Arab Strap Biography

The Arab Strap tale is long and complicated, stark and honest, debauched and heart warming. The records themselves tell most of the stories - honest tales of the truth about love, love gong wrong, life confessions, lost weekends and other revelations from the bottom of a glass - Arab Strap tell the tales as they live them. The style is often pondering and musing, but engaging, and has enabled Arab Strap to craft some of the most stark yet poignant and observant music of the past 10 years.

The Arab Strap tale begins in Falkirk in the early 90s, a "shit town lying in the barren land twixt Edinburgh and Glasgow" as the band describe it, but anyone who's been knows it to be much worse, even with the Wheel. Two men - Aidan Moffat and Malcolm Middleton - scratching around in various bands (Aidan, most notably as the drummer in Bay), enjoying the delights of Falkirk - a town portrayed as being lifeless and dull (despite having a bowling alley and Laser Quest) and inhabited by alcoholics and drug takers, who indulge in fighting and casual sex for hobbies. Such disregard for one's homeland is never good and it was no surprise that the town disowned the band, even though both were born there, attended Falkirk High School and, for all their sins, support the local football team. However, as they say every silver lining has a cloud.

It's in this unlikely place, the doldrums of life, that Arab Strap was born. United by a love of the music coming out of Chicago's Drag City label - home to Smog and Palace Brothers amongst others - and a taste for living in the fast lane Malcolm and Aidan decided to make music together. Aidan, having counteracted the boredom of Falkirk by spending many an afternoon leafing through stolen porn magazines, had an amusement for a gent's sex aid, called an Arab Strap. For amusement purposes more than symbolism the band was christened and Aidan and Malcolm began their adventure as Arab Strap.

A demo was made and sent to two companies - Domino, the UK licensee for the Drag City music that both were so passionate about, and Chemikal Underground, who were having success at the time with Bis and, of course, the Delgados.

After signing with Chemikal Underground Arab Strap's first release was in September 1996 with 'The First Big Weekend' - a tale of debauched antics over the weekend that Scotland get beaten by England during Euro '96. Said weekend saw them miss the match - the song itself says "we had intended to watch the football in the afternoon but we'd passed out by then and slept right through it, awaking to find that England had won two-nil" - but Aidan was introduced to Merrydown, so all was not lost. Spoken in a distinct Scottish brogue, the song was an upbeat anthem for those who liked a drink, a dance and a pill or two and saw Radio 1's Steve Lamacq describe the song as "one of the finest singles of the last decade", John Peel place it at number 2 in his 1996 "Festive Fifty" and Guiness use it in an advert to promote it's black stout, despite the fact that neither Malcolm or Aidan like the stuff.

The success of 'The First Big Weekend' led to an album being recorded, which was duly released on November 26th 1996. Titled 'The Week Never Starts Round Here', the album was a bleak and dark affair focussing on the pain and turmoil of a failed relationship, rubbish jobs with worse wages and a love for Kate Moss - all set to the most brooding music. The melancholy and sadness of the music, coupled with their sometimes majestic, sometimes ramshackle live shows led to more than one comparison with Joy Division.

Subsequent singles from the album followed, but it failed to make its mark commercially, despite excellent reviews and critical acclaim. September 1997 saw Arab Strap release the 4-track 'The Girls of Summer E.P.' and December of that year they went top 40 in the UK singles chart - at number 33 no less - with their reworking of David Holmes's 'Don't Die Just Yet'. Entitled 'Holiday Girl', the Arab Strap version saw a typical vocal contribution from Aidan over David Holmes' take on the Serge Gainsbourg classic.

Buoyed by this success, the second Arab Strap album was released in April of 1998. Entitled 'Philophobia'- meaning fear of love, as well as fear of falling in love - the album was a real insight into Aidan's soul complimented by Malcolm's beautiful guitars and arrangements. While 'The Week Never Starts Round Here'was an insight into one failed relationship 'Philophobia' was a broader, more general reflection of the pain and pleasures of love and narratives of spite and vengeance, with the occasional moment of humour. The album received rave reviews and much acclaim, as was reflected when Arab Strap again went top 40 - this time in the album charts, charting at 37. 'Philophobia' was also Arab Strap's first U.S. release; put out on New York based Matador Records, who would also release 'The Week Never Starts Round Here' for the American market.

By this time the majesty of an Arab Strap live show was renowned, and an appearance at the Queen Elizabeth Hall following their first American tour confirmed their reputation. Around about this time Arab Strap were also name checked in the Belle and Sebastian pop anthem 'The Boy With the Arab Strap', with the slightly obvious "boy with the dirty laugh" being Aidan. Respect from your contemporaries is a fine barometer of success, especially when the two bands in question are almost polar opposites - Belle and Sebastian being quirky and upbeat, whereas Arab Strap were the antithesis of this with their brooding, honest music.

The growing reputation of Arab Strap led to interest from other labels, and while most were dissuaded by the intensity and personality of Aidan and Malcolm, Go! Beat records stepped in to offer 100% creative control to the band as well as more money. The first release on go beat was a live album 'Mad for Sadness' culled from the aforementioned live show at the Queen Elizabeth Hall, released in May of 1999. Around about this time Aidan began working on a solo project under the guise of Lucky Pierre (named after the 60s nudie/comedy film 'The Adventures of Lucky Pierre'), releasing two singles on his own Lucky label through Go! Beat - 'Pierre's Final Thought' and 'Blank for Your Own Message'.

August 1999 saw the release of the 'Cherubs EP' which was shortly followed by Arab Strap's third studio album 'Elephant Shoe' in September, which were later released, along with 'Mad for Sadness' via Jetset in the U.S. These recordings were typically Arab Strap - moody, gloomy and honest - but did not receive the same level of critical acclaim as their previous releases, and subsequently failed to make the same level of commercial impact. Go! Beat wanted the band to be more accessible and commercial, whereas the integrity of Arab Strap was about the art. Needless to say, the band and label parted company on less than amicable terms.

However, this was certainly not the end for Arab Strap, and a welcome return to Chemikal Underground was undertaken - being that the label understood the band's wanton ways - and the band's next output was via the release of a single on the recently formed FUKD I.D. imprint - a set-up created "to enable the label to work with a broader selection of innovative and subversive musicians, to explore new creative territories whilst making the music as accessible as possible." 'FUKD I.D.#2' was a departure from the typical Arab Strap sound to a more electronic and upbeat one that they had always threatened, but this new sound wasn't to last and a return to the melancholically honest storytelling was inevitable.

January 2001 saw the first proper Arab Strap release since rejoining Chemikal Underground, via the single 'Love Detective', taken from the album 'The Red Thread', which followed in February. Taken from the theology that there is an invisible red thread that links soulmates through time, 'The Red Thread' saw Arab Strap back to their best whilst also displaying a noticeable maturity. Though it did not achieve the commercial success of 'Philophobia', it was the first Arab Strap album to be released simultaneously in the US and UK.

An extensive North American toured followed, and in May a selection of remixes of 'Turbulence' was released - including one by the band themselves, one by former label mates Bis and one by long-time collaborator and former Johnny 7 member Jason Famous. A guest appearance by Aidan on Glasgow supergroup The Reindeer Section's 'Y'All Get Scared Now Ya Hear' in September was followed in October by another FUKD I.D. imprint release, 'FUKD I.D. #6. This time, however, it was by Aidan and Jason Famous under the pseudonym Ben Tramer. Aidan and Jason created an EP of electronic remixes of John Carpenter's music from 'Halloween' - another departure from the typical Arab Strap sound and was an indication that the band's horizons were continuing to broaden.

In 2002 Arab Strap was effectively put on hold to allow Aidan and Malcolm to pursue solo ventures, with Aidan being the busier of the two. Recording under the name The Sick Anchors with Mogwai's Stuart Braithwaite, and part-time Arab Strap member Sheepy, an EP of covers was released through former Mogwai manager Colin Hardie's Lost Dog Recordings label in late April. The 'Whole Again EP' featured Atomic Kitten's 'Whole Again', The Fall's 'Bill Is Dead' and Mills Brothers' 'You Always Hurt the One You Love'. This was followed shortly after by another Lucky Pierre single, 'Angels On Your Body', in May through the Melodic label.

A Lucky Pierre album, 'Hypnogogia', followed in early September on Melodic, which was shortly followed by Malcolm's first solo effort - a full length album entitled '5:14 Fluoxytine Seagull Alcohol John Nicotine'. Originally a collection of acoustic tracks written by Malcolm when he "felt a bit down" in the winter of 2001, he was persuaded to transform it into something more, which he duly did, and it was promptly released by Chemikal Underground in late September 2002. Featuring contributions from various members of the Delgados, Mogwai and fellow Arab Strap mate Aidan, Malcolm's first solo effort was released to great critical acclaim. The album is beautiful and honest and filled with regret and reproaches, interspersed with comedy in an attempt to disguise the fact that he felt like his life was crumbling during the writing of the songs.

Again solo work proved to be just a sideshow to the main event for Aidan and Malcolm, and 2003 saw them return to what they are so loved for. Their 5th Studio album, 'Monday at the Hug & Pint', was released in April after much searching for a suitable title. There were many contenders, but none suited the album as well as the chosen title - pubs, as we know, are filled with all manner of life each with their own tales, and these tales are told in the album. 'Monday at the Hug & Pint' is a journey through club disco, piano ballads, swirling strings, sampled bagpipes and more, while still retaining the original honest and callous observations that Arab Strap are renowned for.

A relentless touring schedule comprised most of the year, but September 2003 saw Arab Strap release their first single as a group for almost two years with the release of 'Monday at the Hug & Pint's opener 'The Shy Retirer'. 'The Shy Retirer EP' proved that Arab Strap had lost none of their sense of irony or comedy, as it featured a cover of AC/DC's 'You Shook Me All Night Long' and Van Halen's 'Why Can't This Be Love' - both done in typical Arab Strap style. The 6 track EP also featured a remix of 'The Shy Retirer' by Dirty Hospital, an outfit made up of former Bis boys Steven and John.

2005 has been another landmark year for the band. Aidan released another solo album, 'Touchpool', in February and Malcolm released a fantastic, critically acclaimed solo album, entitled 'Into the Woods' in June. Recording new album 'The Last Romance' took up a fair portion of the year, and it's release on October 17 was met with much critical acclaim. A national tour is scheduled for the end of the year with international dates to follow in 2006.

In these days of production line TV made pop-stars that are sucking the soul out of music we need more bands like Arab Strap - honest, unique and poignant. Arab Strap have made a significant impact on music in the past 10 years without compromising integrity, a feat that few bands can lay claim to. Their path has been turbulent, but it's the journey that makes the voyage that is life, not the destination. Long may that journey continue for Arab Strap.

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