Chvrches facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Chvrches
Chvrches performing in Los Angeles in 2021
Background information
Origin	Glasgow, Scotland
Genres	Synth-pop electropop indie pop indietronica electronic rock
Years active	2011–present
Labels	Island Records Virgin Goodbye Glassnote Virgin EMI
Members	Iain Cook Martin Doherty Lauren Mayberry

Chvrches (pronounced "Churches") is a Scottish synth-pop band from Glasgow. They formed in September 2011. The band has three main members: Lauren Mayberry, Iain Cook, and Martin Doherty. Since 2018, Jonny Scott has also played drums with them during live shows.

Chvrches' music is mostly synth-pop, but they also mix in styles like indietronica, indie pop, and electronic dance music. This gives them a unique sound that fans love.

Two years after forming, Chvrches released their Recover EP in March 2013. This EP included popular songs like "The Mother We Share" and "Recover." Their first full album, The Bones of What You Believe, came out on September 20, 2013. The BBC even listed them as fifth on their "Sound of 2013" list, which highlights new artists to watch.

Their second album, Every Open Eye, was released on September 25, 2015. Then came their third album, Love Is Dead, on May 25, 2018. Their fourth album, Screen Violence, was released on August 27, 2021.

The Story of Chvrches: How the Band Began

How Chvrches Formed

Musicians Iain Cook and Martin Doherty first met in 2003. They were students at the University of Strathclyde in Glasgow. Doherty was in a band called Julia Thirteen and asked Cook to help produce their 2006 EP. This experience helped them realize they wanted to work together on their own music project.

A few years later, Doherty joined Cook in a band called Aereogramme. However, that band broke up in 2007. Doherty then toured with another band, the Twilight Sad, but he grew tired of playing other people's music. He even thought about becoming a history teacher! But then he reconnected with Cook, and they decided to start their own music project.

Cook became interested in electronic music, especially the sound of the band Emeralds. He bought a special synthesizer and started experimenting with 1980s-style sounds. In September 2011, he produced an EP for a band called Blue Sky Archives. He asked their singer, Lauren Mayberry, if she would sing backing vocals for his and Doherty's electronic music project.

Mayberry was curious because none of them had much experience with electronic music. She liked the idea of writing songs with different instruments. The three musicians quickly connected and spent months writing and recording songs in a basement studio. Mayberry wrote the lyrics and catchy parts, Doherty came up with melodies, and Cook produced the music.

They realized they worked well together and decided to form a band. At first, Doherty was going to sing lead, and Mayberry would sing backing vocals. But after Cook and Doherty heard Mayberry sing, they made her the lead vocalist. Mayberry also became the band's main public face.

The band chose the name Chvrches, using a "v" instead of a "u" (CHVRCHΞS). They did this so people wouldn't confuse them with actual churches when searching online. They didn't intend for the name to be religious. They just felt it had a strong, interesting feel that could mean different things to different people.

Early Success and First Album: The Bones of What You Believe (2012–2014)

Chvrches performing in 2012

Chvrches performing at Metro, Chicago in 2013

Chvrches performing at Columbiahalle in 2014

Martin Doherty said that Chvrches started as a studio project. Their main goal was just to put a song online and see what happened. In May 2012, Chvrches posted their first song, "Lies," on a music blog. The song quickly became popular, reaching number one on a blog called The Hype Machine. It also got a lot of plays on SoundCloud and BBC Radio 1. The band members were very surprised by how well "Lies" was received.

Even though "Lies" was popular, Chvrches hadn't played any live shows yet. They were a bit nervous about performing. To get over this, they played their first two shows secretly under the name Shark Week. Their official debut as Chvrches was in July at the Glasgow School of Art.

When record company representatives started showing interest, Mayberry was upset that many of them wanted her to be the only focus of the band. Chvrches wanted all three members to be equally important. They wanted to become popular through their music and word-of-mouth, not by focusing on just one person. This meant they turned down early offers for photo shoots and interviews that didn't include Cook and Doherty.

By the time "Lies" was released, Chvrches had already recorded eight other songs. One of these, "The Mother We Share," became their first official single on November 5, 2012. This song was also very popular, downloaded over 32,000 times by September 2013.

In January 2013, Chvrches signed a record deal with Glassnote Records. To help the band become known, their managers set up a busy touring schedule, including many international shows. Two months after signing, Chvrches played their first North American show at the South by Southwest festival in Austin, Texas. There, they won an award for best non-American act.

On February 6, 2013, Chvrches released their second single, "Recover." This was followed by the Recover EP in March. In June 2013, Chvrches performed "The Mother We Share" on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon, which was their first time on US television. They released the single "Gun" in July 2013. That same month, Chvrches opened for the famous band Depeche Mode for four shows.

On September 23, 2013, the band released their first studio album, The Bones of What You Believe. Critics generally loved the album. In September 2013, Lauren Mayberry wrote an article for The Guardian newspaper. She talked about the sexist comments she received on the band's social media. Chvrches also covered the song "'Bela Lugosi's Dead" for the movie Vampire Academy. Their song "The Mother We Share" was even used in the opening video for the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow.

Second Album: Every Open Eye (2015–2016)

Chvrches performing at Rock en Seine in 2016

Chvrches began recording their second album in January 2015 and finished it by June. They used the same studio in Glasgow where they recorded their first album, but they upgraded their equipment. For The Bones of What You Believe, they only had three synthesizers. But for Every Open Eye, they added many more, like the Korg MS-20 mini and Roland Jupiter-8.

On July 16, 2015, the band announced the release date, cover art, and song list for their new album, Every Open Eye. The next day, they released the first single, "Leave a Trace." The album came out on September 25, 2015. Other singles from the album included "Never Ending Circles," "Clearest Blue," and "Empty Threat."

On March 31, 2016, Chvrches played their first show at the famous Royal Albert Hall in London. They played 17 songs from both their first and second albums. Chvrches also wrote an original song called "Warning Call" for the 2016 video game Mirror's Edge Catalyst.

In June 2016, a new version of their song "Bury It" was released. It featured singer Hayley Williams. The music video for this song was animated and showed the band and Williams with special powers.

Third Album: Love Is Dead (2017–2019)

Chvrches performing at the Falls Festival during the Love Is Dead Tour, 2019

Chvrches started working on their third album in February 2017. They recorded it in Los Angeles, New York City, and London. Dave Stewart from the band Eurythmics even worked with them. By December, the album was almost finished, and Greg Kurstin had produced it. Lauren Mayberry joked that it was typical for them to feel gloomy while recording in sunny places.

To get fans excited for the new album, the band cleared all their social media pages. Then they posted a short video with new music. On January 31, 2018, BBC Radio 1 played "Get Out" as the first single from the album. The album also included a song called "My Enemy" featuring Matt Berninger from the band The National.

Other singles released before the album included "Never Say Die" and "Miracle." Love Is Dead was released on May 25, 2018. Later, "Graffiti" was released as a single.

In February 2019, Chvrches performed with the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra to launch the new BBC Scotland TV channel. They played an orchestral version of "Miracle." In March 2019, the band worked with EDM artist Marshmello on the song "Here with Me."

In October 2019, the band released an original song called "Death Stranding." This song was the main single for the album Death Stranding: Timefall, which was for the 2019 video game of the same name. Chvrches even played the song with an orchestra at the opening of The Game Awards 2019.

Fourth Album: Screen Violence (2020–Present)

Chvrches performing at the Hollywood Palladium, 2021

Chvrches started working on their fourth album in February 2020. Martin Doherty and Lauren Mayberry worked from Los Angeles, while Iain Cook worked from Glasgow. On April 9, 2021, Chvrches started hinting about the first single from their new album. On April 18, 2021, they announced "He Said She Said" as the lead single.

A second single, "How Not to Drown," featured Robert Smith from the band the Cure. It was released on June 2, 2021. On the same day, the band announced their fourth album, Screen Violence, which was released on August 27, 2021. The album's third single, "Good Girls," came out on July 12, 2021. Chvrches performed "Good Girls" on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon in August 2021.

In 2022, Chvrches signed new deals with Island Records and EMI Records. On February 24, 2023, they released the single "Over," their first song under these new deals. In July 2023, Lauren Mayberry announced she would release solo music and go on a solo tour. She also said that the band was confident that "the Chvrches story has many more pages yet to be written."

On August 16, 2023, Chvrches announced a special 10th-anniversary edition of The Bones of What You Believe. This release, planned for October 13, included four unreleased songs from the original album's recording, plus five live tracks and the original 12 songs. "Manhattan" was the first of the new tracks released as a single.

Chvrches' Music Style

Chvrches is known for its clean, electronic sound. Their music is often described as synth-pop, electropop, pop, indie pop, indietronica, electronic rock, indie rock, and alternative pop. One music blog called their sound "a powerful burst of pop energy."

The band has said their musical heroes include David Bowie, Depeche Mode, and Siouxsie and the Banshees. They have also been influenced by many other artists like the Cure, Madonna, Prince, and Robyn.

Band Members

Chvrches in 2014

• Lauren Mayberry – lead and backing vocals, drums, percussion, extra synthesizers (2011–present)
• Iain Cook – synthesizers, piano, guitars, bass, backing vocals (2011–present)
• Martin Doherty – synthesizers, samplers, piano, guitars, bass, backing and lead vocals (2011–present)

Touring musicians

• Jonny Scott – drums, percussion (2018–present)

Touring the World

Lauren Mayberry performing with Chvrches at SPIN Party, SXSW (2013)

When Chvrches plays live, Lauren Mayberry sings lead vocals and sometimes plays synthesizers. Iain Cook plays synthesizers, guitar, and bass, and sings backing vocals. Martin Doherty plays synthesizers and samplers, and also sings backing vocals and sometimes lead vocals. Since 2018, Jonny Scott has joined them on drums for live shows.

Chvrches travels all over the world to perform. They play at many big music festivals, including Austin City Limits Music Festival, Coachella, Glastonbury, and Lollapalooza.

They have also opened for other bands like Passion Pit and Two Door Cinema Club. In 2013, they supported Depeche Mode on some of their tour dates. Many artists have also opened for Chvrches, such as Dan Croll and MØ.

In December 2015, Chvrches performed "Leave a Trace" at The Game Awards in Los Angeles. They also announced nominees and winners for the best indie game award.

In March 2023, the band toured Brazil for the first time, opening for Coldplay on their Music of the Spheres World Tour. They also played two of their own shows there. In May 2023, they opened for Coldplay again for four concerts in Barcelona, Spain.

Albums by Chvrches

• The Bones of What You Believe (2013)
• Every Open Eye (2015)
• Love Is Dead (2018)
• Screen Violence (2021)

Awards and Nominations

See also

In Spanish: Chvrches para niños

• List of bands from Glasgow
• List of Scottish musicians