Mozart Estate

Mozart Estate

Mozart Estate is a British indie pop group led by Lawrence, who also performs under the names Lawrence and previously worked in Felt and Denim. The group begins as Go-Kart Mozart, a project Lawrence forms in reaction to the limited commercial success of his earlier bands. It operates as a long-running vehicle for his songwriting, with Lawrence as the only fixed member in the later Mozart Estate line-up.

History

The first Go-Kart Mozart album, Instant Wigwam and Igloo Mixture, appears in 1999. Lawrence initially treats the project as a side line while Denim is on hiatus, and he negotiates for a deal with Alan McGee, who had previously signed Felt to Creation Records in the 1980s. When that arrangement collapses after Creation disbands, the album is issued on West Midlands Records, a Cherry Red subsidiary set up for Lawrence’s post-Felt releases.

Tearing Up the Album Chart follows in 2005, again on West Midlands. In April 2012 the group releases “New World in the Morning”, a standalone cover of the Roger Whittaker song that also appears in the film Lawrence of Belgravia. Later that year the album On the Hot Dog Streets is released, including songs taken from the unreleased Denim album Denim Take Over alongside new material.

A further release, Mozart's Mini-Mart, is planned as a follow-up to On the Hot Dog Streets and initially described as an accompanying mini-album. Cherry Red later announces it as a 2014 album, and in 2017 gives it a new release date together with a video for “When You’re Depressed”.

Name change and later line-up

In 2018 Lawrence says the name Go-Kart Mozart no longer feels appropriate and announces a change to Mozart Estate, beginning with the album Pop-up! Ker-ching! And The Possibilities Of Modern Shopping. He also confirms plans for a re-recorded version of Tearing Up the Album Chart under the title Renovating the Album Chart. The name change takes effect with the 2021 single “Record Store Day”. From 2022, Lawrence performs as Mozart Estate with a new line-up, retaining only bassist Rusty Stone from Go-Kart Mozart.

Style and classification

The group is associated with indie pop and indie rock, and is also described through bubblegum pop, glam rock and synth-pop. It is based in the United Kingdom and remains active.