Tennyson (band)

Canadian electronic music duo

Tennyson

Tennyson performing at The Fonda Theatre, Hollywood, 2014

Background information
Origin| Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
Genres| Electronica, Nu-jazz, pop
Years active| 2012–present
Labels| Counter Records, Owsla, Secret Songs
Members|

* Luke Pretty
* Tess Pretty

Website| https://tennyson.rocks

Tennyson are a Canadian musical duo consisting of siblings Luke and Tess Pretty formed in 2012.[1][2]

## Origins

[edit]

Tennyson was formed by Luke and Tess Pretty in 2012. The pair began busking in Edmonton between ages 7 and 9, covering songs by bands such as The Beatles, Coldplay, and Weezer.[1][3]

Both Tess and Luke were encouraged to be creative from a very young age by their father, Greg Pretty.[4] Luke and Tess shared how their father did this by painting shapes and images on their tables and chairs at home, as well as helping them make intricate homemade Halloween costumes throughout their childhood.[5]

Once Luke started gaining a following for his electronic style music, the duo decided to fuse their Jazz and Blues background with Luke's electronic and sound sample styled music.[6]

## Musical career

[edit]

### 2012–2016

[edit]

In 2014, Luke decided to incorporate electronica into his music, enlisting his sister on drums, and posting the resulting music to SoundCloud.[7] This gained the attention of Canadian producer Ryan Hemsworth, who chose the track "You're Cute" to launch his online imprint "Secret Songs".[8]

Later that year, Tennyson released two tracks: “With You” and “Lay-by.”[9]

In 2015, Tennyson released the Like What? EP with six tracks. The music video for the title track was directed by Fantavious Fritz.[10][11]

Tennyson performed an opening act for M83's Junk tour in 2016, they were also featured in the Lollapalooza lineup in 2016.[12]

### 2017–2021

[edit]

Tennyson performed at numerous music festivals in 2017. They performed alongside artists such as Vince Staples, BADBADNOTGOOD, Dawes, Post Malone, Moby, Wiz Khalifa, Flying Lotus, The Knocks, Chris Lake, Gorillaz, Lorde, blink-182 and Chance the Rapper.[13]

In 2017, Tennyson collaborated with BJ the Chicago Kid and Mr. Carmack to create the EP entitled Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday. The collaborators partnered with Red Bull to release the EP for the Red Bull Sound Select event.[14] Tennyson was also featured on Red Bull’s website.[15]

Later that year, the duo had toured in Europe, Asia and Australia.[16]

On March 1, 2019, Tennyson released Different Water quickly followed by the release of the EP entitled Telescope on November 22, 2019. Different Water has been described as "memorable melodies and busy, layered beats with touches of their jazz background sliding in and out of their compositions".[17]

Different Water and Telescope included more vocal tracks than usual for the duo. Telescope was inspired by Luke's time in Japan and Waneella's viral image. Luke wanted to capture the image's feelings of clarity and stillness through sound in his album.[18]

### 2022–present

[edit]

Luke Pretty released his second album entitled Rot on February 18, 2022. The music of Rot was inspired by the musician's struggle with a hearing condition he developed due to mold exposure.[19] Tennyson were listed on Billboard's 10 Dance Artists To Watch in 2022.[20]

In the same year, Tennyson went on various show tours across the North America and Europe.[21] The duo was joined by the guitarist Beau Diako and bassist Akos Forgacs.[22]

In 2024, Luke collaborated with Seattle artist Leslie for a seven track album entitled "Dolphin".

## Musical style

[edit]

The pair's "indietronic pop" style of music has been described as "a little R&B, a little jazz, a little classical, divinely characterised through the diverse array of instruments present".[23] Many of their tracks contain organic sounds such as water, fire, and percussive sounds from bongo drums, glass and jungle-inspired beats. They have also been known to sample a wide range of sounds, such as purring cats, ring tones, texting noises, Mac OS sound effects and notably the "door left ajar" car sound in their track "Lay-by".[24][25]

Following the release of Different Water EP, Luke released a sample pack bearing the same name on Splice.[26]

## Discography

[edit]

### Studio albums

[edit]

Title  | Details

|

Tennyson |

* Released: 4 April 2012
* Label: Luke Tennyson Pretty
* Format: Digital download

Rot |

* Released: 18 February 2022
* Label: Counter Records
* Format: Digital download, Vinyl

Dolphin (with Leslie) |

* Released: 20 September 2024
* Label: Tennyson + Leslie
* Format: Digital download

### Extended plays

[edit]

Title  | Details

|

Blamer |

* Released: 3 December 2012
* Label: Tennyson
* Format: Digital download

Like What |

* Released: 23 November 2015
* Label: Tennyson
* Format: Digital download

Tuesday Wednesday Thursday |

* Released: 14 February 2017
* Label: Tennyson & Mr. Carmack
* Format: Digital download

Uh Oh! |

* Released: 29 September 2017
* Label: OWSLA
* Format: Digital download

Different Water |

* Released: 1 March 2019
* Label: Tennyson
* Format: Digital download

Telescope |

* Released: 22 November 2019
* Label: Counter Records
* Format: Digital download

### Singles

[edit]

Title  | Details

|

Violet Alturas |

* Released: 11 June 2013
* Label: Tennyson
* Format: Digital download

Aphasia Rewinding |

* Released: 3 November 2013
* Label: Tennyson
* Format: Digital download

No Answer |

* Released: 15 December 2013
* Label: Tennyson
* Format: Digital download

For You |

* Released: 27 January 2014
* Label: Tennyson
* Format: Digital download

You're Cute |

* Released: 16 May 2014
* Label: Secret Songs
* Format: Digital download

Lay-by |

* Released: 1 July 2014
* Label: Tennyson
* Format: Digital download

With You |

* Released: 8 October 2014
* Label: Tennyson
* Format: Digital download

In One Piece |

* Released: 19 November 2014
* Label: Tennyson
* Format: Digital download

Smother (feat. Mothica) |

* Released: 8 March 2015
* Label: Tennyson
* Format: Digital download

Slipperz |

* Released: 18 November 2015
* Label: Tennyson
* Format: Digital download

XYZ |

* Released: 10 June 2016
* Label: Last Gang
* Format: Digital download

All Yours |

* Released: 6 October 2017
* Label: Tennyson
* Format: Digital download

Your Eyes (feat. Njomza) |

* Released: 31 July 2018
* Label: Foreign Family Collective / Counter Records
* Format: Digital download

Tuesday |

* Released: 4 April 2019
* Label: PLS&TY
* Format: Digital download

Wednesday |

* Released: 4 April 2019
* Label: PLS&TY
* Format: Digital download

Thursday (feat. BJ the Chicago Kid) |

* Released: 4 April 2019
* Label: PLS&TY
* Format: Digital download

Cry Bird |

* Released: 6 October 2017
* Label: Tennyson
* Format: Digital download

Face the Night |

* Released: 31 July 2018
* Label: Foreign Family Collective / Counter Records
* Format: Digital download

Streamer 2-Chōme |

* Released: 4 April 2019
* Label: PLS&TY
* Format: Digital download

Wintersleep |

* Released: 6 October 2017
* Label: Tennyson
* Format: Digital download

Telescope |

* Released: 31 July 2018
* Label: Foreign Family Collective / Counter Records
* Format: Digital download

Collapse |

* Released: 4 April 2019
* Label: PLS&TY
* Format: Digital download

Innerspace |

* Released: 8 October 2021
* Label: College Music Records
* Format: Digital download

### Collaborations

[edit]

Title  | Details

|

eons away (with santpoort) |

* Released: 27 August 2021
* Label: Friends of Friends
* Format: Digital download

Pathwork (with Cabin Music) |

* Released: 3 November 2020
* Label:
* Format: Digital download

Vacuum Lessons (with Anatole Muster & daniel hayn) |

* Released: 29 January 2021
* Label:
* Format: Digital download

### Remixes

[edit]

Title  | Details

|

Flight Facilities – Arty Boy |

* Released: 6 October 2017
* Label: Tennyson
* Format: Digital download

Kasbo – Your Tempo |

* Released: 31 July 2018
* Label: Foreign Family Collective / Counter Records
* Format: Digital download

PLS&TY – Motives |

* Released: 4 April 2019
* Label: PLS&TY
* Format: Digital download

Nicky Romero & Sick Individuals – Only For You |

* Released: 2 December 2020
* Label: Protocol Recordings
* Format: Digital download

Savel – Forgetting |

* Released: 29 January 2021
* Label: Silent Audio
* Format: Digital download

White Sea – Stranger (Skrillex Remix) |

* Released: 29 January 2021
* Label: OWSLA
* Format: Digital download

## References

[edit]

1. ^ a b Lester, Paul (2014-07-18). "New band of the week: Tennyson (No 14)". The Guardian. Retrieved 2018-10-21.
2. ^ Maclean, Ellie (2015-03-25). "Live Review: Tennyson at The Sound House". Hot Press. Retrieved 2021-05-20.
3. ^ Weekes, Jabbari (2015-01-30). "Electronic duo Tennyson talk about Barney the Dinosaur's unlikely influence on their music". A.Side TV.
4. ^ Sperounes, Sandra (2014-12-30). "People to watch in 2015: Meet Edmonton's Tennyson". Edmonton Journal.
5. ^ Reya, Luna (2017-10-09). "Life is Beautiful With Tennyson: The Siblings Redefining Electronic Music". Dope Magazine.
6. ^ Conner, Shawn (2017-02-15). "Q&A: Tess Pretty of electronic brother-sister duo Tennyson". Vancouver Sun.
7. ^ "Tennyson". SoundCloud. Retrieved 2022-07-07.
8. ^ "Ryan Hemsworth launches Secret Songs series with Tennyson's ebullient 'You're Cute' – FACT Magazine: Music News, New Music". FACT Magazine: Music News, New Music. 2014-05-07. Retrieved 2018-10-22.
9. ^ "With You / Lay-by, by Tennyson". Tennyson. Retrieved 2022-07-07.
10. ^ "Tennyson's "Like What" Video Is a Tour of a Blind Girl's Imagination". Vice.com. Retrieved 2022-07-06.
11. ^ Usinger, Mike (2015-11-27). "Tennyson soundtracks movies for your mind with Like What". The Georgia Straight. Retrieved 2022-08-20.
12. ^ Kot, Greg; Williams, Kevin; Swartz, Tracy (2018-06-12). "Lollapalooza day one: Lana del Rey's anti-charisma, J. Cole's momentum issues". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 2024-10-14.
13. ^ Schiewe, Jessie (2016-12-07). "Here's Your Noise Pop 2017 Lineup". SFWeekly.
14. ^ "Red Bull Sound Select Presents: 30 Days In Chicago—Parquet Courts, Built To Spill, Meat Wave, Good Willsmith" - via do312.
15. ^ Bein, Kat (2017-02-18). "Welcome to the Magically Playful World of Tennyson".
16. ^ "Krunk presents: Tennyson (Can) & Komorebi" - via Resident Advisor.
17. ^ Berlatsky, Noah (2019-03-29). "Tennyson's mellow electronica flows on Different Water".
18. ^ Grandeur, Danny (2019-11-25). "Tennyson Reveals Spectacular New EP 'Telescope". River Beats'.
19. ^ Vigil, Dom (2022-02-18). "Tennyson Drops New Album, "Rot"". Prelude Press.
20. ^ "10 Dance Artists To Watch in 2022". Billboard. 2022-01-02.
21. ^ "Tennyson shares new single and tour dates". Music News. 2022-01-06.
22. ^ Asman, Lauren (2022-04-08). "Tennyson electrifies the Englert Theatre at Mission Creek Festival". KRUI-FM. Retrieved 2022-08-20.
23. ^ "Tennyson's Fantastical Indietronic-Pop-Jazz EP 'Uh Oh!' Is Out Today On OWSLA – NEST HQ". NEST HQ. 2017-09-29. Retrieved 2018-10-22.
24. ^ "Tennyson Made a Song and it Samples the 'Car Door Ajar' Beep". Noisey. 2014-07-09. Retrieved 2018-10-22.
25. ^ "Artist Spotlight: Tennyson – NEST HQ". NEST HQ. 2014-10-08. Retrieved 2018-10-22.
26. ^ Takanami Herman, Kenneth (2019-08-07). "Luke Pretty of Tennyson on sampling strange sounds and performing live".

## External links

[edit]

* Official website