"Heavenly Beat"
"Heavenly Beat"
Sparkadia is the project of alternative pop musician Alexander Burnett. Originally a band, Sparkadia formed in Sydney, Australia, in 2004. It became Burnett's solo project in 2009.
The band formed in Sydney in 2004 and were originally known as The Spark. The brainchild of Alexander Burnett (vocals, guitar) and Dave Hall (drums), Sparkadia became a reality with the addition of Nick Rabone (bass) and Josephine Ayling (keyboards, guitar, vocals) in 2006.
They first came into prominence in Australia with their debut EP titled Things Behind the Sun. The EP was released in Australia on 20 February 2007; with the lead single "Morning Light" being the No. 1 most downloaded track off Australian national broadcasters Triple J's website with 32,000 downloads in two months. This was followed by extensive Australian touring and led to signing with UK label Ark Recordings.
With a line-up change in 2008 with Tiffany Preece replacing Josephine Ayling, Sparkadia released their debut studio album Postcards on 31 May 2008. The album was recorded with producer Ben Hillier (Blur, Depeche Mode, Doves, Elbow etc.) at Miloco Studios, London. The album peaked at No. 23 on the ARIA albums chart.
The debut single off the album Animals was The Guardian's single of the week and received rotation on BBC Radio One. This was followed by the release of the singles "Too Much to Do", "Jealousy" and "Morning Light".
Subsequent single "Too Much to Do" was B listed by Radio 2, played by everyone from Colin Murray to Terry Wogan, and earned accolades from Mojo, Q4 Music and The Guardian. All four singles received airplay on Australian radio station Triple J. In January 2009 Sparkadia's hit Jealousy was number 79 in the Triple J Hottest 100 of 2008.
The singles "Talking Like I'm Falling Down Stairs" (10 September 2010) and "China" (27 January 2011) were released in Australia and "Mary" (14 February 2011) was released in the UK ahead of the album The Great Impression (18 March 2011).
Current members
Alexander Burnett - Lead vocals, guitar, keyboards
Touring band
Edwin "Eddie" Montgomery – Keyboards, backing vocals
Henry Eastham – Lead guitar, backing vocals
Dave Hall – Drums
Bluey May – Bass, chimes, backing vocals
Discography
Studio albums
2008: Postcards No. 23 AUS
2011: The Great Impression No. 8 AUS
Singles
2007: "Animals"
2008: "Too Much to Do"
2008: "Jealousy"
2008: "Morning Light"
2010: "Talking Like I'm Falling Down Stairs" No. 59 AUS, No. 24 Triple J Hottest 100, 2010
2011: "China" No. 66 AUS, No. 56 Triple J Hottest 100, 2011
2011: "Mary" No. 47 Triple J Hottest 100, 2011
EPs
2007: Things Behind the Sun