the arkive

Six by Seven

Having formed in 1994, Six By Seven have gone through various incarnations, with the only constant being singer and composer Chris Olley. They recorded three albums for Mantra Records via Beggars Banquet – The Things We Make (1998), The Closer You Get (2000), The Way I Feel Today (2002) ­– toured extensively, had two hit singles – “Candlelight” (1998) and “I O U Love” (2002), recorded five Peel Sessions and appeared on Later With Jools Holland (December ’98).

The band straddled a fine line between post-Brit Pop, British rock and a much edgier kind of punk. Inspired by the Sex Pistols and the Stranglers as well as Sonic Youth and Mercury Rev, Six By Seven consciously wanted to write songs that would get played on the radio, as Chris Olley explains: “We wanted to fill a gap I think, fill it with the sort of music we would like to hear and buy ourselves; sort of Captain Beefheart doing pop.”

Since the release of 2004’s sixbyseven:04, Chris Olley has been releasing Six by Seven albums with various musicians independently through his own label Saturday Night Sunday Morning Records, which is distributed worldwide through London’s Cargo Records.

“The darker successors to Britpop, musically akin to the minimal guitar mantras of Spacemen 3 and Loop. Their songs harness the beauty and momentum of playing one or two chords, then socking it to you with the big change.” Mojo 4*s

“A sort of pendulum-swing away from the cheeky-chappy cheer of Britpop back toward the stoic guitar maelstroms of My Bloody Valentine and Sonic Youth, Nottingham’s Six By Seven set out to chart a course between the dissonant and the epic.” Uncut

“Veering between Sonic Youth-style jet-engine feedback and atmospheric rock, it sounds as exhilarating as it did back then.” Q 4*s

“Six. By Seven were a fantastic band. Capable of mini-epics culminating in fearsome noise.” Louder than War 8/10

  • Six by Seven