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
We Love the City
Hefner Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
You are my Girlfriend, not Molly Ringwald, so why won't you stay here tonight,
This is sixth form poetry not Keats or Yeats, and now we find the part that we both hate.
We love the city because it lets us down, We love the city not the suburbs that surround.
We love all the dirty things, that lead us to think, that maybe true love could be found.
We love the city because its how we live, We love the city cause it never loves us back.
We love it all because sometimes, even though they're hard to find,
I am intrigued, not merely curious as to why it takes so long to change your mind.
I am competent, not merely adequate, its impossible for me to be unkind.
This is embarrassing, not merely awkward and I have ignored much greater feelings
We can hold those aspirations down with bad luck and half hearted frowns,
But fear alone will never bring us down, that can only happen in the small towns,
And if you don't love me now, if you don't love me now, if you don't love me,
Then you can't have me, you can't have me now.
The lyrics of Hefner's song We Love the City are a commentary on the harsh realities of modern urban living. The singer observes the frustrating limitations of city life, such as the fact that public transportation shuts down at night, and the transient nature of relationships that prevent real intimacy. He also recognizes that poetry has become a banal, watered-down expression of emotion, devoid of the power of Keats or Yeats.
Despite these disappointments, however, the singer and his peers still profess their love for the city. They appreciate the grittiness and rawness of urban existence, and the way it exposes their vulnerabilities and shortcomings. They find comfort in the idea that in the city, they are not alone in their struggles.
Overall, the song expresses both admiration and frustration with the city, highlighting the fact that living there is a double-edged sword, full of highs and lows, successes and failures.
Line by Line Meaning
This is London, not Antarctica, so why don't the tubes run all night,
London is a bustling city with no shortage of life, so there is no reason why public transportation shouldn't be available 24/7.
You are my Girlfriend, not Molly Ringwald, so why won't you stay here tonight,
You are the woman I want to be with, not a fictional character from a movie, so why won't you spend the night with me?
This is sixth form poetry not Keats or Yeats, and now we find the part that we both hate.
This is amateurish poetry, not the work of renowned poets like Keats or Yeats, and now we arrive at the part of the poem that even we dislike.
We love the city because it lets us down, We love the city not the suburbs that surround.
We have an attachment to the city, even though it disappoints us at times. We do not share the same fondness for the boring suburbs that surround it.
We love all the dirty things, that lead us to think, that maybe true love could be found.
We appreciate the gritty and unsavory aspects of the city, as they give us hope that true love and authenticity can be found amidst the chaos.
We love the city because its how we live, We love the city cause it never loves us back.
Our love for the city stems from the fact that it is where we reside and our way of life. However, the city itself does not reciprocate our feelings.
We love it all because sometimes, even though they're hard to find, It contains all the virtues we lack.
The city possesses virtues that we as individuals may lack, and that is why we are drawn to it even though these virtues may be difficult to locate.
I am intrigued, not merely curious as to why it takes so long to change your mind.
I am not simply curious, but rather deeply intrigued as to why you take so long to make a decision and change your mind.
I am competent, not merely adequate, it's impossible for me to be unkind.
I possess more than just basic skills and abilities, I am truly competent. Being unkind would go against my nature and is therefore impossible for me.
This is embarrassing, not merely awkward and I have ignored much greater feelings
This situation is extremely uncomfortable and embarrassing for me, not just a little bit awkward. I have also disregarded much more profound emotions.
We can hold those aspirations down with bad luck and half hearted frowns, But fear alone will never bring us down, that can only happen in the small towns,
We can suppress our ambitions with misfortune and lackluster expressions, but fear alone will not crush them. That can only happen in small towns where opportunities are scarce.
And if you don't love me now, if you don't love me now, if you don't love me, Then you can't have me, you can't have me now.
If you do not love me presently, then you cannot have me. My love is not something that can be turned off and on at will.
Lyrics © OBO APRA/AMCOS
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