting to show her his scars
His awkwardness was making her laugh
And fleetingly,
She thought about her last true home.
She asked him for a smoke
And he gave it to her
And he said, "Honey, babe,
Let's stay awake
till dawn."
And all the awful feelings
she wasn't feeling anymore
so she said, "Bless you, dear
I'm staying here,
till dawn."
So they stayed awake
And kissed a lot
Till dawn.
The song "Smoke" by Hefner tells a story of two people who share a moment of intimacy. The lyrics suggest that the two people come from different backgrounds - she was such a good granddaughter, while he was very much his father's son. They seem to have an awkward attraction to each other, with the girl contemplating kissing the boy, and he, in turn, taking off her dungarees but feeling awkward about showing his scars.
The girl asks for a smoke, and he obliges before suggesting that they go upstairs. They ascend the stairs holding hands, and he kisses her big white hips. The girl seems to be enjoying the moment, and her awkwardness turns into laughter as she observes the boy's scars. The boy then asks her to stay up until dawn, and she agrees, saying that she wasn't feeling terrible feelings anymore. They stay awake, kiss a lot, and watch the dawn break.
The song appears to be about a brief moment of connection between two people who are still figuring out their feelings for each other. The lyrics convey a sense of intimacy and awkwardness between the two characters, and the references to smoking and kissing suggest a sensuousness to the moment. At the same time, the lyrics imply that this moment is fleeting and that the two individuals might not pursue their attraction any further.
Facts about the song "Smoke" by Hefner:
1) Hefner is a British indie rock band formed in 1995.
2) The song "Smoke" was released in 2001 as part of the album "Dead Media."
3) The song was written by Darren Hayman, the lead singer and songwriter for Hefner.
4) Hefner's music is known for its lo-fi sound and its lyrics, which often deal with love, sex, and relationships.
5) The song "Smoke" was one of Hefner's most popular tracks, and it received critical acclaim upon its release.
6) The band disbanded in 2002, but many of their songs continue to be popular among indie music fans.
7) The lyrics of "Smoke" have been interpreted in various ways, with some listeners perceiving them as a commentary on the ephemeral nature of human connections.
8) Hefner has been cited as an influence by many contemporary indie bands, including Los Campesinos!, The Decemberists, and The Mountain Goats.
9) The band's name is taken from Hugh Hefner, the founder of Playboy magazine.
10) The chords for "Smoke" are Am, F, C, G in a repeating pattern throughout the song.
Line by Line Meaning
She was such a good granddaughter
She had a good relationship with her grandfather.
He was very much his father's son
He resembled his father in many ways.
He could not believe she was contemplating kissing him
He was surprised that she was considering kissing him.
But she was
But she still wanted to kiss him anyway.
She pretended she was asleep
She pretended to be asleep.
So he pretended he was asleep
He pretended to be asleep too.
And her head lolled
Her head fell to the side.
Until finally it rested on his shoulder
Finally her head rested on his shoulder.
She asked him for a smoke
She asked for a cigarette.
And he gave it to her
He gave her a cigarette.
He said, "Would you be more comfortable
upstairs?"
He suggested they go upstairs.
Things she'd forgotten feeling
She started to feel things she had forgotten.
She was feeling them again
She was experiencing those forgotten feelings once more.
So she said, yes, she would like to go
upstairs.
She agreed to go upstairs with him.
So, clutching hands,
they ascended up
The stairs.
They climbed the stairs holding hands.
He took off her dungarees
He removed her dungarees.
But soon that boy was on his knees
He was on his knees before her shortly after.
And he planted many kisses upon
Her big white hips
He kissed her hips multiple times.
Starting to show her his scars
He began to show her his scars.
His awkwardness was making her laugh
Her awkwardness made her laugh.
And fleetingly,
She thought about her last true home.
She briefly thought about her past home.
She asked him for a smoke
She asked for another cigarette.
And he gave it to her
He gave her another cigarette.
And he said, "Honey, babe,
Let's stay awake
till dawn."
He suggested they stay awake until dawn.
And all the awful feelings
she wasn't feeling anymore
She no longer felt the negative emotions she had been feeling.
so she said, "Bless you, dear
I'm staying here,
till dawn."
She agreed to stay with him until dawn.
So they stayed awake
They both stayed awake.
And kissed a lot
They kissed each other frequently.
Till dawn.
Until the sun came up.
Contributed by Victoria B. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Patrick Jesek
Roasting some Durban Dream and came across this song. Could definitely slide to this.
Dennym Ivory
🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥
Nisha Odom
O yea this 🔥 💨
Kcutta225
🔥🔥🔥
Big 6 chief
🔥🔥
Cherquelle Anthony
I ain’t got no chill tellem chill🔥🔥❤️
J W
O’HEF 🔥🔥🔥
Big 6 chief
Lately we been going ape with the drillz
Hound
BIG OLE PRESSURE
Lance Hunter
🤴🏽✌🏽🤟🏽👌🏽