Chairlift (band)
| Company type | Band |
|---|---|
| Industry | Music |
| Founded | 2005 in Boulder, Colorado, United States |
| Founder | Caroline Polachek, Aaron Pfenning |
| Defunct | December 2016 |
| Headquarters | Brooklyn, New York , United States |
Key people | Caroline Polachek, Aaron Pfenning, Patrick Wimberly |
| Products | Music albums and singles |
Chairlift was a synth-pop group from the United States, originally formed by Caroline Polachek and Aaron Pfenning in 2005 during their time in Boulder, Colorado. After relocating to Brooklyn, New York in 2007, Patrick Wimberly became a member of the band. The trio's first album, Does You Inspire You, was released in 2008. When Pfenning left the band in 2010, Polachek and Wimberly continued as a pair, producing two additional albums: Something in 2012 and Moth in 2016, before the group dissolved in December 2016.
History
The origins of Chairlift trace back to October 2005 at the University of Colorado, where Aaron Pfenning and Caroline Polachek started collaborating, initially composing music for haunted attractions. Alongside bassist Kyle McCabe, they recorded initial tracks for the Daylight Savings EP at New Monkey Studio in Los Angeles during April 2006. By August 2006, the band had moved to Williamsburg, Brooklyn, and in June 2007, they secured a contract with Kanine Records. Early that year, Patrick Wimberly joined the lineup. While Polachek was still completing her college education, Chairlift launched their debut album Does You Inspire You in 2008. The song "Bruises" achieved widespread recognition after being featured in a 2008 Apple advertisement for the fourth-generation iPod Nano. Their single "Evident Utensil" earned a nomination for "Breakthrough Video" at the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards. After signing with Columbia Records, the album was reissued on April 21, 2009, including two new songs along with an extended cut of "Make Your Mind Up". Chairlift then embarked on their first global tour, opening for prominent acts like Phoenix, The Killers, and MGMT.
In 2010, Pfenning exited the band to focus on his solo project called Rewards.
On September 7, 2011, Chairlift unveiled the music video for "Amanaemonesia," a track from their sophomore album Something. Their 2012 single "Met Before" was accompanied by an interactive video that topped BuzzFeed's list of "23 Best Music Videos of 2012". Released on January 24, 2012 through Columbia Records, Something was produced by Dan Carey and Alan Moulder. Following its release in Japan, Polachek co-directed a video for the Japanese edition of "I Belong In Your Arms".
While Polachek pursued her solo debut Arcadia, Chairlift worked on their third studio album, Moth, which came out on January 22, 2016. This record featured ten new compositions including the lead single "Ch-Ching".
Chairlift announced their split in December 2016 and planned a farewell tour for spring 2017. Since then, Polachek has continued advancing her solo career.
Studio albums
| Title | Details | Highest chart rankings | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US |
US Heatseekers |
US Rock |
US Indie |
Australia |
Belgium (FL) Heat |
Belgium (FL) Alternative |
UK |
UK Indie | ||
| Does You Inspire You |
|
— | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Something |
|
184 | 5 | 47 | 29 | 45 | 3 | 38 | 131 | 15 |
| Moth |
|
— | 7 | 32 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
EPs
| Title | Information |
|---|---|
| Daylight Savings |
|
| Chairlift at 6:15 |
|
Singles
| Title | Year | Highest chart positions | Album | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US Bub. |
AUS | BEL (FL) Tip |
CAN | GER | MEX | SWI | UK | ||||||
| "Evident Utensil" | 2007 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Does You Inspire You | |||
| "Bruises" | 2008 | 1 | 72 | 5 | 80 | 63 | 34 | 89 | 50 | ||||
| "Always Crashing in the Same Car" | 2010 | — | — | — | — | — | 48 | — | — | Non-album single | |||
| "Amanaemonesia" | 2011 | — | — | — | — | — | 48 | — | — | Something | |||
| "Met Before" | 2012 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||||
| "I Belong in Your Arms" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||||||
| "Ghost Tonight" | — | — | 35 | — | — | — | — | — | |||||
| "I Belong in Your Arms" (Japanese version) |
— | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Template:Non-album single | ||||
| "Ch-Ching" | 2015 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Moth | |||
| "Romeo" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||||
| "Crying in Public" | 2016 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||||
| "Moth To the Flame" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||||
| "Ch-Ching (Redux)" (featuring DRAM and Jimi Tents) |
— |
— | — | — | — | — | — | — | Non-album singles | ||||
| "Get Real" |
— |
— | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||||
| The symbol "—" indicates tracks that did not enter charts or were not released in the specified region. | |||||||||||||
Remixes
- Glasser – "Apply (Chairlift Remix)" (2012)
- Phoenix – "Fences (Chairlift Remix)" (2012)
- Indochine – "College Boy (Chairlift Remix)" (2013)
External links
- Indie rock musical groups from Colorado
- Indie rock musical groups from New York (state)
- American synth-pop groups
- American new wave musical groups
- Art pop groups
- Avant-pop musicians
- Columbia Records artists
- American contemporary R&B musical groups
- American dream pop musical groups
- Electronic music groups from Colorado
- Electronic music groups from New York (state)
- American electropop groups
- Experimental pop groups
- Indie pop groups from Colorado
- Indie pop groups from New York (state)
- Kanine Records artists
- Musical groups disbanded in 2017
- Musical groups formed in 2005
- Musical groups based in Brooklyn
- Caroline Polachek
- 2005 establishments in Colorado
- Young (record label) artists
- Musical groups disestablished in 2017