Hooverphonic is a Belgian music group formed in the mid-1990s as a trip-hop outfit. They quickly expanded their sound to the point where they could no longer be pigeonholed into one genre. The band originally called themselves Hoover but later changed their name to Hooverphonic due to complaints by The Hoover Company as well as discovering that other groups were already using that name.

The band achieved international recognition through the inclusion of the track "2Wicky" (from A New Stereophonic Sound Spectacular) on the soundtrack to Bernardo Bertolucci's 1996 film Stealing Beauty (Io Ballo da Sola ). The original members of the group were vocalist Liesje Sadonius, keyboardist Frank Duchêne, guitarist and programmer Alex Callier, and guitarist Raymond Geerts. Sadonius left Hooverphonic shortly after the release of A New Stereophonic Sound Spectacular and was replaced by Geike Arnaert.

With Arnaert on vocals the band released Blue Wonder Power Milk in 1998. A marked departure from their debut, the album is driven less by breakbeats and samples and more by organic string elements and traditional song structures. The single "Club Montepulciano " was a minor college hit in the U.S., and "Renaissance Affair" was featured in commercials for the new Volkswagen Beetle. The band followed up Milk with 2000's The Magnificent Tree , which expounds on the sound of Milk but with a much darker tone. Highlights from the album are the string-laden "Out Of Sight" and "Mad About You". On the heels of Tree's success, the band became the first Belgian outfit to headline Rock Werchter in 2001.

2002 saw the group shifting gears again, this time releasing the concept album Hooverphonic Presents Jackie Cane . Categorized by some as a "trip-hopera" (but referred to by the band as a "pop musical"), the album tells the fictional story of the title character, a lounge singer catapulted into stardom at the expense of her relationship with her twin sister. Driven to the brink of insanity by the pressures of fame, Jackie quits show-business and returns home to attempt reconciliation, where her sister poisons her and then commits suicide. Jackie Cane retains the dreamy elements of Hooverphonic's previous works, most notably on songs "Nirvana Blue" and "Human Interest", but tracks like "The World Is Mine" (the first single) and "Day After Day" have a clear Broadway showtune quality to them. The album went platinum in Belgium and won the group ZAMU's Best Pop/Rock Band and Best Album awards in 2002.

In 2003 the band released a live album entitled Sit Down And Listen To Hooverphonic , featuring a selection of songs from the band's previous studio albums, as well as new recordings such as Antarctica and The Last Thing I Need Is You. The band launched into an extended European tour in September of 2003.

Discography

• A New Stereophonic Sound Spectacular (1996)
• Blue Wonder Power Milk (1998)
• The Magnificent Tree (2000)
• Hooverphonic Presents Jackie Cane (2002)
• Sit Down And Listen To Hooverphonic (2003)

External links

• Hooverphonic Official Site (Flash Plug-In Required)