Dragonette

Dragonette
Dragonette performing at the MSN.ca Launch Party on October 1, 2009
Background information
Origin	Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Genres	Synthpop new wave
Years active	2005–present
Labels	Mercury Universal I Surrender Dragonette Inc.
Associated acts	The New Deal Martin Solveig
Website	dragonetteonline.com
Members	Martina Sorbara Dan Kurtz Joel Stouffer
Past members	Simon Craig Will Stapleton Chris Huggett

Dragonette is a Canadian electronic music band from Toronto, Ontario, formed in 2005.^[1] The band consists of singer-songwriter Martina Sorbara, bassist and producer Dan Kurtz (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.^[2] A second studio album, Fixin to Thrill, was released in September 2009. The group's third studio album, Bodyparts, was released in September 2012.

History

Sorbara and Kurtz met at a Canadian music festival^[3] and formed a duo named The Fuzz,^[4] 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. Despite the promotion from the band, "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. Dragonette did, however, receive some airplay with a cover of Calvin Harris' hit single "The Girls", which was retitled "The Boys". "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. When Galore failed to sell as expected, Dragonette parted ways with Mercury Records.^[5]

Dragonette received a nomination for New Group of the Year at the Juno Awards of 2008.^[6] Kurtz and Sorbara co-wrote and co-produced the song "Grab a Hold" for Cyndi Lauper's 2008 album Bring Ya to the Brink.^[7] That same year Will James Stapleton left the band, to be replaced by Chris Huggett. 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.^[8]

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.^[9] 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.^[10] 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.^[11]

On June 21, 2012, Dragonette announced the title of their third studio album, Bodyparts, which was released on September 22, 2012.^[12] The album's lead single "Let It Go" was released on April 2, 2012.^[13] "Rocket Ship", a track from the album, was made available as a free download on the band's official SoundCloud page.^[14] The album's second single, "Live in This City", was released on August 7, 2012.^[15]

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.^[16]

In 2014, Dragonette collaborated with Dutch producer and DJ Mike Mago on the single "Outlines".^[17] The band also released the single "Let the Night Fall" on June 16, 2015.^[18]

In 2015 Dragonette worked with the band Big Data to produce "Get Some Freedom."

Most recently, in 2016, the band collaborated with English DJ and record producer Philip George on the single "Feel This Way".

Discography

Studio albums

Title	Album details	Peak chart positions
		CAN [19]	US Dance [20]
Galore	Released: August 6, 2007 Label: Mercury Formats: CD, digital download	80	—
Fixin to Thrill	Released: September 25, 2009 Label: Universal Music Canada Formats: CD, LP, digital download	63	21
Bodyparts	Released: September 22, 2012 Label: Dragonette Inc. Formats: CD, LP, digital download	—	17
"—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory.

Compilation albums

Title	Album details
Mixin to Thrill	Released: August 3, 2010[21] Label: Dragonette Inc. Formats: CD, digital download

Extended plays

Title	Album details
Dragonette EP	Released: 2005 Label: Self-released Format: CD

Singles

As lead artist

Title	Year	Peak chart positions										Album
		CAN [22]	AUS [23]	AUT [24]	BEL (FL) [25]	FRA [26]	GER [27]	IRE [28]	NL [29]	UK [30]	US [31]
"I Get Around"	2007	57	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	92	—	Galore
"Take It Like a Man"		—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	112	—
"Fixin to Thrill"	2009	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	Fixin to Thrill
"Gone Too Far"[32]		—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
"Pick Up the Phone"		28	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
"Easy"	2010	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
"Our Summer"/"Volcano"[10]		—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	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	—	—	—[upper-alpha 1]	—	—	—	—[upper-alpha 2]	118	—
"Let It Go"	2012	23	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	Bodyparts
"Live in This City"		65	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
"My Legs"[34]	2013	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
"Outlines" (with Mike Mago)	2014	47	—	—	18	—	—	77	20	8	—	Non-album single
"Let the Night Fall"[35]	2015	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	TBA
"Feel This Way" (with Philip George)	2016	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	136	—	Non-album single
"—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory.

As featured artist

Title	Year	Peak chart positions			Album
		CAN [36]	BEL Tip (FL) [25]	FRA [26]
"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	—	Non-album singles
"The Best"[37] (LENNO featuring Dragonette)	2015	—	—	—
"Pride of Lions"[38] (Joey Stylez featuring Dragonette)		—	—	—	Grey Magic
"—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory.

Promotional singles

Title	Year	Album
"Come On Be Good"[39]	2009	Fixin to Thrill
"Merry Xmas (Says Your Text Message)"[40]	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

Music videos

Title	Year	Director
"I Get Around"	2007	Wendy Morgan[41]
"Jesus Doesn't Love Me"		Pablo Ros-Cardona[42]
"Take It Like a Man"		Ben Taylor[43]
"Competition"	2008	Jeff Scheven[42]
"Fixin to Thrill"	2009	Wendy Morgan[44]
"Boys & Girls" (Martin Solveig featuring Dragonette)		Tristan Séguéla[45][46][47]
"Pick Up the Phone"		Drew Lightfoot[48]
"Easy"	2010
"Fire in Your New Shoes" (Kaskade featuring Dragonette)		Chic & Artistic[49]
"Let It Go"	2012	Drew Lightfoot[42]
"Live in This City"		Wendy Morgan[50]
"Run Run Run"	2013	Drew Lightfoot[42]
"Giddy Up"		Jeff Scheven[42]
"Pride of Lions" (Joey Stylez featuring Dragonette)	2015	Alison Honey Woods[51]
"Let the Night Fall"		Justin Broadbent and Vinit Borrison[42]

See also

• List of songs recorded by Dragonette

Notes

1. "Big in Japan" did not enter the Ultratop 50, but peaked at number 37 on the Flemish Ultratip chart.^[33]
2. "Big in Japan" did not enter the Dutch Top 40, but peaked at number five on the Dutch Tipparade chart.^[25]

References

1. "Dragonette". AllMusic. All Media Network. Retrieved December 23, 2010.
2. Kraines, Talia (September 21, 2007). "Review of Dragonette – Galore". BBC Music. Retrieved March 19, 2011.
3. "Hey, Dragonette: (no) thanks for oversharing!". CBC News. September 9, 2008. Retrieved July 13, 2015.
4. "Hype Monitor: Tempo No Tempo, Dragonette, Sleigh Bells". Rolling Stone. Wenner Media. November 19, 2009. Retrieved March 19, 2011.
5. Armstrong, Denis (March 31, 2010). "Dragonette ready to roar". Jam!. Retrieved July 13, 2015.
6. "Yearly Summary". Juno Awards. Retrieved July 13, 2015.
7. Bring Ya to the Brink (CD liner notes). Cyndi Lauper. Epic Records. 2008. 88697065922.
8. "2011 Juno Award Winners". Tribute. Retrieved July 13, 2015.
9. Chartrand, Fred (April 1, 2012). "Juno Awards 2012: Full list of winners". Toronto Star. Star Media Group. Retrieved July 13, 2015.
10. "Our Summer Volcano – Single by Dragonette". iTunes Store (US). Apple. Retrieved February 1, 2012.
11. "Interview: Nicola Roberts". Femalefirst.co.uk. September 12, 2011. Retrieved March 26, 2012.
12. Hudson, Alex (June 21, 2012). "Dragonette Announce 'Bodyparts' Album". Exclaim!. Retrieved July 13, 2015.
13. "Let it Go – Single by Dragonette". iTunes Store (US). Apple. Retrieved July 18, 2012.
14. Daw, Robbie (June 21, 2012). "Dragonette Announce Third Album 'Bodyparts', Release New Song "Rocket Ship"". Idolator. Spin Media. Retrieved July 18, 2012.
15. "Live In This City – Single by Dragonette". iTunes Store (US). Apple. Retrieved July 13, 2015.
16. Coutts, Matthew (February 22, 2013). "Target's Canadian launch to feature theme to 'Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood'". Yahoo! News Canada. Retrieved May 23, 2013.
17. Stern, Bradley (July 17, 2014). "Dragonette Teams Up With Mike Mago For Club Cut, "Outlines": Listen". Idolator. Spin Media. Retrieved July 13, 2015.
18. Adams, Gregory (June 16, 2015). "Dragonette "Let the Night Fall"". Exclaim!. Retrieved July 13, 2015.
19. Peak chart positions for albums in Canada:
    • Galore: "Top 100 Albums in Canada". Jam!. October 21, 2007. Archived from the original on October 30, 2007. Retrieved June 16, 2013.
    • Fixin to Thrill: "Top 100 Albums in Canada". Jam!. October 16, 2009. Archived from the original on October 25, 2009. Retrieved June 16, 2013.
20. "Dragonette – Chart history: Dance/Electronic Albums". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved August 9, 2012.
21. "Mixin' to Thrill by Dragonette". iTunes Store (US). Apple. Retrieved July 13, 2015.
22. Peak chart positions for singles in Canada:
    • All except noted: "Dragonette – Chart history: Billboard Canadian Hot 100". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Archived from the original on November 28, 2014. Retrieved August 9, 2012.
    • "Hello": "Billboard Canadian Hot 100: The Week of March 12, 2011". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved July 13, 2015.
    • "Big in Japan": "Billboard Canadian Hot 100: The Week of February 11, 2012". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved July 13, 2015.
    • "Outlines": "Billboard Canadian Hot 100: The Week of May 2, 2015". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved July 13, 2015.
23. "Discography Dragonette". australian-charts.com. Hung Medien. Retrieved July 13, 2015.
24. "Discography Dragonette". austriancharts.at. Hung Medien. Retrieved July 13, 2015.
25. "Discografie Dragonette" (in Dutch). Ultratop. Hung Medien. Retrieved July 13, 2015.
26. "Discographie Dragonette" (in French). lescharts.com. Hung Medien. Retrieved December 12, 2009.
27. "Dragonette | Single-Chartverfolgung" (in German). musicline.de. PHONONET. Retrieved July 13, 2015.
28. "Discography Dragonette". irish-charts.com. Hung Medien. Retrieved August 9, 2012.
29. Peak chart positions for singles in the Netherlands:
    • "Hello": "Martin Solveig & Dragonette – Hello" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40. Retrieved July 13, 2015.
    • "Outlines": "Mike Mago & Dragonette – Outlines" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40. Retrieved July 13, 2015.
30. Peak chart positions for singles in the United Kingdom:
    • "I Get Around" and "Hello": "Dragonette". Official Charts Company. Retrieved July 13, 2015.
    • "Take It Like a Man": "Chart Log UK: Asher D – Dyverse". Zobbel. Retrieved August 9, 2012.
    • "Big in Japan": "Chart Log UK – 2012 + Weekly Updates + Sales 2012". Zobbel. Retrieved August 9, 2012.
    • "Outlines": "Mike Mago & Dragonette". Official Charts Company. Retrieved July 13, 2015.
31. Peak chart positions for singles in the United States:
    • "Hello": "The Hot 100: The Week of June 18, 2011". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved July 13, 2015.
32. "Gone Too Far – Single by Dragonette". iTunes Store (CA). Apple. Retrieved July 13, 2015.
33. "Martin Solveig and Dragonette feat Idoling!!! – Big in Japan" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40. Retrieved July 13, 2015.
34. "My Legs (Remixes) – Single by Dragonette". iTunes Store (CA). Apple. Retrieved July 13, 2015.
35. "Let the Night Fall – Single by Dragonette". iTunes Store (CA). Apple. Retrieved July 13, 2015.
36. Peak chart positions for singles as featured artist in Canada:
    • "Fire in Your New Shoes": "Kaskade – Chart history: Billboard Canadian Hot 100". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved July 13, 2015.
37. "The Best (feat. Dragonette) – Single by LENNO". iTunes Store (CA). Apple. Retrieved July 13, 2015.
38. "Pride of Lions (feat. Dragonette) – Single by Joey Stylez". iTunes Store (CA). Apple. Retrieved July 13, 2015.
39. "Come On Be Good – Single by Dragonette". iTunes Store (US). Apple. Retrieved July 14, 2015.
40. "Merry Xmas (Says Your Text Message) – Single by Dragonette". iTunes Store (CA). Apple. Retrieved July 13, 2015.
41. Gottlieb, Steven (May 9, 2008). "NEWS: 2008 MVPA Nominees". VideoStatic. Retrieved August 9, 2012.
42. "Dragonette". IMVDb. Retrieved July 13, 2015.
43. Knight, David (June 18, 2009). "Ben Taylor joins Between The Eyes". Promo News. Retrieved August 9, 2012.
44. Knight, David (July 7, 2009). "Dragonette's Fixin' To Thrill by Wendy Morgan". Promo News. Retrieved August 9, 2012.
45. Maida, Sabine; Dépret, Nathalie (September 2009). "Glam'style – Passage en revue de ce qui est hot & hype". Glamour (in French) (66): 134–5. ISSN 0990-6479.
46. Perilli, Vanessa (September 23, 2009). "Note di Gaultier". Marie Claire (in Italian). Retrieved July 13, 2015.
47. "Tristan Seguela — Martin Solveig – "Boys and girls"". Caporal Films. Retrieved July 13, 2015.
48. "Drew Lightfoot". drewlightfoot.com. Retrieved August 9, 2012.
49. Knight, David (August 5, 2010). "Kaskade's Fire In Your New Shoes feat. Martina by Chic & Artistic". Promo News. Retrieved August 9, 2012.
50. Gottlieb, Steven (September 27, 2012). "WATCH IT: Dragonette "Live In This City" (Wendy Morgan, dir.)". VideoStatic. Retrieved June 16, 2013.
51. Moore, Nathaniel G. (May 31, 2015). "Interview: Alison Honey Woods". Verbicide Magazine. Retrieved July 13, 2015.

External links

• Official website
• Dragonette at AllMusic