Alt-J Biography

The English indie rock band known as Alt-J was established in 2007 in Leeds. Founding members Gwil Sainsbury, Gus Unger-Hamilton, Thom Sonny Green, and Joe Newman met while at Leeds University studying the arts. Newman had wanted for awhile to start a band, and after sharing some of his original material with Sainsbury, the two young men began using GarageBand to produce their earliest works.

Adopting the name Alt-J from the keyboard function that creates the Greek letter “delta,” the duo spent a few years writing music and expanding their lineup before taking the endeavor more seriously. They recorded the EP Films in 2009, just before signing with Infectious Music. Next came the self-titled EP based on their demo real, before the group entered the studio to prepare for their major label full-length debut.

The result, An Awesome Wave (2012), was a moderate commercial hit and earned Alt-J a Mercury Prize . Although it only reached into the number eighty position on the mainstream charts in the United States, the album was a top twenty hit in the UK, Belgium, Ireland, and New Zealand, and peaked at the number nine spot in Australia. But it was Alt-J’s sophomore effort, the album This is All Yours, that truly became the band’s breakthrough upon its release in 2014. The Grammy-nominated album rose to the number four spot on the mainstream charts in the United States and was a number one hit in the UK. It also charted in the top ten in nearly ten other countries, and spawned the top twenty singles “Left Hand Free” and “Every Other Freckle,” making it one of the year’s most successful album releases,

Since their rise to prominence, Alt-J has continued to perform and record as a trio, since Gwil Sainsbury left the group recently. The group’s most recent album, Relaxer, features the hits “3WW” and “In Cold Blood,” and earned the group yet another Mercury Prize nomination. Alt-J’s music has been featured in a number of films, including: Silver Linings Playbook (“Mountain Man”); Captain America: Civil War (“Left Hand Free”); and Sisters (“Fitzpleasure.”) Alt-J also composed the soundtrack to the film Leave to Remain, and the song “Something Good” was featured in an episode of the television series Life is Strange.