Kasabian is a British independent rock band from Countesthorpe, near Leicester, England. Formed in 1997, the group is led by singer Tom Meighan and guitarist Sergio Pizzorno, the now quartet has enjoyed international success since the release of their first studio album. Long regarded as the successors of Oasis and often compared to the Manchester band for their music and arrogance, today they have moved away from the music of their elders and are now considered the future of the britpop.
After two first studio albums, Kasabian in 2004 and Empire in 2006, to the sound of Stone Roses, Happy Mondays and Primal Scream, both following, West Ryder Pauper Lunatic Asylum in 2009 and Velociraptor! in 2011, come more root search for the Beatles and Rolling Stones, offering songs with multiple influences ranging from independent rock to electronica through glam rock, oriental sounds, hip-hop, krautrock, dance, the psychedelic, or garage rock. They are back in 2014 with their fifth album entitled 48:13 , then For Crying Out Loud in 2017.
Headlining several British festivals each summer, Kasabian collects nominations and awards, being twice elected "Best British Group" in 2010 and 2012 respectively to the Brit Awards and NME Awards. By the way, their first four studio albums and their first live album, Live from Brixton Academy , are all at least platinum disc in the UK. Apart from the album Kasabian, which ranked 4>, the others were at the top of the sales of albums across the Channel at their release. A second live album, entitled Live! , was released in the summer of 2012.
In the mid-1990s, two Community College students from Countesthorpe, Sergio Pizzorno and Chris Edwards, shared the same passion for music, which led them to form a band with Ben Kealy on drums and Pizzorno's best friend on vocals, both students also in the same school. Despite Pizzorno's efforts, the quartet never repeats. The latter then uses Tom Meighan, a common friend of the Community College, to take the place of singer. Training plays at Oasis Fan Meetings>. They repeat in the park of the nearby village of Blaby and give their first real concert in 1997, in the premises of Blaby Football Club. The show is both a farewell party figure for Edwards' mother, who has decided to move to London, and birthday party for "someone" . Equipped with a drums and guitar amps, the four young men play six or seven songs with two minutes of break between each, Pizzorno taking advantage in particular to re-tune his guitar in "a terrible noise ". As a result of this "dubious" performance, the band understands that an extra guitarist is needed to reinforce their music. Members then invite Chris Pratt, an acquaintance of Community College, to join them. A native of Blaby, Pratt has been playing in a group of Oasis covers and other britpop classics since 1994. He agrees to join them, but wishes to be known as Chris Karloff>.
