Six By Seven

by Jason Ankeny British drone-pop quintet Six by Seven was formed in Nottingham, England in 1991 by singer/guitarist Chris Olley, guitarist Sam Hempton, organist James Flower, bassist Paul Douglas and drummer Chris Davis. Initial buzz on the band was strong, but after a disastrous Leicester gig all label interest seemed to dissipate, forcing Six by Seven to self-release their debut single, "European Me," in the autumn of 1997. Hailed as "one of the all-time great debut singles" by the NME, the record sold out in a week and resulted in a contract with Beggars Banquet, which issued the full-length The Things We Make in the spring of 1998. The Closer You Get followed two years later, but the band seemed uphappy with the studio-intensive recording process and multiple overdubs. They took a different approach on the next release, 2002's The Way I Feel Today, which was recorded live without a single overdub.