For Beginner Piano September 28, 1999

Plone are Billy, Mike and Mark. They formed in late 1996 in Birmingham, where they started gigging, supporting other local bands Broadcast and Pram. In September 1997 they released the single “Press A Key” after being approached by Wurlitzer Jukebox. Snapped up by Warp on the strength of this single they introduced themselves with “Plaything” on the We Are Reasonable People compilation and played live at John Peel’s Meltdown festival. Their first single “Plock” was released in September 1998 to considerable critical acclaim:

“A bewitchingly naive tangle of Lego beats and Fisher Price melodies, wafting over you like some half-remembered childhood nursery rhyme” (NME)

“Easy led electronica at its best: not too cutesy yet full of melody” (Music Week)

“Charmed electronic exotica, breezy bossonova, polite vocoder vocals.” (Melody Maker)

Such reviews resulted in Plone being tipped for 1999 in publications as diverse as Muzik, Music Week, and Dazed and Confused as well as being listed as one of the top singles of 1998 by NME and single of the year by Melody Maker.

They began to build collections of old drum machines, analog synthesizers, and effects. Their musical influences come from music that has shown an imaginative and loose sense of technological experimentation while retaining a pop sensibility — Kraftwerk, John Barry, The Upsetters, The Beach Boys, Flying Lizards, Suicide, Sun Ra, Joe Meek, and 80’s electro pop.

Plone are synthesizer songwriters, creating timeless melodies for electronic soundtracks.

Plone is a sound when you hit a key on a synth. Plone is an imaginary word which sounds like a cartoon ricochet.