Through the Sparks

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Lazarus Beach album cover

Through the Sparks is a rock band, formed in Birmingham in 2003 by guitarist Nikolaus Mimikakis with his twin brother, Thomas, a drummer, and bassist Greg Slamen as a side project from Stateside.

When Stateside broke up, the three continued working together, adding vocalist and multi-instrumentalist Jody Nelson and keyboardist James Brangle. The group began playing locally while also recording original songs at "Alamalibu Studios" (a home studio in Nelson's garage). The group signed with Skybucket Records for their first release, the EP "Coin Toss", quickly followed by a compilation of earlier demos and unfinished tracks called "Audio Iotas."

By 2010 the Mimikakises had moved on, with guitarist Grey Watson and drummer Shawn Avery taking their places. The full-length album "Lazarus Beach" released on Skybucket in 2007, brought the band a measure of acclaim, with critics praising their "precise arrangements" and "lush instrumentation," enhanced by a horn section made up of Chad Fisher, Gary Wheat and Omari Thomas.

Building on their success, the group began distributing new singles directly to fans through their newsletter subscription list in 2010. That process resulted in the 2012 compilation album Almanac (MMX) Year of the Beast.

In 2016 Through the Sparks signed with Communicating Vessels and released a single entitled "Meteors in Gorges" which was produced by Daniel Farris in advance of the studio album Transindifference, released the same year. The band re-issued their entire catalog, including previously unreleased tracks, on Bandcamp.com in 2018.

Discography

  • Through the Sparks (2005) "Coin Toss." (EP) Skybucket Records
  • Through the Sparks (2006) "Audio Iotas: Scraps for the Human Ear" (EP) Skybucket Records
  • Through the Sparks (2007) "Lazarus Beach. Skybucket Records
  • Through the Sparks (2010) "Worm Moon Waning. Skybucket Records
  • Through the Sparks (2011) Almanac (MMX) Year of Beasts. Skybucket Records
  • Through the Sparks (2012) "Alamalibu." (EP) Skybucket Records
  • Through the Sparks (2014) Invisible Kids. Skybucket Records
  • Through the Sparks (2016) "Transindifference. Communicating Vessels

References

  • Colurso, Mary (November 24, 2010) "Through the Sparks touts latest release at Bottletree in Birmingham." The Birmingham News
  • George, Sam (April 28, 2011) "Taming the beast." Birmingham Weekly
  • George, Sam (August 1, 2011) "For the Love of Music" B-Metro, archived at bysamgeorge.com
  • Fiander, Matthew (June 18, 2012) "Through the Sparks: Alimalibu." [sic] PopMatters.com
  • Whitley, Carla Jean (January 2014) "Behind the Music: Through the Sparks members share a peek into their process and mindset as the band faces its 10-year anniversary."
  • "Through the Sparks" (July 26, 2023) Wikipedia - accessed April 26, 2024

External links

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