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Alex Watts & the Foreign Tongue

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Alex Watts & the Foreign Tongue are an Australian rock band from Melbourne. The group was formed in 2010 as a solo project for singer/songwriter Alex Watts, who continues to perform with and without the band.

Biography

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Originally encompassing punk and blues based rock, the Alex Watts & the Foreign Tongue shifted over its several releases to include singer-songwriter pop, rhythm and blues and soul.[1]

As of 2014, Watts expanded the group from a traditional rock'n'roll four piece to encompass horns, keyboards and backing vocals.[2]

In 2011, the band released the Desperate Love EP, which was typified by its raw, live sound, and moved stylistically from pop, garage rock, country and acoustic music.[3]

In November of that year the band appeared at Queenscliff Music Festival alongside The Triffids and Kimbra.[citation needed]

In 2012 the band released This Haunting, a single co-written with Mick Thomas, of Weddings, Parties, Anything, which received a self-directed video. The song was well received in both Australia and Europe, receiving airplay from the main community radio stations in Australia.[4] From that point on the band began a regiment of constant touring, helping to cement their reputation as an exciting live act.[5]

They appeared at The St Kilda Festival, one of the largest events in the Melbourne music calendar, in both 2013 and 2014.[6]

In 2013, Watts took a break from the band to undertake an acoustic tour of Australia followed by a tour of house concerts in the UK in December 2013-January 2014. These shows led him to record a solo EP, Sing, Strum & Strut, which was released through his own label, Astound Records, on 27 May 2014.[7]

Members

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  • Alex Watts - vocals, guitar
  • Andy Phillips - guitar
  • Michael McHugh - drums
  • Brian Juffs - bass
  • Jason Jennings - baritone sax

References

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  1. ^ "Alex Watts & the Foreign Tongue". 18 February 2013.
  2. ^ "What Sound | Alex Watts: Sing, Strum & Strut". www.whatsoundmelbourne.com. Archived from the original on 2 June 2014.
  3. ^ "EP Review: Alex Watts & the Foreign Tongue – Desperate Love | unpaved.com.au". Archived from the original on 19 October 2013. Retrieved 19 October 2013.
  4. ^ "Single Stream: Alex Watts & The Foreign Tongue - "This Haunting" (2012) | the AU review". www.theaureview.com. Archived from the original on 20 September 2014.
  5. ^ "Alex Watts - Undercover Interview @ Uctv.fm, Your Daily Entertainment Fix, online across PCS, smart phones, tablet computers and major brands of internet connected TVS".
  6. ^ "Exclusive Album Premiere: Alex Watts - Sing, Strum & Strut (2014 EP) | the AU review". www.theaureview.com. Archived from the original on 1 June 2014.
  7. ^ "What Sound | Alex Watts: Sing, Strum & Strut". www.whatsoundmelbourne.com. Archived from the original on 2 June 2014.
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