Dragonette

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Dragonette
Dragonette performing at the MSN.ca Launch Party on October 1, 2009
Dragonette performing at the MSN.ca Launch Party on October 1, 2009
Background information
OriginToronto, Ontario, Canada
Genres
Years active2005–present
Labels
Associated acts
Websitedragonetteonline.com
Members
Past members
  • Dan Kurtz
  • Joel Stouffer
  • Simon Craig
  • Will Stapleton
  • Chris Huggett

Dragonette is a Canadian electronic music band from Toronto, Ontario, formed in 2005.[7] The band consists of singer-songwriter Martina Sorbara, bassist and producer Dan Kurtz[8] (also in The New Deal), and drummer Joel Stouffer.

Dragonette released a self-titled EP in 2005 before being signed to Mercury Records and relocating to London, where they recorded and released their debut studio album, Galore, in August 2007 to moderate critical appreciation.[9] A second studio album, Fixin to Thrill, was released in September 2009. The group's third studio album, Bodyparts, was released in September 2012 and their fourth, Royal Blues, followed in November 2016.

Following the relationship split of founding members Martina Sorbara and Dan Kurtz in 2016, Kurtz also left the group. He elected to rejoin his previous band The New Deal. Sorbara has since announced she will be continuing the Dragonette name as a solo artist henceforth.

History[]

2005–2008: Formation and Galore[]

Sorbara and Kurtz met at a Canadian music festival[10] and formed a duo named The Fuzz,[11] making music together in their basement recording studio for fun. The duo formed Dragonette after these initial recordings, and supported New Order on only their second live performance. In 2005, the band released the six-track Dragonette EP, prior to signing a record deal with UK record label Mercury Records.

Dragonette relocated to London to record their debut studio album, Galore, released on August 6, 2007, and toured the UK supporting local acts, including Basement Jaxx (with whom Sorbara also recorded the track "Take Me Back to Your House") and Sugababes and played headline gigs in small venues across the UK and Canada. British musician Will Stapleton replaced Simon Craig on guitar following the relocation. Dragonette filmed two music videos, one for "Jesus Doesn't Love Me" and another for "I Get Around". The former video leaked onto the Internet, while the other served as promotion for their first single release. "I Get Around" reached number 92 on the UK Singles Chart. A follow-up single release, "Take It Like a Man", fared no better, failing to enter the top 100 of the UK Singles Chart. "I Get Around" was released in the band's home country of Canada where it outperformed the UK release, peaking at number 57 on Billboard's Canadian Hot 100. After Galore failed to sell as expected, Dragonette parted ways with Mercury Records.[12]

Dragonette received a nomination for New Group of the Year at the Juno Awards of 2008.[13] Kurtz and Sorbara co-wrote and co-produced the song "Grab a Hold" for Cyndi Lauper's 2008 album Bring Ya to the Brink.[14] That same year Will James Stapleton left the band, to be replaced by Chris Huggett.

2009–2011: Fixin to Thrill and collaborations[]

Dragonette's second studio album, Fixin to Thrill, was released on September 29, 2009. The album was nominated for Dance Recording of the Year at the Juno Awards of 2011.[15]

Dragonette have collaborated with several house DJs for releases, to varying degrees of success. Although Basement Jaxx's 2006 song "Take Me Back to Your House" only featured Sorbara on vocals, it was promoted by the band as a Dragonette collaborative. The band have since recorded several tracks with French DJ Martin Solveig, including "Boys & Girls" in 2009, "Hello" in 2010, and "Can't Stop" and "Big in Japan" in 2011; all of these tracks appear on Solveig's 2011 album Smash. Solveig and Dragonette won the Juno Award for Dance Recording of the Year for "Hello" in April 2012.[16] In 2010, the band also collaborated with Kaskade on "Fire in Your New Shoes" and with Don Diablo on "Animale".

A double A-side single containing the songs "Our Summer" and "Volcano" was released digitally on July 27, 2010.[17] On August 3, 2010, Dragonette released the compilation album Mixin to Thrill digitally, while a limited-edition CD was sold via the band's online store. The compilation contains three new songs—"Volcano", "Our Summer", and "My Things"—as well as several remixes from the previous year. In 2011, Dragonette worked with Girls Aloud member Nicola Roberts, co-writing and producing the single "Lucky Day" for her debut solo album Cinderella's Eyes.[18]

2012–2013: Bodyparts[]

On June 21, 2012, Dragonette announced the title of their third studio album, Bodyparts, which was released on September 22, 2012.[19] The album's lead single "Let It Go" was released on April 2, 2012.[20] "Rocket Ship", a track from the album, was made available as a free download on the band's official SoundCloud page.[21] The album's second single, "Live in This City", was released on August 7, 2012.[22]

In February 2013, Dragonette recorded a version of "Won't You Be My Neighbour?", the theme song to the American children's television series Mister Rogers' Neighborhood, for use in Target Canada's first ad campaign.[23]

2014–present: Royal Blues[]

In 2014, Dragonette collaborated with Dutch producer and DJ Mike Mago on the single "Outlines".[24] The band also released the single "Let the Night Fall" on June 16, 2015.[25] The band's fourth studio album, Royal Blues, was released on November 11, 2016.[26]

Discography[]

Studio albums[]

Title Details Peak chart positions
CAN
[27]
US
Dance

[28]
Galore 80
Fixin to Thrill 63 21
Bodyparts
  • Released: September 22, 2012
  • Label: Dragonette Inc.
  • Formats: CD, LP, digital download
17
Royal Blues
  • Released: November 11, 2016[26]
  • Label: Dragonette Inc.
  • Formats: CD, LP, digital download
100
"—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory.

Compilation albums[]

Title Details
Mixin to Thrill
  • Released: August 3, 2010[29]
  • Label: Dragonette Inc.
  • Formats: CD, digital download

Extended plays[]

Title Details
Dragonette EP
  • Released: 2005
  • Label: Self-released
  • Format: CD

Singles[]

As lead artist[]

Title Year Peak chart positions Certifications Album
CAN
[30]
AUS
[31]
AUT
[32]
BEL (FL)
[33]
FRA
[34]
GER
[35]
IRE
[36]
NL
[37]
UK
[38]
US
[39]
"I Get Around" 2007 57 92 Galore
"Take It Like a Man" 112
"Fixin to Thrill" 2009 Fixin to Thrill
"Gone Too Far"[40]
"Pick Up the Phone" 28
"Easy" 2010
"Our Summer"/"Volcano"[17] Mixin to Thrill
"Hello"
(with Martin Solveig)
8 13 1 1 5 5 6 1 13 46 Smash
"Big in Japan"
(with Martin Solveig featuring Idoling!!!)
2011 36 [A] 118
"Let It Go" 2012 23 Bodyparts
"Live in This City" 65
"My Legs"[47] 2013
"Outlines"
(with Mike Mago)
2014 47 18 77 26 8 Non-album single
"Let the Night Fall"[48] 2015 Royal Blues
"Red Heart Black"[49]
(with Dada and Paul Harris)
Non-album singles
"Feel This Way"[50]
(with Philip George)
2016 136
"Lonely Heart"[51] Royal Blues
"Sweet Poison"[52]
(featuring Dada)
"Galactic Appeal"[53]
(with Pretty Sister featuring Tobtok)
Non-album singles
"Secret Stash"[54]
(with Mike Mago)
"Awake"[55]
(with Sonny Alven)
2017
"Body 2 Body"[56] Royal Blues
"Hope for Tomorrow"[57]
(with Autograf and Klingande)
2018 Non-album singles
"Tokyo Nights"[58]
(with Digital Farm Animals and Shaun Frank)
97
"Faith in Love"[60]
(with Kokiri)
"—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory.

As featured artist[]

Title Year Peak chart positions Certifications Album
CAN
[61]
BEL Tip (FL)
[33]
FRA
[34]
NL
[37]
"Boys & Girls"
(Martin Solveig featuring Dragonette)
2009 17 C'est la Vie
"Fire in Your New Shoes"
(Kaskade featuring Dragonette)
2010 69 Dynasty
"Animale"
(Don Diablo featuring Dragonette)
2 33 Non-album singles
"The Best"[62]
(LENNO featuring Dragonette)
2015
"Pride of Lions"[63]
(Joey Stylez featuring Dragonette)
Grey Magic
"One Night Lover"[64]
(Paul Harris featuring Dragonette)
Non-album singles
"Leave a Light On"[65]
(Plastic Plates featuring Dragonette)
2017
"Rich Girl"[66]
(DJ Licious featuring Dragonette)
2018
"—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory.

Promotional singles[]

Title Year Album
"Come On Be Good"[67] 2009 Fixin to Thrill
"Merry Xmas (Says Your Text Message)"[68] 2012 Non-album single

Guest appearances[]

Title Year Album
"Can't Stop"
(with Martin Solveig)
2011 Smash
"Get Some Freedom"
(Big Data featuring Dragonette)
2015 2.0
"Neck and Neck"[69]
(Zeds Dead featuring Dragonette)
2016 Northern Lights

Music videos[]

Title Year Director(s) Ref(s)
"I Get Around" 2007 Wendy Morgan [70]
"Jesus Doesn't Love Me" Pablo Ros-Cardona [71]
"Take It Like a Man" Ben Taylor [72]
"Competition" 2008 Jeff Scheven [71]
"Fixin to Thrill" 2009 Wendy Morgan [73]
"Boys & Girls"
(Martin Solveig featuring Dragonette)
Tristan Séguéla [74][75][76]
"Pick Up the Phone" Drew Lightfoot [77]
"Easy" 2010
"Fire in Your New Shoes"
(Kaskade featuring Dragonette)
Chic & Artistic [78]
"Let It Go" 2012 Drew Lightfoot [71]
"Live in This City" Wendy Morgan [79]
"Run Run Run" 2013 Drew Lightfoot [71]
"Giddy Up" Jeff Scheven [71]
"Pride of Lions"
(Joey Stylez featuring Dragonette)
2015 Alison Honey Woods [80]
"Let the Night Fall" Justin Broadbent and Vinit Borrison [71]
"Lonely Heart" 2016 Sammy Rawal [81]
"Body 2 Body" 2017 [82]

See also[]

Notes[]

  1. ^ "Big in Japan" did not enter the Ultratop 50, but peaked at number 37 on the Flemish Ultratip chart.[33]

References[]

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  38. ^ Peak chart positions for singles in the United Kingdom:
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  40. ^ "Gone Too Far – Single by Dragonette". iTunes Store. Canada. Retrieved July 13, 2015.
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  49. ^ "Red Heart Black – Single by Dada, Paul Harris & Dragonette". iTunes Store. Canada. Retrieved June 11, 2016.
  50. ^ "Feel This Way – Single by Philip George & Dragonette". iTunes Store. Canada. Retrieved June 11, 2016.
  51. ^ "Lonely Heart – Single by Dragonette". iTunes Store. Canada. Retrieved June 11, 2016.
  52. ^ "Sweet Poison (feat. Dada Ante Portas) – Single by Dragonette". iTunes Store. Canada. Retrieved September 18, 2016.
  53. ^ "Galactic Appeal (feat. Tobtok) – Single by Pretty Sister & Dragonette". iTunes Store. Canada. Retrieved June 9, 2017.
  54. ^ "Secret Stash – Single by Mike Mago & Dragonette". iTunes Store. Canada. Retrieved June 9, 2017.
  55. ^ "Awake – Single by Sonny Alven & Dragonette". iTunes Store. United States. Retrieved June 17, 2017.
  56. ^ "Body 2 Body – EP by Dragonette". iTunes Store. United States. Retrieved November 26, 2018.
  57. ^ "Hope for Tomorrow – Single by Autograf, Klingande & Dragonette". iTunes Store. United States. Retrieved November 26, 2018.
  58. ^ "Tokyo Nights – Single by Digital Farm Animals, Shaun Frank & Dragonette". iTunes Store. United States. Retrieved November 26, 2018.
  59. ^ Jump up to: a b "Canadian certifications – Dragonette". Music Canada. Retrieved August 30, 2019.
  60. ^ "Faith in Love – Single by Kokiri & Dragonette". iTunes Store. United States. Retrieved November 26, 2018.
  61. ^ Peak chart positions for singles as featured artist in Canada:
  62. ^ "The Best (feat. Dragonette) – Single by LENNO". iTunes Store. Canada. Retrieved July 13, 2015.
  63. ^ "Pride of Lions (feat. Dragonette) – Single by Joey Stylez". iTunes Store. Canada. Retrieved July 13, 2015.
  64. ^ "One Night Lover (feat. Dragonette) [Remixes] – EP by Paul Harris". iTunes Store. Canada. Retrieved June 11, 2016.
  65. ^ "Leave a Light On (feat. Dragonette) – Single by Plastic Plates". iTunes Store. Canada. Retrieved June 9, 2017.
  66. ^ "Rich Girl (feat. Dragonette) – Single by DJ Licious". iTunes Store. Canada. Retrieved November 26, 2018.
  67. ^ "Come On Be Good – Single by Dragonette". iTunes Store. United States. Retrieved July 14, 2015.
  68. ^ "Merry Xmas (Says Your Text Message) – Single by Dragonette". iTunes Store. Canada. Retrieved July 13, 2015.
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External links[]

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