Inspired by science, technology, innovation and endeavour, Steve Thompson formed 1201_Alarm in 2015 after playing a string of gigs on the laser harp at Robin Ices’s sell out ‘9 Lessons and Carols for Godless People’ in London.
The stunning laser harp proved popular not only live, but on the web too, with Steve’s videos reaching over 250,000 views worldwide.
After solo gigs in London and Dallas, the band formed and played their first gig headlining a science festival in Singapore in September 2015 and were sponsored by LucasFilm.
Their first EP, ‘Loading…’ was recently released as a limited edition CD and DVD, containing three tracks from the forthcoming album ‘Hello_World’. In keeping with the mantra of pushing the boundaries of technology, the CD was a unique handmade hybrid, capable of being played not only in a standard CD player but on a record deck too.
The band achieve their futuristic sound by blending traditional instruments such as the trumpet, trombone and sax with unusual electronic instruments such as the Tenori On, Theremin, Motion Synth, laser harp and even a 500,000 volt tesla coil*.
The musicians are Steve Thompson on electronics, trombone, guitar, percussion - a versatile musician having worked with diverse groups and artists as Jamie Cullum, Lisa Stansfield, Eliza Doolittle, The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. He is also a regular with the Hackney Colliery Band, appearing on their latest album, Sharpener.
Tamar Osborn - A multi instrumentalist, also often seen with the Hackney Colliery Band and leading her own project, Collocutor.
Titch Walker - Trumpet. Nephew of 70’s legend Leo Sayer, Titch has played with countless artists of note including the Divine Comedy and Paul Weller.
Emma Bassett - Trombone and Vocal. Despite being only 25 years old, has played with the London Symphony Orchestra, the Royal Philharmonic and recently finished a UK tour with Adele.
Ben Handysides - Another Hackney Colliery Band regular and exceptional drummer, Ben has appeared with many artists on TV, Radio.
1201_Alarm fuse many styles including jazz, electronica, classical influences and even dubstep. The name is taken from an incident aboard the Apollo 11 mission when the navigation computer failed just minutes before the first landing on the moon.
Alongside the forthcoming album, the band has conducted interviews with notable scientists, thinkers and sceptics including James Randi, Professor Mihaly Csikzentmihali, Dr Aleks Krotoski, Dr Helen Czerski and many others, which will be made into an accompanying podcast series.
For more information on the band, please visit http://www.1201-alarm.com/home.html Or listen on Soundcloud at https://soundcloud.com/1201_alarm
*Please note that the Tesla Coil is not suitable for all venues and certain safety procedures must be in place for it to be included in the performance