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Biography
Distinguish2| Katatonia , a Swedish metal bandInfobox musical artist|name = Catatonia |image = |250px|caption = Equally Cursed and Blessed album cover (2000 US version)|background = group_or_band|origin = Cardiff , Wales|Instruments = Vocals, guitars, bass, drums|genre = Alternative rock Indie rock Britpop Post-Britpop |years_active = 1992 & ndash; 2001|label = Blanco y Negro Records |website =|current_members =|past_members = Cerys Matthews Mark Roberts (singer)|Mark Roberts Paul Jones Owen Powell Clancy Pegg Daisy Hewitt Dafydd Ieuan Kris Jenkins Aled Richards Catatonia were an alternative rock band from Wales who gained a national following in the United Kingdom in the mid to late 1990s. The band consisted of Cerys Matthews on vocals, Mark Roberts (singer)|Mark Roberts on guitar, Paul Jones on bass (both now members of Y Ffyrc , and former members of Sherbet Antlers and Y Cyrff ), Owen Powell (who is a judge on ' Wawffactor ' – akin to a Welsh The X Factor (TV series)|X Factor ) on guitar, and Aled Richards (who now drums for Amy Wadge ) on drums. Matthews and Roberts were the main songwriters.
Formation
Initially the line up fluctuated, at various times including Clancy Pegg (later of Tystion ) on keyboards, Daisy Hewitt as a harmony singer, Dafydd Ieuan and Kris Jenkins (musician)|Kris Jenkins (of Super Furry Animals ) on drums and percussion, before settling down to the "classic" line up in 1995.
It is rumoured that Matthews and Roberts first met in Cardiff when she was busking . They hit it off and began writing songs together in 1992. For four years after this they were also in a relationship, many aspects of this being played out publicly in their lyrics.Cite news| url= http://arts.guardian.co.uk/features/story/0,,958691,00.html | work=The Guardian | location=London | title=The good life | date=19 May 2003 | accessdate=28 April 2010 | first=Siobhan | last=Grogan
The couple came across the word catatonia , believing it to mean a sense of extreme pleasure and sleep, and the band was subsequently originally called 'Sweet Catatonia'. On discovering the real meaning of the word (i.e. a psychiatric symptom of certain mental disorders) they dropped the prefix 'sweet'. http://www.amiright.com/names/origins/c.shtml Am I Right - Band Name Origins -> C
Sound
Catatonia deliberately tried to make their songs accessible to a broad audience, while at the same time not shying away from original, experimental, or even potentially abrasive sounds. The result was a mix of hooky pop music|pop and underground music|underground indie rock . Their songs are characterized by clever lyrics and Matthews' enticing, raspy, prominently Welsh accent ed vocals, which made her something of a sex symbol .citation needed|date=December 2011
Welsh music
The chorus of the (mostly Welsh language|Welsh ) song International Velvet declares "Every day when I wake up, I thank the Lord I'm Welsh." This, they insistedcitation needed|date=December 2011, should not be taken too seriously, as they are more internationalists than nationalists (hence the name of their 1998 release, International Velvet (album)|International Velvet ). Catatonia, in fact, only ever released 5 Welsh language|Welsh tracks - International Velvet being the only one to appear on a UK album (As well as Gyda Gwen, which was a hidden track on their debut album "Way Beyond Blue". The others appeared as B side s and on Extended play|EP collections.citation needed|date=December 2011
Success
After their rise to fame with their second album "International Velvet", and subsequent success with third release "Equally Cursed And Blessed" they returned in 2001 with their fourth studio album Paper Scissors Stone (album)|Paper Scissors Stone . During promotional appearances for this album it became clear that Matthews was not coping well with the increased pressure, suffering from anxiety and nervous exhaustion which resulted in the cancellation of several tour dates and a deterioration in the relationships between the band members. On 21 September 2001, the band officially split.
Solo career
Matthews went on to release her first solo album, Cockahoop , in May 2003. Her second album Never Said Goodbye was released in August 2006. In November 2007 she released a mini-album of Welsh language songs Awyren=Aeroplane on the My Kung Fu label. Matthews returned in late 2009 as the first recording artist to release albums simultaneously in both Welsh and English (Paid Edrych I Lawr and Don't Look Down, respectively). At the same time she released her Moon Songs EP, featuring four English-language tracks which were recorded in the Don't Look Down sessions, but didn't make the album track listing.
Discography
Studio albums
Year
Details
Peak chart position
Certifications ( List of music recording sales certifications
UK Cite web
AUS Cite web
GER Cite web
IRL Cite web
NZL Cite web
1996
Way Beyond Blue
Released: 30 September 1996
Label: Blanco y Negro Records|Blanco y Negro
32
—
—
—
—
1998
International Velvet (album)
Released: Feb 1998
Label: Blanco y Negro/ Warner-Elektra-Atlantic|WEA
1
27
—
39
32
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British Phonographic Industry|UK : 3x PlatinumCite web| title = British certificates: searchable database | url = http://www.bpi.co.uk/certifiedawards/search.aspx | publisher = bpi.co.uk |accessdate=3 March 2010
1999
Equally Cursed and Blessed
Released: 28 March 2000
Label: Blanco y Negro/ Atlantic Records|Atlantic
1
48
—
—
28
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UK: Platinum
2001
Paper Scissors Stone (album)
Released: 6 August 2001
Label: Blanco y Negro
6
—
55
37
—
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UK: Silver
"—" denotes releases that did not chart.
Compilation albums
Year
Details
Peak chart position
Certifications ( List of music recording sales certifications
Cite book|title=Guinness World Records British Hit Singles|editor=David Roberts|year=2002|edition=15th|publisher=Guinness World Records
Bibliography
In September 2000, a biography of the band by David Owens entitled Cerys, Catatonia & The Rise Of Welsh Pop (ISBN 0-09-187412-2) was released in the UK (sometimes listed as Catatonia - Enter The Dragon , which was the working title).
Another book, To Hell and Back with Catatonia (ISBN 0-946719-36-5), was released on June 1, 2001, written by Brian Wright.
External links
http://www.yeray-muaddib.com/karaokequeen/ Karaoke QueenA Spanish page with band biography, discography, media, polls and other info.
discogs artist|Catatonia|Catatonia
http://www.angelfire.com/music/newbonhomie/ New BonhomieA Catatonia site with news, biography, lyrics, discography and other info.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/wales/1556250.stm News report on the breakup of the band
CatatoniaCulture in Cardiff DEFAULTSORT:Catatonia Category:People from Cardiff Category:Musical groups established in 1992 Category:Welsh musical groups Category:Welsh rock music groups Category:Welsh-language music Category:Britpop groups
