Named after the musical term for the measurement of time by an instrument,
Metronomy is the dance-meets-rock project of London-based multi-instrumentalist and producer
Joseph Mount. The live version of
Metronomy also includes keyboardist/saxophonist
Oscar Cash and keyboardist/bassist
Gabriel Stebbing. Prior to
Metronomy,
Mount and
Stebbing played together in bands such as
the Upsides, a pop group the pair described as "the original
Busted," and
the Customers, with whom they played in university. Using an old computer that his father gave him,
Mount started
Metronomy in 1990 as a side project to the other bands he played with. When his cousin
Cash joined
Metronomy, it became the trio's main project. With a sound inspired by everyone from
Devo and
David Bowie to
N.E.R.D. and
Pavement,
Metronomy earned buzz for their engaging live show as well as official and unofficial remixes of tracks by
Gorillaz,
Architecture in Helsinki,
Sebastien Tellier,
Kate Nash,
U2, and
Britney Spears.
Metronomy's debut single, "You Could Easily Have Me," arrived in spring 2005 on the Holiphonic imprint; the full-length Pip Paine (Pay the £5000 You Owe) was released that summer.
Metronomy switched to their own label Need Now Future for their 2007 single "Radio Ladio." The following year, their second album Nights Out arrived; it became their breakthrough album, introducing their eclectic sound to a wider audience. In 2009,
Stebbing left
Metronomy to focus on his other project, Your Twenties. Bassist Gbenga Adelekan and former Lightspeed Champion drummer Anna Prior joined the fold for 2011's The English Riviera, which boasted a sleeker sound than the band's previous work.
–
Heather Phares, Rovi