by Alex Fletcher

Bio

• Hard-Fi are a successful Alternative rock band from Staines, London. They are more closely associated with the genre ‘indie rock’, a sub genre of alternative rock. Their unique sound mostly derives from Richard Archer’s accent, being from Staines, London, means Archer has a strong Cockney accent. But this is recognised as an advantage for Hard- Fi as its what separates them from other English Indie rock bands.

• The band formed in 2003 and reached commercial success following the release of their first album ‘Stars of CCTV’ in 2005. The band supported bands, such as Green Day in 2005, this helped build their fame. Their ‘Stars of CCTV’ album reached number 1 in the Uk chart on January 22nd 2006.

Band Members

• Richard Archer: Lead singer and guitarist.

• Ross Phillips: Lead Guitarist and backing vocals

• Steve Kemp: Backing vocals and Drums

• Kai Stephens: Backing vocals and Bass Guitar

Record History Title

Release Date

LabelUk Chart

noCertification

Stars of CCTV 04/07/12 Necessary/

Atlantic 1 UK:2x platinum

Once upon a time in the

west03/09/12 Necessary/

Atlantic 1 UK: Gold

Killer Sounds 19/08/12 Necessary/

Atlantic 9 -

Their name

• Hard-Fi’s name derived from a distinguished sound produced by the famous dub artist Lee “Scratch” Perry at his Black Ark recording studio. As the band were such big fans of Perry’s work and so decided to name themselves after the famous sound.

Music Style • Hard-Fi tried to develop a style of music that could

closely connect to their lyrics, which closely related to their lives. They aspired to be different to other bands and so related their lyrics to their working class lifestyle they all grew up in, in Staines, such as the song ‘Living for the weekend’. Which talks about working all week and having the weekend off. The bands style is described to be a mix of indie and post-punk. However the album ‘Stars on CCTV’ focuses heavily on loud, raw guitars; where as their second album ‘Once Upon a Time in the West’ contains more orchestration. Archer has said that the bands main influences are Soul and Dance music.

Here is a video

Media • ‘Stars of CCTV’ received promising reviews

from NME magazine giving the album a 9/10 rating and saying ‘Tearing down the aisles of punk heritage, they snatch and grab with well-cased precision’.

• Hard-Fi’s weekly podcast ‘Hard-Fi:Rockin’ the City’ received critical acclaim as it was nominated for “Best Podcast” at the Digital Music Awards in 2007.

Media photo shoot?

Attitude• Hard-Fi proud themselves on focusing their lyrics

on the working class lifestyle. This is shown in the video below, which depicts 3 working class people and their relations with girls. In their videos the band acts with a care free attitude, loosely holding onto their instruments and and not smiling. All is portrayed in this Music Video:

• Hard-FI played at secret, sold out locations in July 2007, this suggests their Attitude toward fame. The band aren’t to concerned about fame and just wish to perform for their fans.