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Gotye
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Gotye | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Wouter DeBacker |
| Also known as | Gotye |
| Born | May 21, 1980 (Aged 27) |
| Origin | Born:  BelgiumResides:  Melbourne, Australia |
| Genre(s) | Indie Music |
| Years active | 2003 – Present |
| Label(s) | Independent |
| Website | Official Gotye Site |
Gotye is the musical project of Wouter "Wally" DeBacker, a Melbourne musician. He has released two albums independently: Boardface (2004) and Like Drawing Blood (2006), the latter of which was entirely made in bedrooms around Melbourne. In 2007, Gotye released a remix album Mixed Blood on which tracks from first two albums are remixed by various artists and producers.
Contents |
Born in Belgium but raised in Australia, Walter (real name Wouter) has been making music since his teens, first in moody local rock band Downstares, a fixture at underage shows in the North-East suburbs of Melbourne for a few years. When that band dissolved Wally started focusing on his solo project, cut'n'paste tunes that eventually would come under the moniker of 'Gotye'.
He is also one-third of Melbourne indie-pop band The Basics.
As Gotye, his public exposure, like many alternative Australian musical acts, comes largely from youth radio station Triple J.
His first single, "Learnalilgivinanlovin" from Like Drawing Blood, was released in August, 2006.
Gotye's second album Like Drawing Blood was featured by Triple J in May 2006 [1] and was voted Number 1 in the listeners poll of the Best Album of 2006 [2]. The album, was also nominated for a J Award that year [3]. Two tracks from that album, "Learnalilgivinanlovin" and "Heart's A Mess", were ranked 94 and 8 respectively in Triple J's Hottest 100 for 2006[4]. "Like Drawing Blood" has been certified Gold for sales of over 35,000 copies.
In September 2006, Gotye was nominated for an Australian Recording Industry Music Award (ARIA award) for best independent release for his album Like Drawing Blood [5].
Also in 2006 Gotye won 'Most Outstanding New Independent Artist' at the inaugural Australian Independent Record (AIR) Chart Awards [6] and Like Drawing Blood is amongst nine shortlisted finalists in the 2006 Australian Music Prize[7].
In 2007, Gotye won the ARIA for best male artist. As a result of the publicity of the nomination, "Like Drawing Blood" re-entered the ARIA album chart at #36, surpassing the previous peak of #39. Also, "Mixed Blood" debuted on the ARIA album chart at #44. Both of these entries came the first week after the ARIA Awards.
Wally was embarking on a project that was, in his own words, "about refiguring past things (old vinyl sounds) with my own ideas". It therefore seemed appropriate to draw on his past for inspiration for the project's name. Wouter, Gotye's real name, from Flemish translates into French as Gaultier (or Gautier or Gauthier). Wally's mum used to call him Gaultier as a pet name. Drawing on this and choosing his own spelling gives us 'Gotye'.
Gotye is pronounced[help] [gore-ti-yeah].
Gotye is also an acronym for game-of-the-year-edition; a re-release of a popular computer or video game.
- Boardface - (2004)
- Like Drawing Blood - #36 (Australia); (21 May, 2006)
- Mixed Blood - #44 (Australia); (5 November, 2007)
- Learnalilgivinanlovin (2006)