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
The Fear
Hefner Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Inside the thought we find the urge,
Inside the love we find the heart,
But the heart is weak and so it breaks, inside we find the fear
Inside the language we find joy,
But stupidity can only annoy,
The stupid can also feel the pain,
Be strong for me when I can't be strong for you,
Be there for me but only if your true,
Though I try hard I will sometimes let you down,
I will sometimes let you down.
Don't be faithful if your hearts not truly there,
We are useless if we don't embrace the fear,
Though I try hard I will sometimes let you down,
I will sometimes let you down.
Your hair was unwashed it was greasy,
You had the dirt beneath your nails,
I could tell from your clothes you were trustworthy,
I could tell from your eyebrows, you had lots to tell
The song "The Fear" by Hefner explores the intertwined emotions of fear, tenderness, love, and pain. The lyrics suggest that inside the fear we find tenderness, inside the thought we find the urge, inside the love we find the heart, but the heart is weak and can easily break leading to fear. The language can bring joy but can also be annoying if used stupidly. The stupid can also feel pain just like everyone else. The singer explains that they have reasons for their joy but not for being lame.
The song talks about the importance of being strong for each other even when we can't be strong for ourselves. But at the same time, the singer urges their partner to be there only if they are true. The singer admits that they will sometimes let their partner down despite their best efforts. The lyrics seem to suggest that faithfulness is key in a relationship, and if one's heart is not truly there, then there is no point in being faithful.
The song ends with an interesting verse where the singer seems to visually describe a person, perhaps their partner. From their unwashed hair, dirty nails, and clothes, the singer could tell that they were trustworthy. The eyebrows also suggest that there was a lot to tell. The lyrics are open to interpretation but seem to suggest that outward appearances can be misleading, and we should look deeper to truly understand the people around us.
Line by Line Meaning
Inside the fear we find the tenderness,
Fear and tenderness coexist. Fear makes us vulnerable and tender.
Inside the thought we find the urge,
Thoughts give rise to our desires and urges.
Inside the love we find the heart,
Love is the core of human emotion and it comes from the heart.
But the heart is weak and so it breaks, inside we find the fear
The heart is fragile and susceptible to pain which ultimately leads to fear.
Inside the language we find joy,
Language is a medium to express feelings of joy and happiness.
But stupidity can only annoy,
Lack of intelligence can lead to annoyance and unpleasantness.
The stupid can also feel the pain,
Even those who lack intelligence can experience emotional pain.
I have reasons for my joy, but not for being lame
I have justifications for my happiness, but not for being foolish.
Be strong for me when I can't be strong for you,
Support me when I am not capable of supporting you.
Be there for me but only if your true,
Be present for me, but only if your intentions are genuine.
Though I try hard I will sometimes let you down,
Despite my efforts, I may disappoint you at times.
Don't be faithful if your hearts not truly there,
Do not pretend to be faithful if your heart is not invested in it.
We are useless if we don't embrace the fear,
We cannot make progress without facing our fears.
Your hair was unwashed it was greasy,
Your hair was not clean, and it had excess oil.
You had the dirt beneath your nails,
There was dirt stuck under your fingernails.
I could tell from your clothes you were trustworthy,
Your clothes suggested that you were reliable and honest.
I could tell from your eyebrows, you had lots to tell
Your eyebrows showed that you had many stories to share.
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Written by: DARREN HAYMAN
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind