Pest are a band from South London, formerly signed to Ninja Tune, writing and playing music that mixes elements of funk, electronica, jazz and breakbeat. The band consists of Ben Mallott, Matt Chandler, Tom Marriott, Wayne Urquhart and Vesa Haapanen. Former band member Adrian Josey worked as DJ, co-producer, lyricist and vocalist on albums Necessary Measures,All Out Fall Out, early singles, and distribution of the band's pre-signed white labels.
History
Chandler and Marriott grew up together in Matlock, Derbyshire, England. Chandler studied music in Liverpool, and Marriott in London where Marriott met the others and the band began. After releasing their first tracks on white labels, they were signed to Ninja Tune and in 2003 they released their debut album Necessary Measures, followed by their second in 2005 – All Out Fall Out. Pest have toured extensively, headlining many UK venues such as Koko, Cargo and The 100 Club in London, The Tuesday Club in Sheffield, and many festivals across Europe including Les Transmusicales in Rennes, as well as completing a short tour of Japan in 2009, for which they independently released the limited edition EP Meanwhile Backstage.
Band members
Ben Mallott is an established exponent of techno with his live hardware-based shows, and has played such festivals and clubs as Bloc, Glade, Boomtown and Berghain. A DJ, writer and producer, he has numerous releases through labels including Bonusround, Victim, Seed, Sleep Debt and Panic Bridge. Matt Chandler’s work in recent years includes many projects with Youth for artists such as Poly Styrene and The Orb. With a background in jazz, Matt has also written and self-released albums "After Midnight" and "It Goes Like This". Tom Marriott has been a longtime member of the Bollywood Brass Band and he also plays with experimental improv band Snorkel, and has a solo techno project under the moniker ‘Fedka The Irritant’. Wayne Urquhart, a classically trained cellist, has played for Roots Manuva, Moby, David Gray, Kosheen, Mark Ronson and Jocelyn Brown among others, and is an experienced composer and dubbing mixer for TV, film and radio. Vesa Haapanen is a producer, composer, teacher and multi-instrumentalist, and has collaborated for many years with Martin Newnham and plays/produces with many artists including The Hanging Baskets, Mystery Fax Machine, Sixto "Sugar man" Rodriguez and the band Leaving Atlantis whose 2011 debut album was released through Vesa’s own label Dental Records Music.
