Mystery Jets
Mystery Jets are a band.
History
Mystery Jets were formed on Eel Pie Island, on the river Thames, near Twickenham. Originally a three piece, with Blaine on drums, classical guitar prodigy Will on guitar and Blaine's father Henry on bass, the band covered Pink Floyd hits. Over years a second lineup coalesced, with Henry moving to guitar, Henry's friend's son, Kai on bass and a girl named Tamara on keyboards. This lineup, with lead vocals by Blaine, his voice still unbroken, recorded their first eponymous EP with Aswad producer Nick SYkes. Opening with a Mozart sample, Rastamadeus, Henry's ska pop vision of Mozart and Bob Marley meeting in heaven, remained the band's encore of choice (in a toughened up form) for years to come. The present lineup came into being when Blaine figured that drumming and singing wasn't working out and displaced Tamara on Henry's ancient Roland D50 keyboard, leaving the drum stool free. It was temporarily kept warm by an acquaintance of Will's known only as 'Max', who, frequently missing rehearsals, lead to Blaine's programming of Sub Max, a keyboard with drum machine cheekily liberated by Blaine from a less deserving home. Salvation came in the form of Kapil, a devout Hindu that was located, in one of the least interesting (or maybe most interesting. Who can say?) aspects of the band, on an internet message board. This lineup recorded the Eel Pie Island EP, again at Nick's Rooster studios, but now under the helm of Kicks Joy Darkness associate Bishop Dante. The longest lasting track of said recording was Soluble In Air, originally written by Will, aged 16, for his GCSE music examination, although half of the EP's length is concerned with their opus of the time, a meandering prog-out dubbed Moonlight Satellite, based around lyrics Henry's daughter Dymphna had written as a child. The track featured vocals from not just the band, but future Dr Filth lynchpins Richard Elms and George Jephson, and Richard's then bandmate in The Identikit, Christopher Alcxxk, as well, as, via the modern technique of sampling, William Burroughs.
Much attention has been drawn to their hosting of a series of parties on Eel Pie, dubbed the White Cross Revival. The parties, featuring as many bands as possible on one stage each night, have played host to the likes of Ladyfuzz, Dr Filth, Larrikin Love, Jeremy Warmsley and Acoustic Ladyland
Band members
- Blaine Harrison (lead vocals, keyboards, percussion, fx, anything else)
- Henry Harrison (vocals, guitar, keyboards, percussion)
- William Rees (guitar, vocals, percussion, keyboards)
- Kai Fish (bass and vocals)
- Kapil Trivedi (drums)
Discography
- Mystery Jets EP - CD
- Eel Pie Island EP - CD
- Zoo Time/Lizzies Lion - 7"
- On My Feet - CD/7"
12.09.2005
- You Can't Fool Me Dennis - 7"/7"/CD (UK, 2005, #44)