(CNN Philipines) — The English indie rock band alt-J is set to rock Manila on May 19 (Tuesday) at The Theatre at Solaire Resort & Casino in Pasay City.
Band members Joe Newman on lead vocals and guitar, Gus Unger-Hamilton on keyboards, and Thom Green on drums combine their own unique sounds to create the distinct tone of art rock, folktronic, and electronic music.
Their hit songs are “Every Other Freckle,” “Left Hand Free,” and “Breezeblocks.”
The 2012 British Mercury Prize winners have released two studio albums, An Awesome Wave in 2012 and This Is All Yours in 2014.
The band members first met at Leeds University in England in 2007.
We give you a few more tidbits about the band Filipinos are set to see them perform on May 19.
It isn’t alt-J, it’s ∆
Their actual name is Δ — the Greek letter delta. But they pronounce it as “alt-J” because if you press alt + j on a Mac keyboard, it will create the symbol Δ — the mathematical symbol for change.
So, is it a coincidence that in their song “Tessellate” it says “Triangles are my favorite shape?”
It hasn’t always been “alt-J”
If you think the band name “alt-J” is odd, you’d be pleased to know that they first went by the name “Daljit Dhaliwal” — named after an anchor on British television.
They sent out demos under the name “Daljit Dhaliwal.” It became too tough to spell that even the boys misspelled it, that was when they changed their name to “Films.”
But when they found out the name “Films” already belonged to an American band, they were forced to change it to “alt-J.”
From four, down to three
When the boys met in 2007, there were initially four of them. But guitarist and bassist Gwil Swainsbury left the band in the beginning of 2014.
On January 11, 2014, the official alt-J Twitter account tweeted that guitarist and bassist Gwil Swainsbury will be leaving the band.
“With regret, Gwil is leaving alt-J. This is purely a personal decision and as our best friend we support him completely,” the alt-J account tweeted.
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With regret, Gwil is leaving alt-J. This is purely a personal decision and as our best friend we support him completely.
— Δ (alt-J) (@alt_J) January 11, 2014
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With Newman, Green, and Unger-Hamilton left, we are sure that alt-J’s Manila concert will still be rocking.
Listen to alt-J’s latest album This Is All Yours through the Spotify playlist below. Enjoy!
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