They are composed of Brian Cash and brothers Tim and Elis Czerniak, with additional live members. Halves were formed when Dave, Brian and Tim sat down together and listed bands & composers they admired. The band have released two EPs; the self-titled Halves[2] and 2008's seven-track Haunt Me When I'm Drowsy.[3] These were followed by a single - Blood Branches in March 2009 on a split 7" with fellow Dublin band Subplots.
In 2010 their debut album It Goes, It Goes (Forever & Ever) was released to critical acclaim. The album was released in the UK and mainland Europe on the 4th of July 2011. Recorded in the legendary Hotel2Tango studios in Montreal (housed in a former alarm factory beside a freight railroad) and tracked over two sunny weeks in August 2009, It Goes, It Goes (Forever & Ever) was created with the use of the studio’s vast collection of antique instruments, amps, organs, effects (most of which date from the 1930s). Eleven songs were recorded live, in one large room on 2″ reel-to-reel tape by Efrim Menuck (Godspeed You! Black Emperor), Howard Bilerman, and Radwan Moumneh. Guest performers on the record include: Amy Millan (Stars/Broken Social Scene), Katie Kim, Phil Boughton (Subplots), Canadian harpist Elaine Kelly-Canning (Carnival Moon), Irish Chamber brass and string players and twenty-seven members of the Kilkenny Ladie's choir. The It Goes, It Goes (Forever & Ever) was shortlisted for the Choice Music Prize for Irish Album of the Year 2010.
Live
Halves have played Oxegen 2008[4] and Electric Picnic 2008[5] as well as Hard Working Class Heroes,[6] IMRO Showcase Tour[7] and the London Calling showcase in London, England. In 2009 Halves made their debut TV performance, topping the viewers choice poll on RTE's 'Other Voices' series. They have supported British Sea Power, 65daysofstatic, Low, Amiina, This Will Destroy You, The Middle East & Mercury Rev.[8] Their 2008 appearance at Eurosonic Festival in Holland was their first outside Ireland and they have since travelled twice to Toronto to play at Canadian Music Week and Texas for SXSW. Other festival outings include Kilkenny Arts Festival Kilkenny in 2010 and The Great Escape Brighton, England in 2011[9]
The band are known for switching between a wide range of instruments while performing - including Electric Guitars, dulcimer, Drum Kit, Piano, vocoder, Synth, laptop, Accordion, Clarinet, Flugelhorn, Trombone and various effects. Stunning pre-programmed and live visuals can be seen at their live shows performed by the group Slipdraft, whose members are Sam Boles, Daniel Staines and Cormac Murray. The band's live sound engineer is Ciaran Mangan who also recorded their live album.
In April 2012 the band released a live album ('Live At The Unitarian Church') to celebrate Record Store Day 2012 [10] . The band are currently working on their 2nd album due 2013.
At the beginning of 2011, brothers Donal and Colum Mangan combined their collective talents to produce a stunning video for the song, 'Darling, You'll Meet Your Maker' from the album. The video combines the fields of model making, stop motion animation and computer animation. It depicts a small mouse's efforts to survive following the loss of his partner and his eventual survival and revenge against the perpetrator. The video can be seen at the following link ::
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RqxXtuHEzm4
In 2010 their debut album It Goes, It Goes (Forever & Ever) was released to critical acclaim. The album was released in the UK and mainland Europe on the 4th of July 2011. Recorded in the legendary Hotel2Tango studios in Montreal (housed in a former alarm factory beside a freight railroad) and tracked over two sunny weeks in August 2009, It Goes, It Goes (Forever & Ever) was created with the use of the studio’s vast collection of antique instruments, amps, organs, effects (most of which date from the 1930s). Eleven songs were recorded live, in one large room on 2″ reel-to-reel tape by Efrim Menuck (Godspeed You! Black Emperor), Howard Bilerman, and Radwan Moumneh. Guest performers on the record include: Amy Millan (Stars/Broken Social Scene), Katie Kim, Phil Boughton (Subplots), Canadian harpist Elaine Kelly-Canning (Carnival Moon), Irish Chamber brass and string players and twenty-seven members of the Kilkenny Ladie's choir. The It Goes, It Goes (Forever & Ever) was shortlisted for the Choice Music Prize for Irish Album of the Year 2010.
Live
Halves have played Oxegen 2008[4] and Electric Picnic 2008[5] as well as Hard Working Class Heroes,[6] IMRO Showcase Tour[7] and the London Calling showcase in London, England. In 2009 Halves made their debut TV performance, topping the viewers choice poll on RTE's 'Other Voices' series. They have supported British Sea Power, 65daysofstatic, Low, Amiina, This Will Destroy You, The Middle East & Mercury Rev.[8] Their 2008 appearance at Eurosonic Festival in Holland was their first outside Ireland and they have since travelled twice to Toronto to play at Canadian Music Week and Texas for SXSW. Other festival outings include Kilkenny Arts Festival Kilkenny in 2010 and The Great Escape Brighton, England in 2011[9]
The band are known for switching between a wide range of instruments while performing - including Electric Guitars, dulcimer, Drum Kit, Piano, vocoder, Synth, laptop, Accordion, Clarinet, Flugelhorn, Trombone and various effects. Stunning pre-programmed and live visuals can be seen at their live shows performed by the group Slipdraft, whose members are Sam Boles, Daniel Staines and Cormac Murray. The band's live sound engineer is Ciaran Mangan who also recorded their live album.
In April 2012 the band released a live album ('Live At The Unitarian Church') to celebrate Record Store Day 2012 [10] . The band are currently working on their 2nd album due 2013.
At the beginning of 2011, brothers Donal and Colum Mangan combined their collective talents to produce a stunning video for the song, 'Darling, You'll Meet Your Maker' from the album. The video combines the fields of model making, stop motion animation and computer animation. It depicts a small mouse's efforts to survive following the loss of his partner and his eventual survival and revenge against the perpetrator. The video can be seen at the following link ::
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RqxXtuHEzm4
Electronic Ambient Instrumental Post-rock Shoegaze