Artist

Felt

Genre: Rock ,Post-Punk ,Indie Pop ,Jangle Pop

Origin: U.S.A

Active: 1979 - 1989

Biography

Britain's enigmatic Lawrence masterminded Felt, channeling a deep fixation on Tom Verlaine and Television into a body of spare, minimalist pop songs that earned the band enduring cult status. Lawrence recorded the debut single "Index" solo in his bedroom using only a portable cassette player; issued in 1979, its raw, impressionistic character clashed sharply with the polished restraint of new wave, an effect heightened by his widely noted "new puritan" stance that rejected alcohol, smoking, and drugs. The track drew intense critical acclaim, securing Felt a deal with Cherry Red.

Lawrence next recruited musicians, though Felt remained his singular vision; lore holds that he dismissed original drummer Tony Race largely because the player had curly hair. Following several lineup changes, guitarist Maurice Deebank and drummer Gary Ainge stabilized the group in time for the 1981 EP Crumbling the Antiseptic Beauty. Deebank's classical training enabled guitar lines that echoed the dual interplay of Television's Verlaine and Richard Lloyd, while Lawrence's restrained singing invited comparisons to another New York figure, Lou Reed.

A second EP, 1984's The Splendour of Fear, preceded the long-planned debut album The Strange Idols Pattern and Other Short Stories later that year. Keyboardist Martin Duffy joined before the band cut 1985's Ignite the Seven Cannons with producer Robin Guthrie; fellow Cocteau Twin Liz Fraser appeared on the single "Primitive Painters," which became a major British indie hit. Despite this success, tensions mounted—Lawrence and Ainge once delivered a calamitous two-man improvisational festival set after Deebank and Duffy walked offstage—and Deebank departed permanently before 1986's Ballad of the Band EP, Felt's first release on Creation.

With the guitarist gone, the 1986 album Let the Snakes Crinkle Their Heads emerged as a concise instrumental set, yet its successor, Forever Breathes the Lonely Word, quickly gained recognition as the group's masterpiece. Mayo Thompson helmed the 1987 EP Poem of the River, while Guthrie returned for the austere mini-album The Final Resting of the Ark. Two contrasting LPs arrived in 1988—The Pictorial Jackson Review and Train Above the City, the latter recorded without Lawrence—before Felt disbanded after issuing Me and a Monkey on the Moon in 1989. Lawrence later fronted the 1970s-glam project Denim and later pursued novelty pop with Go Kart Mozart. Keyboardist Martin Duffy died at age 55 on December 18, 2022, after sustaining brain injuries in a fall at his home.

Albums

Background Beats

Higher Love Vol 2

Hopeful Endeavours

Heartbeats Vol 2

Evolving Stories

The Worlds of Jupiter

Contemporary Thinking

Picture Perfect

Feelgood Beats 2

Elysium Unbound

A Wind of Faith

Dramatic Modern Strings 4

Shade and Echoes

Journey to Greece

Dramatic Modern Strings 3

The Shape Of Things

Do It Correctly

High Voltage - Recharged

Amapiano Lounge

Life's Like A Movie

Surf Rockin' Xmas

Cool Kids On The Block

The Sound of Greece

Rhythms Of The Sun

Darkened Moods 2

Acoustic Guitar Toolkit

Relaxing Beauty

Dramatic Modern Strings 2

Dramatic Modern Strings

Tense Undertones

Big Rig Roadtrip

Feel The Bassline

Rust And Rhythm 2

Rust And Rhythm

Songs In The Key Of Nature

Continuum - Union

Crafty Crooners

Woven In Balance

Underground Beatz

Pop Rock Riffers

Blissful Moments

Chasing Infinity

Somewhere Wonderful

Truck Stop Rock

Continuum - Severance

Crafting Narrative

Carousels Of Life

Loving Los Dias

Twinkle Sparkle

The Future Is Female

Documentary Score

Acoustic Latin Chillout

Junglist Soundz

Blues Rock Rebels

Woodwind Miniatures

Seeds of Sustainability

Weathered Trails

Affected Strings

Glitter & Groove

Harmonic Spectrum

Drum and Bass Pop

Against All Odds

Pursuit of Glory

Sounds of Dance Pop

Moonlit Lullabies

Ticking Tension

Sporting Victory

Silhouette Poetry

Sounds of Happy

Experimental Retro Synths

1990s Rave Culture

Beats And Dreamscapes

80s Power Smashers

Summer Tropicale

The Karman Line

Soul Collective

Organic Rhythms

Keeping It Current

Dramatic Orchestral Themes

Doo Wops & Skibidi Bops

Confidence Boosters

Flow Volume 3 - Median

Swingin' Gypsy Jazz

Light Documentary

True Crime Tension

Sounds of the Andes

Ambiguous Alternative

Woodwind Delights

Cinematic Virtue

House Nostalgia

Interests & Oddities

Unsettled Drama

Political Strings

Spring Awakening

Outer Perspective

Manufactured Textures

Tongue In Cheek

Tulips and Tiptoes

Flashbacks Ballads

Flashbacks Country

Flashbacks Surf

Flashbacks Soul

Flashbacks R&B2

Gypsy Jazz Vol 2

Modern Indie / Post Punk

Synthscape Redux

Fragile Moments

80s Pop Songs, Vol. 1

Flashbacks Psychedelic

Psychedelic Pop, Vol. 1

Concrete Jungle, Vol. 2

Rock and Roll, Vol. 1

Duelo De Corazones

Johnny Johnston King Of Kitsch: 70s Funk

The Lost Tapes 84': The Strangers

Christmas Crackers

The Song System

2020 The Soundtrack

Film Noir: String Jazz Fusions

Trad Jazz, Vol. 1

Soul and Motown

Johnny Johnston King Of Kitsch: Latin Lounge

Slow Motion Underscores

Johnny Johnston King Of Kitsch: Big Band And Score

Embers Of An Everlasting Flame

Sunnyside Swing

The Old West: Freight Trains & Dusty Plains

Silent Movie, Vol. 1

Gym Wave Synth Gaze

Drum Machine Blues

Time Stands Still

The Pacific Northwest 2

Melancholy Modern Pop

The Old West: Outlaw Country

Boing Fun Go-Go Jumps

Environmental Issues

Threads: Parallax Orchestra

Acoustic Summer Journeys

Cautious Optimism

In The Midst of Life

80s Pop Songs, Vol. 2

Felt Festive Mixtape

Big Band, Vol. 1

Emotional Terrains

Bubblegum Toothpaste

Renovation Funk

Dr Sonic's Curiosity Tonic

The Old West: Prospectors & Pioneers

The Old West: Bluegrass & Country

Día De Muertos

Medieval Gothic Horror

Oohs Aahs and Baahs

Late Night City Grooves

Cinematic Synths

Late Night Relax & Sleep

What Killed The Cat?

Quirky Electro Folk

Nordic Landscapes

Late Night Chill Out

Late Night City Grooves, Vol. 2

Medieval Gothic Horror 2

Día De Muertos 2

Upbeat Eclectic

The String Theory

LEADERS DON'T FOLLOW 2

Independent Cinema Club 2

Mallet Tension Beds

NO SLOWING DOWN

A Bright Future

Daytime TV: Positive Acoustic

Elevator Oddity

Galaxies and Stars

Galaxies and Stars 2

Bollywood Infusions

Shadowy Tensions

Quirky Folky Goodness

The Positively Simpler Things

Johnny Johnston King Of Kitsch: Slumber

Quirky Patterns

Big Beat Electro Rock

Putting In Work

It's A London Thing

Love You Snow Much

Daytime TV: Chilled Electro

Orchestral Underscores

Look On The Bright Side

Johnny Johnston King of Kitsch: Comedy

Champions of Funk 2

Shape Of A Heart

Pianoscapes Vol 2

Modern Marimba II

Ethereal Felt Piano

Evenings In Santa Monica

Independent Cinema Club III

Rhythmic Power II

Fire In My Step

Classical Reimagined

Woodwind Minimal

Cabinet of Curiosities

Nordic Landscapes Vol 2

Flow: Volume 2 - Robotic

Flow: Volume 1 - Sapient

Champions of Funk

Urban Atmospheres Vol 2

Peculiar Patterns

Split Particles

Forever Breathes the Lonely Word: Remastered Edition

Train Above the City

Train Above the City: Remastered Edition

The Pacific Northwest

Bubblegum Perfume

Absolute Classic Masterpieces Vol II

Absolute Classic Masterpieces

Me and a Monkey on the Moon

The Pictorial Jackson Review

Poem of the River

Gold Mine Trash

The Seventeenth Century

Forever Breathes the Lonely Word

Crumbling The Antiseptic Beauty/The Splendour Of Fear

Ignite the Seven Cannons

Ignite the Seven Cannons (Remastered Edition)

Ignite the Seven Cannons / The Strange Idols Pattern and Other Short Stories

The Strange Idols Pattern and Other Short Stories / Ignite the Seven Cannons

The Strange Idols Pattern and Other Short Stories

The Splendour of Fear

Crumbling the Antiseptic Beauty

Crumbling the Antiseptic Beauty / The Splendour of Fear

Crumbling the Antiseptic Beauty (Remastered Edition)

Singles