Autoheart

Jody Gadsden and Simon Neilson met in 2007 and began working together under the name The Gadsdens after collaborating on a song for a short film soundtrack. The original lineup also featured drummer David Roman and guitarist Drew Wilson, who was later replaced by Barney JC. Their debut single, The Sailor Song, released in 2009, was championed by Bob Harris on his BBC Radio 2 Show [1] and was Single of the Week on Shaun Keaveny’s BBC 6 Music radio show.[2] The single release was accompanied by an animated music video [3] by London-based animator and director Gavin Leisfield.

The Gadsdens appeared on The Radcliffe and Maconie BBC Radio 2 show on 17 November 2009 performing three tracks, The Sailor Song, Too Polite To Fight and Agoraphobia.[4]

Maconie and Radcliffe placed the band’s live version of The Sailor Song on their "Best Live Sessions of 2009" end of year list.[5] In response to the news that the BBC plan to cut Radcliffe and Maconie’s radio show from four nights a week to three, Marc Lee from The Daily Telegraph mentioned The Gadsdens, commenting "I heard what proved to be my favourite songs of both 2008 and 2009 for the first time on the show – The Last of the Melting Snow by the Leisure Society and The Sailor Song by the Gadsdens, both of them strange and gorgeous".[6]

Q made The Sailor Song their Track of the Day, citing; “A Charming and pulsating piece of piano pop that holds no surprises, tempo shifts or digital tweaks, it’s naturally sentimental, sending strong links to Tracy Chapman, mostly due to the vocal style of frontman Jody Gadsden”.[7]

The band were also featured in The Guardian's "The Measure" as one’s to watch: "The Gadsdens New band alert. The Sailor Song is heaven." [8] and MTV labeled the band as “Exquisite, outsider pop”.[9]

The Gadsdens announced[10] on 24 August 2011 they had "evolved" and were to be known going forward as Autoheart. On the same day, they posted a cover recording of "Ordinary Fool"[11] on YouTube. The song was originally included on the Bugsy Malone soundtrack.

The band were featured as The Guardian's New Band of the Day on 9 July 2013. Gadsden's vocal style was likened to that of Anohni and Andy Bell.[12]

Autoheart's debut album Punch was released on 15 July 2013 on O/R Records. With a lineup including bassist Jihea Oh, the album was produced by Danton Supple who has previously worked with Morrissey and Coldplay. It was preceded by three singles: Control (5 November 2012), Lent (11 February 2013), double A-side single Moscow / Agoraphobia (8 July 2013). The band released a final single, live favourite Beat the Love (28 January 2014), which did not feature on the album. A video for Moscow, directed by Gavin Leisfield, featured kissing Russian soldiers which the band said was to show "support and love to the LGBT communities of Russia and their friends, who are faced daily with violence and the criminalisation of love and of freedom of expression." Band also released self-directed videos for Agoraphobia and Beat The Love.

The band's second album, the self-produced I Can Build A Fire was released 26 August 2016. The lineup for the album included Berlin-based singer Anne Haight, who provided additional vocals on tracks Oxford Blood, We Can Build a Fire, and Joseph. The video for the album's lead single Oxford Blood, released the same month, was directed by Prano Bailey-Bond, and starred American gender non-conforming model, actor and activist Rain Dove. In June 2017, the band released an EP titled My Hallelujah featuring the title track, taken from the album along with three new songs. The video was directed by queer drag performer, artist and moving image creator Joseph Wilson.

In 2017, the band released Punch - Special Edition featuring home demo versions of album tracks, including an early demo of The Sailor Song.

The most recent release, on 27 December 2019, from the band is a single entitled Wretch. A video of the band performing the song live, directed by percussionist and film-maker Ruairi Glasheen, was released at the same time. In 2020, the band announced that they were in the final stages of recording their third album, set for release in 2021.