Hello! and welcome! from The Winston Giles Orchestra.
Check out the tracks above taken from the two albums released thus far, "Soundtracks for Sunrise" and "A Magnificent beautiful Day".
ABOUT THE WINSTON GILES ORCHESTRA:
Since the release of the debut album “Soundtracks for Sunrise” in December of 2004, Australia’s The Winston Giles Orchestra have been presenting a new and unique sound that has permeated through to fans of all styles of music and garnered a legion of fans around the world.
Warm and emotive, quirky and uplifting, yet at times dark and brooding - The WGO’s sound has created a new beginning for those who enjoy real music - with more than a twist !
Ambient? Lounge? Chill-out? Downtempo? Psy-Trance? Electronic? Psychadelic? Rock?
The sound of The Winston Giles Orchestra illuminates all these styles with its electronic approach and the use of fresh beats and samples, but also creates something very real and genuine by featuring real instrumentation from melodic guitars and synths to brass and woodwind.
The orchestra sound is filled with many different sounds and varying moods. Whilst the presence of beats and the influences of dance music lays a modern bed to the sound, familiar licks of rock and guitar based bands such as Pink Floyd and even Led Zeppelin present themselves, but are not obvious, rather woven into the modern electronic canvas.
Winston Giles has a background in both rock and dance, and spent 8 years fronting an art/punk band called Floor 13 that began in Melbourne Australia and would keep him busy in America for six years.
After returning to Australia, Winston’s lust for fresh sounds saw him involve himself in the local emerging dance music scene, working with many local D.J’s and producers and culminating in a project called - Atari Baby - releasing several albums and many remixes and videos under the moniker .
In early 2004 Winston met local producer C.j. Dolan, who was behind techno outfit - Quench. Winston had been writing new material in search of a new sound and at the beginning of winter 2004, the pair began recording and mixing the debut album – “Soundtracks for Sunrise”. After four months in the studio the result was an album that continues to grow around the world.
The album was first released in Australia in December 2004 and immediately graced the local airwaves becoming album of the week on key Australian radio stations including RRR, PBS, RTR and FBI, with specials on key national radio stations ABC radio National and TRIPLE J.
Whilst eclectic and unpredictable, the warm, dreamy and emotive feel to the album was perfect for the late night retreats of clubbers and ravers thirsty for a different sound.
Tracks such as "We Wait For Sunrise", "Welcome to the hotel" and "Golden", express a heartfelt warmth, whilst the Spanish/ Bullfight dance floor influenced "The Banished Matadors" and the quirky "A Little Song", take you to very different worlds.
The press were delighted with the album and it received incredible four and five star reviews. Comments from the press were very apt, such as:
"a joyful, epic voyage": : UK PLANNER
"It’s lounge with a touch of magic and plenty of cerebral stimulation" : BMA.
"a souffle-light, honey-dipped electronic delight" : SHOUT MAGAZINE.
"pure commuter Zen" : SKOPE MAGAZINE.
"Like Pink Floyd at their most menacing" : THE SCENE
In late 2005 Giles and Dolan returned to the studio and completed the second album – with an idea to complete a series of four albums that followed the theme of a perfect imaginary day. “A Magnificent beautiful day” was released in November 2005, and received equal, if not more attention than the first album.
"There’s simply too much musical wonderment to be discovered!" : DANCE ONLINE.
"the record Air should have made to follow up “Moon Safari” : GOD IS IN THE TV
The second album features eleven songs written by Giles, with bouncy grooves and beats, smooth gentle guitars and sexy horns. It provides a magical escape and highlights further the imaginative mix of different themes that make the Winston Giles Orchestra albums truly unique.
From the Spaghetti Western/Lost Highway influences on the track "Theme from Burning Winchesters", to the dark and raunchy "Secrets to Love", and the heartfelt vocal driven single – "All for You", there is equally as much “cerebral stimulation” on the second album as with the debut, yet tracks like "Going Up in a Rocket" and "Not a cloud in the sky", cruise with a vibrancy and pace more suited for the brilliant days of summer as opposed to the early hours of the morning that the first album Soundtrack for Sunrise gels with.
Concerts by The Winston Giles Orchestra are equally as intriguing as the music. Live the band can consist of up to seven or eight members with strings, harps and horn sections, or can be stripped back to just Winston Giles on guitars and vocals, and Dorian West on Horns/Keyboards/Beats. Concerts also feature theatrical surprises and amazing performers making up the colorful shows such as dancers and acrobats.
The band became regulars at Australian clubs and particularly festivals including KISS MY GRASS at the music bowl in Melbourne, Maitreya festival, the playground weekender and the Earthdance festival. The WGO also performed two special performances in Melbourne’s Federation Square.
Internationally the Orchestra began to take off towards the end of 2005. Both albums received huge attention from overseas radio and awesome reviews from international press. English influential dj’s Chris Coco and Rob Da Bank picked up on the albums and eventually the BBC radio 1 would embrace the albums, with more UK and European stations following. In the USA pivotal college radio station KCRW also delighted in the album and this began a domino effect across US college radio stations. This prompted the band to embark on their first extensive overseas tour, performing at festivals and clubs across the UK and The USA. Whilst on tour the band filmed two music videos. “A little song” was filmed in London on the grounds at Windsor Castle during a polo game and features the Queen’s royal guard band ! Than,whilst in the USA, Winston filmed the video to “welcome to the hotel” at the famous Chelsea Hotel in New York City. This legendary location provided for an amazing video.
The Winston Giles Orchestra is a unique and very special musical experience that continues to win over fans globally. The music has been synced to big brands such as Nokia and placed in many commercials and loads of independent films. Whilst Winston Giles has been busy exploring other projects (the 2008 release “LOVERS” www.winstongiles.com) and C.J Dolan and Dorian West are also busy with other projects, there are rumors a fly that the band will be performing at some of Australia’s festivals again in the 2009/2010 summer. There is also talk of the third album, which has partly been completed and called “From Dusk to Decadence” to be released early 2010 also.
Check out below two videos. The videos are for the tracks "welcome to the hotel" that was filmed at the famous "Chelsea Hotel" in New York City and "a little song" filmed in London. Also below is some live footage taken from shows in Byron Bay Australia.
For downloads, cd's, merchandise, and more information on the band checkout: www.winstongilesorchestra.com
You can email us at info@playupmusic.com.
Cheers and thanks for stopping by.
The Winston Giles Orchestra
September 2009
Get Your Own! | View Slideshow
THE VIDEO BELOW IS FOR THE TRACK "WELCOME TO THE HOTEL". IT WAS FILMED IN THE CHELSEA HOTEL IN NEW YORK CITY ON THE RECENT TOUR OF THE USA !!!
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LIVE FOOTAGE BELOW FROM BYRON BAY - AUSTRALIA - JANUARY 2006
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THE VIDEO BELOW IS TO " A LITTLE SONG" AND WAS FILMED WHILST ON TOUR IN THE UK LAST YEAR !
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