Hooverphonic - The Magnificent Tree - 2000

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Hooverphonic - The Magnificent Tree - 2000

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Hooverphonic is a Belgian rock/pop group formed in 1996. Though early on categorized as a trip hop group, they quickly expanded their sound to the point where they could no longer be pigeonholed into one genre. The band originally called themselves Hoover, but later changed their name to Hooverphonic after discovering other groups were already using the Hoover name.

The original members of the group were vocalist Liesje Sadonius, keyboardist Frank Duchêne, bass guitarist and programmer Alex Callier, and guitarist Raymond Geerts. The band achieved international recognition through the inclusion of the track "2Wicky" (from A New Stereophonic Sound Spectacular) on the soundtrack to Bernardo Bertolucci's 1996 film Stealing Beauty. Sadonius left Hooverphonic on amicable terms shortly after the release of A New Stereophonic Sound Spectacular and was replaced by Geike Arnaert in early 1998.

After an extensive European tour with artists such as Massive Attack, Morcheeba and Apollo 440, and a tour opening for Fiona Apple in the United States in 1997, the band released Blue Wonder Power Milk in 1998 with 18-year-old Arnaert on vocals. A marked departure from their debut, the album is driven less by breakbeats and samples and more by organic string elements and traditional song structures. The single "Club Montepulciano" was a hit in native Belgium and minor college hit in the U.S.; "Renaissance Affair" was featured in the North American commercial campaign for the new Volkswagen Vapor Beetle. "This Strange Effect" was featured in an American cell phone commercial for the Motorola SLVR.

The band followed up Blue Wonder Power Milk with 2000's The Magnificent Tree, which expands on the sound of Milk with a warmer, more approachable sound. Highlights from the album are the string-laden "Out Of Sight", "Mad About You" (a big hit in Europe), and the title track, which borrows heavily from Crosby Stills and Nash's "Guinnevere". The same year, Hooverphonic was asked to write a song specifically for the opening ceremony of the 2000 European Football Championship, which took place in Brussels, Belgium. The result - a 12-minute long track called "Visions" - became the theme song of the championship, and Hooverphonic's performance at the opening ceremony was heard/seen by more than than 1 billion people. On the heels of Tree's success, the band became the first Belgian outfit to headline one of the largest and most successful European musical festivals, Rock Werchter, in 2001.

2002 saw the group shifting gears again, this time releasing the concept album Hooverphonic Presents Jackie Cane. The album tells the story of the fictional title character, a celebrity and singer catapulted into stardom at the expense of her relationship with her twin sister. Driven to the brink of insanity by the pressures of fame, Jackie quits show business and returns home to attempt reconciliation, where her sister poisons them both with a last supper. Jackie Cane retains the dreamy elements of Hooverphonic's previous works, most notably on songs "Nirvana Blue" and "Human Interest", but tracks like "The World Is Mine" (the first single) and "Day After Day" have a clear Broadway influence and quality to them. The album went platinum in Belgium and won the group ZAMU's Best Pop/Rock Band and Best Album awards in 2002.

In 2003, the band released a live album entitled Sit Down and Listen to Hooverphonic, featuring a selection of songs from the band's body of work, as well as the new songs "Antarctica" and "The Last Thing I Need Is You", and a cover of Lee Hazlewood's "My Autumn's Done Come". The band launched into an extended European tour in September of 2003, performing in over 100 concert halls.