‘The Arrogant Whale EP’ was recorded in the summer of 2006, almost immediately after Arrogant Whale formed, following Stainsby Folk Festival. The EP is made up of four songs with Mat Wale on guitar and vocals and Jack Collister providing multi-instrument percussion. Opening track ‘If I die Please Cremate Me’ set an early precedent for much of Arrogant Whale’s early sound and showed the band at their lo-fi best, although a more definitive version would later crop up on ‘Les album Arrogante’. Second is a re-recording of ‘Seventeen Pt 1’ track (a Mat wale solo album) ‘Wholesale Love’ which had become Arrogant Whale’s set closer at live appearances. Next up is ‘That Tribal Rant I’ve Been Meaning To Write’ which is an experimental chant based track that includes animal noises and Jack Collister’s first ever vocal performance. The EP comes to a close with ‘Being For The Benefit Of Mr Jones’, a psychedelic track that would later be re-recorded by the Rackets on their debut EP ‘Who Killed Eric Morrison?’.

Wholesale Love (EP Version)

Arrogant Whale’s debut album, ‘Les Album Arrogante’, was recorded in 2007 following the bands brief hiatus at the end of 2006. The album is a schizophrenic mix of Folk, Country, Garage Blues and Electronics. The album features fan favourite tracks ‘Too Much Racket’, ‘Drugstore Cowboy’ and ‘Wholesale Love’ and would set a blueprint for many of Mat Wale and Jack Collister’s  solo releases that were to follow. In 2009 a number of tracks from the album would feature on the soundtrack to Welsh indie film ‘Big Font Large Spacing’.  

Too Much Racket

Interlude 3

Peter Sellers Saved My Life

Long Cold Lonely Winter

If I Die Please Cremate Me

Interlude 2

Wholesale Love (Atari Mix)

Drugstore Cowboy

Ever Since I Left My Home

Interlude 1

Seminal, alt. folk duo Arrogant Whale formed in the summer of 2006 after jamming around the campfire at Stainsby Folk Festival. The band comprised school friends and ex-bandmates of short lived heavy metal band ‘Deadface’, Mat Wale and Jack Collister.
  
After the festival the band began playing shows and quickly released their debut EP ‘The Arrogant Whale EP’ which consisted of live favourites ‘If I Die, Please Cremate Me’, ‘Being For The Benefit Of Mr Jones’ as well as a re-recorded version of ‘Wholesale Love’ (a song which featured on Mat’s ‘Seventeen’ solo record). The EP also included the song ‘That Tribal Rant I’ve Been Meaning To Write’ which was straight from the campfires of Stainsby Festival and hinted at the future experimental turn the band would take with their ‘Interlude’ tracks. 

In 2007 the band, after a brief hiatus, put together their first album ‘Les Album Arrogante’. The album’s schizophrenic style saw the band experimenting with garage blues, folk, country and electronics. Songs such as ‘Too Much Racket’, ‘Drugstore Cowboy’ and ‘Peter Sellers Saved My Life’ even caught the attention of the Welsh independent film industry and the band found themselves sound tracking the film ‘Big Font, Large Spacing’. The album also introduced the aforementioned ‘Interlude’ tracks, which were largely under the control of Jack Collister and featured odd instrumental loops combined with samples and political statements. 

Following the album the band played a number of impromptu shows including an unannounced slot on Stainsby Folk Festival’s second stage and then seemed to disappear without trace. In reality Mat Wale formed ‘The Rackets’ and Jack Collister formed ‘Mexican Kids At Home’ and both had varying degrees of success in their own rights. 

By 2010 the band had been split up for 3 years and their future together seemed uncertain. However, a chance meeting and a few excited emails later, a reformed Arrogant Whale headed back into the studio. The album in question turned out to be ‘Little Ice Age’ a political, electro, grunge record that would become the band’s masterpiece. The gap between the releases was referenced in the album’s opening track ‘3 year Glitch’.  

‘My So Called Life’, ‘You Me and Everyone We Know’ and ‘Perfect Soundtrack’ showed the band had matured. Gone were the lo-fi acoustic guitars and Cajon beats. The songs were now backed by multi-layered electronic soundscapes and featured heavily distorted guitar and keyboard work. The band reportedly planned to recruit a live band and take ‘Little Ice Age’ on tour this however never came into fruition and the band once again went on hiatus.

Since 2010 Mat Wale has featured Arrogant Whale songs heavily in his acoustic shows and at various points has hinted at a reunion. In 2013 Arrogant Records reissued the Arrogant Whale albums with some added bonus tracks and these limited releases were made available at Mat’s acoustic shows. 


Arrogant Whale

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