KOSHEEN (Electronica/Synth-Rock)

Origin: Bristol, England, UK
Genre(s): Electronica, Drum and Bass, Trip Hop, Synthpop, Synth-Rock
Years active: 1999–Present

Website www.kosheen.co.uk

Members:
Sian Evans
Markee Substance
Darren Decoder

Kosheen are a British electro, trip hop, drum and bass and rock group based in Bristol, England. The trio consists of producers Markee Substance (b. Mark Morrison 1974, Springburn, Glasgow) and Darren Decoder (b. Darren Beale 1974, Bristol), with singer and song writer Sian Evans.

Their first album, Resist (released in September 2001 (see 2001 in music) and reaching number eight in the UK album chart), spawned the singles "(Slip And Slide) Suicide", "Hide U", "Catch", "Hungry" and "Harder".

Their second album, Kokopelli—released in August 2003 (see 2003 in music) and named for a mythical Native American spirit (see Kokopelli)—focused less on drum and bass beats and more on guitar riffs and darker-toned lyrics. It outperformed its predecessor in the UK album chart by reaching number seven and with single "All In My Head" also reaching number seven, but it did not sell as well as its predecessor.

Their third album, Damage, released in Europe via Universal Germany in March 2007. The UK edition of Damage, featuring two new tracks—"Analogue Street Dub" and "Professional Friend" (not included on the European edition)—was released via Moksha Recordings in September 2007. The first single from Damage, was "Overkill", and was released in March (Europe) and August 2007 (UK).

As of 2007, Kosheen have been caught up in some controversy surrounding a venue in Belgrade, where they had been booked to play. Unknown to Kosheen, the venue for their show (part of their European tour), had formerly been a concentration camp. On learning the true history of the venue, Kosheen tried to re-locate the show to another venue in Belgrade, but were unable to do so.

Not wishing to cause any further distress to anyone who had been upset by the proposed show, Kosheen cancelled it. They hope to reschedule a Belgrade show at a suitable venue in the near future.


Discography

Albums:
* Resist (2001 - Moksha Records/Sony BMG (UK & ROW) / Kinetic (USA only)) #8 UK, #29 AUS
* Kokopelli (2003 - Moksha Records/Sony BMG) #7 UK, #67 AUS
* Damage (2007 - Moksha Records/Universal) #95 UK, #8 UK Indie

Singles:
* 1999 – "Yes Men"
* 1999 – "Dangerous Waters"
* 2000 – "Hide U"/"Empty Skies" #73 UK
* 2000 – "Catch" #86 UK
* 2001 – "(Slip And Slide) Suicide" #50 UK
* 2001 – "Hide U" (Remix) #6 UK, #23 AUS
* 2001 – "Catch" (Re-release) #15 UK, #27 AUS
* 2002 – "Hungry" #13 UK, #53 AUS
* 2002 – "Harder" #53 UK
* 2003 – "All In My Head" #7 UK, #37 AUS
* 2003 – "Wasting My Time" #49 UK
* 2004 – "Avalanche" (download only)
* 2007 – "Overkill (Is It Over Now?)" (European edition)
* 2007 – "Overkill" (UK edition)
* 2007 – "Guilty" (European download only)