Fridge

Formed as a British post-rock trio by guitarist Kieran Hebden, bassist Adem Ilhan, and drummer Sam Jeffers, Fridge originated with three longtime Putney friends who first began making music together during their school years. An unplanned meeting in a record shop with yet another acquaintance introduced the group to Output label head Trevor "The Underdog" Jackson, who offered them a contract immediately; their debut release, the single "Lojen," appeared in early 1997 while all three members were still teenagers. Ceefax, their first full-length, followed several months afterward, yet the final Output recording of that year, the expansive Anglepoised EP, secured the trio their initial notable radio exposure along with widespread critical praise. Early in 1998 came Lign, issued simultaneously as a 7" and 12" with entirely distinct tracklists, after which their second album, Semaphore, landed in March. Orko, another combined 7" and 12" package, appeared next and marked the close of their Output era, prompting a swift move to Go Beat!. Late in 1998 the label compiled their earlier singles into the two-disc Sevens and Twelves set, and EPH arrived as a complete album the following year. In 2001 Fridge delivered their fourth studio effort, Happiness, via Temporary Residence. The members subsequently paused group activity to explore separate ventures, two of which surfaced on Domino; Hebden issued material as both Four Tet and Joshua Falken, Ilhan produced a pair of solo albums, and Jeffers launched a thriving web-design company during his studies at Harvard and LSE. Although the period apart yielded valuable results, the three musicians soon felt ready to reconvene under the Fridge name, resulting in the 2007 album The Sun.