Islands life and biography

Islands is a 6 piece band founded in 2005 by The Unicorns co-founder/songwriter Nick Thorburn (often performing as “Nick Diamonds”) and drummer J’Aime Tambeur. Following the untimely disbandment of The Unicorns as they teetered on the brink of breaking through, Islands’ debut release entitled Return to the Sea, with its quirky sounds and refreshing, catchy melodies includes collaborations with members of Arcade Fire and Wolf Parade. This debut picks up where The Unicorns left off and takes the music to new heights without departing from The Unicorns’ unique if sometimes peculiar appeal.

Islands plays beautiful pop melodies, intertwined with elements of afro-pop, hip hop, and indie rock, among others. One of the main gimmicks of the band is the recorder brought over from The Unicorns, which is prominently featured in the song “Jogging Gorgeous Summer.” Nick Diamonds rules over the band with an iron fist.

Other members include: Patrice Agbokou, Aaron Harris, Alex Chow, Sebastian Chow, and Patrick Gregoire. Return to the Sea, their rookie effort, was released on April 4th, 2006 on the brand new label, equator records, and rough trade in the uk. Digital Distribution handled by Alpha Pup.

On May 28, 2006, it was announced that Thompson would be leaving the band. He stated, "I'm just not sure that being in a successful band is all that important to me anymore. I'm not leaving because of any problems with people in the band. It's very hard to do this, Nick and I have been creating together for quite a long time now... our relationship, both creative and personal is something that I will cherish for the rest of my life." Of Islands' future he said, "I think Islands is one of the best, if not the best band out there these days, and I have every confidence that they will do incredibly well." This quote was displayed on the band's website for a short time, before being taken down. Islands decided to continue on without Thompson, and a European tour was scheduled, and further recordings confirmed.

Diamonds commented upon Thompson's departure, saying "Jamie has left Islands, but the band waltzes on! We wish Jamie the best in his new life. Islands are forever."

The band stayed relatively quiet in early and mid June following Jamie's departure from the band. However, in late June, with the European tour just weeks away, the band made two surprise appearances in Montreal, performing with a strikingly new lineup featuring new drummer Aaron Harris and new vocalist/violinist/percussionist Kate Perkins. Former touring guitarist Jim Guthrie was also noticeably absent from the band's roster. In 2006 the band did a Take-Away Show session with Vincent Moon.

Following their European tour, Islands toured Iceland, the United States and Canada premiering several songs from their new album including: "The Arm", "Kids", and "We Swim". Throughout their tour, it was not unusual to hear various cover songs such as the Kinks' "Waterloo Sunset" and Sinéad O'Connor's "Red Football". In interviews around this time members of the band were quoted as saying that the next album would be 'heavier,' with Nick listening to a lot of T.Rex.

Islands' follow-up, Arm's Way would leak to various BitTorrent and file-sharing sites on April 11, 2008. The album would then be officially released on May 20, 2008, featuring a more anthematistical sound to its tracks than had previously been heard by people listening to a playback of their debut. In addition, the album featured a song entitled "Abominable Snow" previously performed live by Nick Thorburn's former band The Unicorns.

As of June 19, 2009, it was confirmed that Jamie Thompson had returned to Islands. Thompson's return was part of a huge band lineup overhaul in which every member save for Thorburn left the group. Thompson joined Evan Gordon and Geordie Gordon as the members of Islands' new lineup alongside Thorburn. The third Islands album, Vapours, was released September 22, 2009.After Vapours was released, the band began an extensive North American tour, often featuring artists Jemina Pearl and Toro Y Moi. During the spring of 2010, Islands toured Europe, playing shows in Northern and Western Europe throughout March and April.

Nick Thorburn has made an album with Man Man's Honus called Out of Love: "One thing that has been floated around is Honus from Man Man and I making a record in a new (sub)genre we are developing, called Doom Wop, which is essentially low frequency, and extremely slowed down music atop traditional doo wop harmonies. Or something."

On October 25th it was announced on the Anti-Records blog that a new Islands record A Sleep & a Forgetting had been recorded and will be released on February 14th 2012. “This album is far more personal than any I’ve made before,” Thorburn explains. “I left New York after the end of a relationship and came to Los Angeles. There was a piano where I was staying and that’s where I wrote these songs. This record deals with loss, with memory and forgetting and with dreaming. I started writing it on Valentine’s Day and it’s coming out on Valentine’s Day.”

After Jamie Thompson's second departure and Aaron Harris's brief return for a tour, Nick Thorburn invited drummer Luc Laurent to record "A Sleep & A Forgetting." Laurent became a member of Islands in November 2011 after his band Pepper Rabbit broke up.

Current members:
-Evan Gordon
-Geordie Gordon
-Luc Laurent
- Nicholas Thorburn

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