Proxies

Proxies is the name used by two different acts in the input: a British electronic rock band from Yorkshire, England, formed in 2010, and a Greek synthpop and new wave band from Thessaloniki active in the 1980s and 1990s. The Greek act is the one identified with 80s new wave.

Greek new wave and synthpop band

Proxies forms in Thessaloniki in 1980 with singer Giannis Nastas, guitarist Dimitris Bizenis, drummer Lazaros Pliambas and keyboard player Manolis Trichakis. The band works in synthpop and new wave, with a sound compared to groups such as O.M.D., Heaven 17 and early Depeche Mode. Its debut album, Groovin’ Over Beirut, appears in 1983 and draws attention in Greece. In the same year, the band’s label CVR releases a 12-inch EP featuring a cover of the Greek folk song Fishing Boat, which becomes a club hit and helps bring the group to a wider Greek audience.

The band releases five albums in total and does not repeat the success of its early records. For its last two albums it uses the Greek spelling Προξις. The first album is described as becoming a rare record. The two LPs named in the input are Groovin’ Over Beirut and Eastern Side of Love, the latter from 1984.

British electronic rock band

Another Proxies is a British electronic rock band from Yorkshire, England, formed in 2010. Its music is tagged as new wave, electronic, synthpop, alternative rock and electronic rock. The band’s debut single, If I Had A Penny To My Name, receives its first BBC Introducing airplay in November 2011. It tours and performs with Kids In Glass Houses, Patrick Stump of Fall Out Boy, Hadouken! and Metronomy, and also plays a series of headline shows in January 2011.