The Horde and the Harem

The Horde and the Harem is an indie-folk band from Seattle, Washington, USA. The group went through several lineup changes after its formation in 2009 and rose to local prominence in 2010 following notable performances at the Northwest Folklife music festival and the Capitol Hill Block Party. Their music is characterized by "four-part vocal harmonies" and "melodic guitar leads with major-chord piano progressions".
History
The Horde and the Harem was formed in early 2009 as a collective of experienced musicians from several lesser-known independent west-coast bands, including Ryan Barber (formerly of the Seattle group The Toy Soldiers) and Noble Monyei (formerly of the San Francisco group ItsaWhale), as well as Matt Badger (of the Seattle group Ravenna Woods), Lisa Dank (of Lisa Dank) and Thoran Dickey. The group self-released its debut EP Rodent Clatter in 2009 and began performing in the Seattle area shortly thereafter.
Artistic differences led to early lineup changes in the band, and the group was joined in 2010 by pianist/vocalist Aura Barr, bass guitarist/vocalist Geoff Kirkby Tatro and drummer Jack Chandelier. With this revised line-up the group started to perform more both locally and regionally, including at the Seattle summer festivals of Northwest Folklife and the Capitol Hill Block Party.
In August 2010, the group released its second EP, Harvest, and embarked on a west-coast tour in support of it. The Harvest EP was quickly put into rotation on radio station 90.3 KEXP-FM among others. More notable festival performances followed in 2011, including the Bumbershoot festival in Seattle.
The band's first full length album, A Long Midwinter, was released in 2012. The Deli Magazine said about the album, "A Long Midwinter lives up to the exact opposite of its name. A compilation of heartfelt melodies and whimsical harmonies, the album is cheerful and lighthearted enough to cure seasonal defective disorder." The band toured even more regionally and along the west-coast in support of their full-length album and played many of the notable Northwest festivals again as well as SXSW showcases. The group was joined by pianist/vocalist Hanna Stevens in April 2012.
Early 2013 brought about hardships within the band with both the intensive vocal cord nodule surgery of lead-singer Ryan Barber and the parting of ways with guitarist Noble Monyei and drummer Jack Chandelier. The remaining band members stood strong behind Barber and they recruited North Dakota native Justin Ellenson on drums/percussion and Sam Eliot on guitar/vocals to complete the new lineup. With the new members intact, the band went straight to work on new material. A home studio was constructed in the current rehearsal space and both Sam Eliot and Ryan Barber took on the roles of engineers/producers for the tracks that would become their next EP. The band has been said to have taken a step out of the poppy-folky sounds and into a more experimental, indie rock direction with psychedelic elements with this new direction.
The Fairweather Friends EP is set to be released April 12, 2014. First single 'Robbery' was released February 24, 2014 and has received favorable reviews from sites such as The Drainage and Under The Gun Review.
Discography
* Rodent Clatter EP (2009)
* Harvest EP (2010)
* Light Rail Sessions EP (2011)
* A Long Midwinter (2012)

Main Menu

See Also

Main Menu