PERSIL

SOUND

Persil sound can be described as electro-pop with fuzzy guitars and sensuous, sweet girl vocals. The songs, which are based on inventive self-produced samples and groovy bass lines, sound playful, joyful and summery, while the lyrics are lightly ironical.

Reviews say Persil sounds like Altered Images, Berlin, Bauer, Belle and Sebastian, Belly, Bettie Serveert, Bis, Blondie, The Breeders, Broadcast, The Clears, Cocteau Twins, Deerhoof, Earwig, Electrelane, Garbage, Goldfrapp, Grandaddy, Jesus & Mary Chain, Joy Division, Ladytron, Land of the Loops, Liz Phair, Lush, Madonna, Melys, Mogul, My Bloody Valentine, New Order, Nico, Pet Shop Boys, Primitives, Pulp, Saint Etienne, Saloon, Seedling, Shampoo, Sleater-Kinney, Slowdive, Sonic Youth, Stereolab, Stereo Total, Strawberry Switchblade, Solex, Throwing Muses, Vive la Fete, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Young Marble Giants, The Wedding Present and/or Robert Wyatt.

HISTORY

Persil formed in 1997.

The band made its BBC Radio 1 debut in 1998, when John Peel played a track from the band’s very first demo in his show.  In the following years John Peel played dozens of Persil tracks in his BBC shows, including eight tracks from Persil’s first album Duotone. Persil recorded three Peel sessions.

Persil’s debut album Duotone, featuring a duet with Damon of American chimp rockers The Swirlies, was released on Transformed Dreams in 2004. Since the album release Persil has played numerous gigs in the UK, Netherlands and USA, including appearances at the SXSW Festival in Texas, USA (2004), at the In The City Festival in Manchester, UK (2004), at the Eurosonic Festival in Groningen, Holland (2006), at the Truck Festival in Oxfordshire, UK (2006) and at Indietracks in Derbyshire, UK (2007).

After meeting Debbie Harry in New York Persil were invited to support Blondie at their only Dutch show in June 2004. In 2005 Persil supported The Wedding Present on nine sold out UK dates. They also released Tune-up, a new EP.

Second album Comfort Noise was released in 2006. Persil did a seventeen date UK tour in April/May (including the GoNorth and Tigerfest Festivals) and an eight day tour in September/October 2006.

In January 2007 a live session for Huw Stephens’ BBC Radio One program was broadcast. In 2007 the band did their ninth UK tour and played the Indietracks Festival in the summer.

Persil are great fun, and for a duo they sure make a lot of noise.