Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs
Orlando Tobias Edward Higginbottom (born 7 March 1986), better known by his stage name Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs, is a British electronic music producer, DJ and singer based in the United States.
Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs | |
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | Orlando Tobias Edward Higginbottom |
| Also known as | TEED |
| Born | 7 March 1986 London, England |
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| Occupation(s) |
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| Years active | 2008–present |
| Labels |
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| Associated acts |
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| Website | totallyenormousextinctdinosaurs |
Early life
Orlando is the son of Professor Edward Higginbottom, formerly conductor of the choir of New College, Oxford.[2] He was educated at the Cherwell School, Oxford.[3] A classically trained musician, he attended the Junior Royal Academy of Music in London. Orlando began listening to electronic music in his early teens, through borrowing audio tapes from his older siblings.
After buying records and DJing since the age of 13, and experimenting with music production for several years, Orlando launched Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs in 2009. The name was intended to oppose the often pretentious world of dance music and underground cool, and together with his stage persona, inject some fun and colour into the club environment.
Orlando commented to Spin that he was looking for a name that "couldn't be cool, couldn't be put into some kind of scene that gets hip for six months and then falls out of fashion."[4]
Musical career
2009–11: Early releases and Greco-Roman
TEED made his debut on Joe Goddard's Greco-Roman label in 2009 with the All in One Sixty Dancehalls EP, featuring a remix by British producers 2 Bad Mice. This was followed All in Two Sixty Dancehalls EP (featuring the single "Garden") and by Household Goods EP in November 2010.
In July 2011 Orlando was enlisted by Blur frontman Damon Albarn to take part in an album project connected with his work for well-known charity Oxfam. Kinshasa One Two was recorded over a period of six days in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) as part of the Oxjam music series and released on Warp Records in that year.
2012–2014: Debut album and further releases
On 11 June 2012 TEED's debut album Trouble was released by Polydor Records. The album was well received, with favourable reviews from several well-respected music publications including the NME ("One of the UK's most exciting young producers"), Pitchfork[5] and the BBC. iTunes UK named Trouble as their 'Debut Electronic album of the year', was DJ Magazine's 'album of the year' and it was number 5 in the BBC's end of year album poll.
Trouble was also voted 'Best Album' in DJ Magazine's Best of British 2012,[6] with TEED also picking up the award for 'Best Live Act'.[7]
TEED appears in the music video for the single, "Trouble". The video was shot in Los Angeles, CA during May 2011 and directed by The General Assembly.
That same year he was enlisted by Pete Tong to record an Essential Mix, which was broadcast on his seminal Friday night show on 18 August 2012.
On 8 July 2013, Crosstown Rebels released Get Lost VI, a compilation of music curated and mixed by Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs. Get Lost VI featured tracks from Underground Resistance, Tiga, Breach, Trus'me, Axel Boman, Dave Aju, Mathew Jonson and more. It was voted 'Best Compilation' in DJ Magazine's Best of British 2013.[8] It also featured a collaboration by TEED and Eats Everything entitled "Lion, The Lion", which was later released as a single with remixes by Dutch producer Gerd.
On 14 August 2014, TEED launched Nice Age, a cross-platform label. The first release, "Feels Like", is a collaboration between TEED and Anna Lunoe.[9]
2018–present: Non-album singles
In 2018, TEED returned with a series of four non-album singles, "Leave a Light On", "Don't You Forget About Me", "Body Move", and "Energy Fantasy".
Live show
In tandem with the name he conceived a stage show which involved dressing up as a dinosaur while flanked by similarly dressed dancers.
TEED has also produced music for other artists including BBC Sound Of 2014 nominee, Banks. He has composed two songs with the American artist, "Warm Water" and "Bedroom Wall". He has also provided feature vocals for Dillon Francis on "Without You".
He has remixed a number of artists, notably Disclosure's "F for You" and Foals "My Number".
TEED has also presented shows on 6 Music and Rinse FM as well as performing live at Maida Vale Studios for Rob da Bank's Radio 1 show and has made several appearances on the Boiler Room, including a back-to-back session with Friendly Fires.
His Trouble era live show combined visual and audio elements. He was notorious for his flamboyant headdresses and bright coloured handmade stage outfits and was usually accompanied by dancers. He has toured the globe extensively, with headline appearances at many of the world's best-known festivals, including Glastonbury, Lollapalooza, Parklife, Secret Garden Party, Sónar, Amsterdam dance event and more.
Discography
Studio albums
| Title | Album details |
|---|---|
| Trouble |
|
Extended plays
- All in One Sixty Dancehalls (2009), Greco-Roman
- All in Two Sixty Dancehalls (2010), Greco-Roman
- Household Goods (2010), Greco-Roman
- Prehistory (2011), Greco-Roman
- Prehistory II (2011), Greco-Roman
- I Can Hear the Birds (2020), I Oh You[10]
As lead artist
| Title | Year | Peak chart positions | Album | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UK [11] |
UK Dance [12] |
BEL (Vl) [13] | |||
| "Trouble" | 2011 | — | — | — | Trouble |
| "Garden" | 135 | 23 | 87 | ||
| "You Need Me on My Own" | 2012 | — | — | — | |
| "Tapes & Money" | — | — | — | ||
| "Stronger / American Dream Part II" | — | — | — | ||
| "Household Goods" (re-release)" |
— | — | — | ||
| "Your Love" | — | — | 105 | ||
| "Lion, the Lion" (with Eats Everything) |
2013 | — | — | — | Get Lost VI |
| "Without You" (with Dillon Francis) |
— | — | — | Non-album singles | |
| "Feels Like" (with Anna Lunoe) |
2014 | — | — | — | |
| "Leave a Light On"[14] | 2018 | — | — | — | |
| "Don't You Forget About Me" | — | — | — | ||
| "Body Move"[15] | — | — | — | ||
| "Energy Fantasy"[16] | — | — | — | ||
| "Again" (with SG Lewis)[17] |
— | — | — | Dark EP | |
| "Radical" (with Amtrac) |
2020 | — | — | — | Oddyssey |
| "Heartbreak"[18] (with Bonobo) |
— | — | — | Non-album singles | |
| "6000 Ft."[19] (with Bonobo) |
— | — | — | ||
| "—" denotes an recording that did not chart or was not released. | |||||
As featured artist
| Title | Year | Album |
|---|---|---|
| "Dawn" (Bronson featuring Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs) |
2020 | Bronson |
Other albums
- Kinshasa One Two
as part of DRC Music led by Damon Albarn (2012), Warp
Remixes
| Year | Artist | Song |
|---|---|---|
| 2008 | Sugababes | "Denial" |
| 2009 | Asavioure & DJ IQ | "Cracked It" |
| 2010 | Fenech-Soler | "Lies" |
| Professor Green | "Monster" | |
| Sky Ferreira | "One" | |
| Darwin Deez | "Constellations" | |
| Tinashé | "Saved" | |
| Wafa | "Ewid Disco" | |
| Killa Kela | "Everyday" | |
| Deathray Trebuchay | "No 6 Friend 1" | |
| 2011 | Fur Coat | "Space Ballad" |
| Lee Mortimer | "Where the Party At" | |
| Donae'o | "When Angels Sing" | |
| Katy Perry | "Firework" | |
| Lady Gaga | "Marry the Night" | |
| The 2 Bears | "The Lunatics" | |
| Crystal Fighters | "Xtatic Truth" | |
| Friendly Fires | "Hawaiian Air" | |
| 2012 | Jonquil | "It's My Part" |
| 2013 | Foals | "My Number" |
| Zinc (featuring Sasha Keable) | "Only for Tonight" | |
| Disclosure | "F for You"[20] | |
| 2014 | Little Dragon | "Paris" |
| 2018 | Low Island | "The Whole World Tucked Away" |
| 2020 | Lastlings | "Take My Hand" (Sky and Earth Remix)[21] |
| Bag Raiders (featuring Panama) | "How Long" | |
| Jessie Ware | Save a Kiss" | |
References
- Jason Lymangrover. "Trouble". AllMusic (Rovi Corporation). Retrieved 22 March 2013.
- "BBC - Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs interview". Retrieved 10 March 2015.
- Tim Hughes. "Orlando Blooms". Oxford Mail. Retrieved 10 March 2015.
- "Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs and His Jurassic Pop". SPIN. Retrieved 10 March 2015.
- "Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs". Pitchfork. Retrieved 10 March 2015.
- "BEST ALBUM". djmag.com. Retrieved 10 March 2015.
- "BEST LIVE ACT". djmag.com. Retrieved 10 March 2015.
- "BEST COMPILATION: TEED 'GET LOST VI'". djmag.com. Retrieved 10 March 2015.
- "PREMIERE: Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs x Anna Lunoe: "Feels Like"". Vice Media. 14 August 2014. Archived from the original on 28 August 2017. Retrieved 14 June 2018.
- Middleton, Ryan (27 May 2020). "Isolation Ambient Music: Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs - I Can Hear The Birds". Magnetic Mag. Archived from the original on 23 June 2020. Retrieved 23 June 2020.
- Peak positions for singles in the UK:
- For "Garden": "New Chart Entries > 29 October 2011". Zobbel.de.
- Peak positions for singles on the UK Dance Chart:
- For "Garden": "Chart Archive > 29 October 2011 >". Official Charts Company.
- "Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs – Belgium (Flanders) Charts". ultratop.be/nl/ Hung Medien.
- Bagshaw, Bella (12 June 2018). "Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs returns with 'Leave A Light On'". Dancing Astronaut. Archived from the original on 13 June 2018. Retrieved 14 June 2018.
- Ju, Shirley (2 September 2018). "Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs delivers grooving new single, 'Body Move'". Dancing Astronaut. Archived from the original on 3 September 2018. Retrieved 3 September 2018.
- Kenneally, Cerys (7 September 2018). "Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs shares glaring new track "Energy Fantasy"". The Line of Best Fit. Archived from the original on 22 September 2018. Retrieved 22 September 2018.
- Evans, Steph (6 November 2018). "SG Lewis and Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs link up on 'Again'". Dancing Astronaut. Archived from the original on 7 November 2018. Retrieved 7 November 2018.
- Martin, Josh (25 September 2020). "Bonobo teams up with Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs for disco tribute 'Heartbreak'". NME. Archived from the original on 14 October 2020. Retrieved 14 October 2020.
- Leight, Elias (16 November 2020). "Bonobo, Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs join forces on dreamy '6000 Ft.'". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on 23 November 2020. Retrieved 23 November 2020.
- "Disclosure – F For You". Indie Shuffle.
- Alzgheibi, Husam (24 April 2020). "TEED delivers two remixes for Lastling's 'Take My Hand'". EDM Tunes. Archived from the original on 12 May 2020. Retrieved 12 May 2020.
