Hybrid (Welsh Band) - History

History

Hybrid released their first album, Wide Angle, in 1999 – a combination of progressive house and nu skool breaks with vocals and symphonic textures. They hired the Russian Federal Orchestra for the string sections. Julee Cruise supplied many of the vocals for Wide Angle. The album was produced and written by the duo along with the third original band member, Lee Mullin. The music's cinematic feel and scope have led to comparisons with Massive Attack and Underworld. Hybrid also supported Moby during a live tour in 2000.

Hybrid released their second album, Morning Sci-Fi, in 2003. They added semi-permanent vocalists and guitarists, Adam Taylor and Tim Hutton (both on the album and when performing live) with a guest appearance from New Order alumnus Peter Hook. This album had a generally darker feel to it than Wide Angle, though still retaining the cinematic undertones for which Hybrid are known. In addition to this, Morning Sci-Fi features a more diverse range of influences than its predecessor — Chris Healings stating in an interview that, "We've been listening to absolutely anything other than dance music. I suppose that is because dance music is so ingrained into what we do naturally. We've been listening to stuff like Doves, Radiohead, Soulwax, New Order and lots of jangly indie guitar bands and classical music, particularly the work of Arvo Pärt and Alexander Gretchaninov."

In 2004, Hybrid were invited by noted Hollywood film composer Harry Gregson-Williams, to work on the soundtrack for the film Man on Fire. The film marked not only Hybrid's first forray into film music, but also the duo's first collaboration with Harry Gregson-Williams, which continuously invited them to work on the soundtrack for movies like The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian, X-Men Origins: Wolverine and Total Recall. This also marked the first collaboration with the late film director Tony Scott. A collaboration which continued throughout the remainder of his career, until his death in 2012.

On April 2006, Hybrid played at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival on April 29, 2006. Later, the same year, Hybrid released their third studio album, I Choose Noise. The album featured the return of the epic symphonic sound and grand orchestral scope of Wide Angle. It featured Perry Farrell, John Graham (A fellow music producer, going by the name Quivver), Judie Tzuke and Kirsty Hawkshaw. Harry Gregson-Williams also appeared on the album, composing most of the album's string sections. Film composer Stephen Barton was also involved with the production of the album. The album didn't spawn any singles, however many of the tracks would later go on to be heavily played by DJ's, as well as heavily featured in advertisements. In addition, 2 of the album's tracks "Dogstar" and "Dream Stalker" would late be re-recorded with Parry Farrell for his Satellite Party project. The project also featured another re-recording of he song "Orbit," which was previously unreleased. These recordings were later released on the album Ultra Payloaded, released in 2007.

On March 8, 2007, Hybrid kicked off their US Spring 2007 Live Tour in support of their third album I Choose Noise. Hybrid was joined by John Graham, Peter DiStefano and, a new female vocalist, Charlotte James. Later that same year, Distinctive Records released a compilation album: Hybrid Remixed. It consisted of remixes of several compositions by Hybrid, with remixes by various artists, including Deadmau5, Jerome Sydenham, The Cinematic Orchestra and The Orb, as well as a rare b-side track, named "Sleepwalking," orgiinally meant for I Choose Noise. Despite this however, Hybrid had nothing to do with the release, as it was meant to be their last release with Distinct'ive. However, despite being managed by Hope Recordings, Hybrid still released their next few releases with Distinct'ive.

2007 also the duo compose their first original soundtrack, for the film Catacombs. However, nothing of Hybrid's contributions were ever released, despite heavy fan demand, as of 2012.

2008 saw the release of Soundsystem 01. The album is a double-disc mix collection with the first CD being based around actual film scores fused with ambient electronica, and the second containing more upfront, club-oriented music represented by remixes of music by the likes of Sasha, Quivver and Elite Force. Later that same year, Hybrid released a new single, entitled "The Formula of Fear," which featuered Charlotte James on the vocals. Hybrid also contributed an original track "Komuru", to the Survival International charity album, Songs for Survival.

Besides collaborating with Harry Gregson-Williams, 2009 saw Hybrid focusing on the production of their forth album. The album was originally finished in 2008, however the group described the album as indie rock and as a result, weren't sastified with the album, which lead them to restart the production completely. After several months of silence, their fourth album Disappear Here was finally finished and released on March 29, 2010. The album was made with Andrew Skeet and the City of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra at Smecky Music Studios. A video recording of the track from the forthcoming album, entitled "Break My Soul", was also released which was filmed and edited by the band. Unilke their previous album, Disappear Here spawned several singles, and also rose to #2 at the iTunes electronic charts. The album was re-released in the same year, entitled Disappear Here: Widescreen Edition, which contained special edits, remixes and orchestral versions.

2010 also saw more collaborations with Harry Gregson-Williams. the duo helped finish the score for Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time, and yet another Tony Scott production: Unstoppable. This would prove to be the last collaboration with Tony Scott, with the directors death in 2012.

On March 15, 2011, Hybrid released the song "Blind Side" for free, as promotion for the single, which itself was officially released on August 22, 2011. The single was their first release for their new label Kill City Records. Beyond this, Hybrid spent most of 2011 focusing on film score work. The group submitted two original tracks for the film Fast Five. They also helped finish the score for Cowboys & Aliens and was working on the original soundtrack for the video game Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon: Future Soldier, which was released in May 2012.

Besides the afromentioned video game soundtrack, August 2012 saw the release of Classics out on Distinctive Records. The album is a greatest hits compilation, compiling the biggest hits from Hybrid's career. The album was released in a standard one disc edition, as well as a deluxe edition, consisting of 4 discs. The deluxe edition featured many alternative mixes and orchestral versions, as well as unreleased material, including much of the music that was made for advertisement agencies.