Fanfarlo

Fanfarlo is an indie pop band from London, England, active since 2006. The group is formed by Simon Balthazar, Cathy Lucas, Leon Beckenham, Justin Finch and Amos Memon. Its line-up includes Balthazar on vocals, guitar and clarinet; Lucas on vocals, mandolin, violin and keyboards; Beckenham on keyboards and trumpet; Finch on bass and vocals; and Memon on drums. Mark West, who plays guitar and keyboards, leaves the band in 2008 and later forms The Lost Cavalry in 2009.

The band name refers to Charles Baudelaire’s novella La Fanfarlo. Fanfarlo begins by releasing the singles “Talking Backwards”, “You Are One Of The Few Outsiders Who Really Understands Us”, “Fire Escape” and “Harold T. Wilkins” on four independent labels between 2006 and 2008. It then records its debut album, Reservoir, with Peter Katis in Connecticut, and self-releases the album in February 2009. The release coincides with a tour of England and Scotland that includes support dates for Snow Patrol, and the group also plays five shows at South by Southwest in Austin, Texas in March.

Fanfarlo later issues a fifth single, “Drowning Men”, on Moshi Moshi, while Reservoir is also released as a limited box edition of 500 CDs. Its second album, Rooms Filled With Light, is released in 2012. In 2014, the band releases its third regular studio album, Let’s Go Extinct, on its own New World Records label. In 2016, Balthazar collaborates with King Knut under the name SWOON and releases the single “Heatwave”. Since 2015, Lucas has also been lead singer and guitarist with the psychedelic pop group Vanishing Twin.