ABOUT SPARKADIA

Sparkadia formed in Sydney in 2004 and were originally known as 'The Spark'. The brainchild of Alexander Burnett (vocals, guitar) and Dave Hall (drums), the band became a reality with the addition of Nick Rabone (bass) and Josephine Ayling (keyboards, guitar, vocals) in 2006.

They first came into prominence in Australia with their debut EP titled "Things Behind The Sun". The EP was released by Australian indie label, Boundary Sounds on 20 February 2007; with the lead single "Morning Light" being the No. 1 most downloaded track off Australian national broadcasters Triple J's website with 32,000 downloads in a month. This was followed by extensive Australian touring and led to signing with UK indie label, Ark Recordings.

With a line-up change in 2008 with Tiffany Preece replacing Ayling, Sparkadia released their debut studio album, "Postcards", on 31 May 2008, peaking at No. 23 on the ARIA Albums Chart. The album was recorded with producer Ben Hillier (Blur, Depeche Mode, Doves, Elbow) over two weeks at 'The Pool' in Miloco Studios, South London.

The debut single off the album "Animals" was The Guardian's single of the week and received rotation on BBC Radio One. This was followed by the release of the singles "Too Much to Do", "Jealousy" and a re-release of "Morning Light".

Subsequent single "Too Much To Do" was B listed by Radio Two, played by everyone from Colin Murray to Terry Wogan, and earned accolades from Mojo, Q4 Music and The Guardian. All four singles received significant airplay on Australian radio station Triple J and their sleeper hit, "Jealousy", was ranked 79th in the Triple J Hottest 100 of 2008.

Their cover of "This Boy's in Love" by The Presets for Triple J's 'Like a Version Volume 5' of 2009 and subsequently appeared in their 'Best of' anthology released in 2013.

After taking some time out, Preece, Hall and Rabone left the group for various personal reasons and Burnett subsequently relocated to London. Over there he met a kindred spirit in Mark Tieku and begin work on the second record that would become The Great Impression.

Released on 31 March 2011, The Great Impression peaked at No. 8 on the ARIA Albums Chart. The lead single "Talking Like I'm Falling Down Stairs" went on to be ranked 24th in the Triple J Hottest 100 of 2010. Subsequent singles, "China" and "Mary" also went on earn the 56th and 47th place in the Triple J Hottest 100 of 2011.

Following the The Great Impression and Mary tours of 2011, Burnett joined the Nick Cave "Straight To You" concert series organised by Triple J. He performed on many of the songs on the tour including his own rendition of the Boys Next Door's, "Shivers" and the duet, "Where the Wild Roses Grow" with Lanie Lane. The subsequent live recording/DVD went onto win an ARIA in the 2012 awards.

In late 2012, 'Space & Time', off their debut record was featured on the Sears campaign, Connecting Flights.

Burnett is currently working on the third Sparkadia album.

CURRENT MEMBERS

Alexander Burnett - Lead vocals, guitar, keyboards

TOURING BAND

Edwin "Eddie" Montgomery – Keyboards, backing vocals

Henry Eastham – Lead guitar, backing vocals

Dave Hall – Drums

Bluey May – Bass, chimes, backing vocals

DEPARTED MEMBERS

In 2008, Ayling moved overseas and was replaced with Tiffany Preece. Ayling is now based in Madrid, Spain, and performs in the three-piece band, Boat Beam. Following the national 2009 Big Day Out tour, it was announced that Preece was leaving the band to have a baby. In April 2009, Hall left the band to pursue other interests, followed by Rabone, who left to concentrate on his work with the Brutal Poodles; Rabone continues to play live for some Australian shows.

TOURING

The band has toured across Australia, UK and Europe several times over the past decade with pockets of fan bases in Britain and Germany outside of the native Australia. Over the years the band has performed with many diverse artists such as:

In 2007, Sparkadia supported Elbow on their tour of Australia following the release of their EP Things Behind the Sun. This was followed by a tour of the UK that included supporting Irish band The Thrills, whom they were to support again the following year on their Australian tour.

In 2008 after returning to Australia for Pyramid Rock Festival over NYE, Sparkadia traveled back overseas to tour with Jimmy Eat World around Europe. This was followed by shows with Vampire Weekend, as well as their own headline shows across the UK and Europe.

Festivals appearances at that time include Glastonbury, T in the Park, V Festival and Oxegen Festival. Returning to Australia, Sparkadia supported Faker on their Are You Magnetic? tour across Australia, before heading out on their own headline tour.

In 2009, Sparkadia toured Australia as part of the Big Day Out, before embarking on a string of sold out shows across Australia before amicably parting ways as a four piece.

After travelling around the US and Europe, Alexander Burnett finished working on the second album in London with Mark Tieku (Florence and the Machine); playing multiple instruments on the recording. The album came out in out early 2011, with the first single off the album "Talking Like I'm Falling Down Stairs" released in September 2010, coinciding with Little Red's Midnight Remember tour, to which Sparkadia opened for.

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