Troubles (band)


Troubles were an English ambient post-rock instrumental band formed in 2005 following the demise of Hope Of The States.
The band comprised Joel Clifford, Sam Herlihy, Michael Hibbert, Simon Jones, Mike Siddell and Jon Winter.

History

The band was formed towards the end of 2005, with recording taking place from September 2005 and the band's MySpace being created on 9 November 2005. Troubles was originally a side project of Hope of the States, of which Herlihy, Hibbert, Jones and Siddell were members. Following the dissolution of Hope of the States in August 2006, Troubles continued and has become the primary project of the four former members.
Troubles were first heard in February 2006. Three tracks were uploaded to a specially created page on , a Hope of the States fansite, entitled Undertunnel/Overtunnel, Troubles Angels - Worry and Rabbits In The Trees. Dubbed the Troubles Musick Sampler, the tracks quickly began circulating amongst the Hope of the States community, despite them being removed from the website soon after first appearing due to intervention from Sony BMG. Further tracks were added occasionally to the band's MySpace page.

Tour

In October 2006 the band published a blog on their MySpace page requesting assistance and suggestions for venues for concerts to be put on in December 2006. The first date of the tour and an extension of the request for suggestions was published on DrownedInSound.com on 20 November . A three-date tour in the first week of December was announced, and dubbed the Slow Down Or Die Tour 2006. The concerts were:
The concerts revealed a much more 'post-rock' sound to the band, quite different from the more ambient soundscapes heard on the demos released beforehand. All the members of the band wear white onstage while similarly-coloured projections play behind them.
The Band's second tour started was taken in February 2007. The concerts they played were:
The band supported iLiKETRAiNS in March.
Most members of the band play guitar, occasionally reverting to keyboard or music box, while Simon Jones plays the bass and Mike Siddell the violin. In the live shows, Mike Hibbert's brother Marc has played with the band onstage. The band's first ever gig at the Manchester Star & Garter was considered successful, in spite of some technical glitches.

Discography