ARCHIVE - TAKE MY HEAD

Archive are a London-based musical collective formed in 1994 by core members Darius Keeler and Danny Griffiths. Their sound defies easy categorisation, blending elements of trip hop, electronica, progressive rock, post-rock, shoegaze and avant-garde music into a richly layered and ever-evolving style. Over more than three decades, they have released thirteen studio albums and built a devoted following, particularly across continental Europe. Origins & Early Years The band began as a trip hop project with vocalist Roya Arab and rapper Rosko John, releasing their debut album Londinium on Island Records in 1996. After several lineup changes and creative disputes, vocalist Suzanne Wooder joined for the second album Take My Head (1999), a more melodic and pop-influenced record that the band themselves consider their weakest. The Craig Walker Era In the early 2000s, singer Craig Walker joined after answering an advert placed in Mojo magazine, ushering in a more psychedelic and progressive direction. This period produced You All Look the Same to Me (2002) and Noise (2004), as well as the soundtrack to the French film Michel Vaillant (2003). Walker departed in late 2004 due to personal differences. The Collective Phase From 2004 onwards, Archive reinvented itself as a true collective, with multiple vocalists and co-writers contributing equally. Key new members included Dave Pen (of BirdPen) and Pollard Berrier (formerly of Bauchklang), met during a tour stop in Vienna. This new era produced some of their most celebrated work, notably Controlling Crowds (2009), which hit #1 in France and Greece and featured the fan-favourite single "Bullets" — later recognised worldwide after appearing in the teaser trailer for Cyberpunk 2077. Subsequent albums continued to push creative boundaries, including the multimedia Axiom project (2014) — a full album paired with a short film debuted at Sundance London — and Call to Arms & Angels (2022), which introduced vocalist Lisa Mottram and was accompanied by a documentary. A tour supporting the album was delayed after Darius Keeler underwent treatment for colon cancer. Their most recent studio album, Glass Minds, was released in 2026. Upcoming Release Archive's 14th studio album, Not In My Name, is set for release on 19th March 2027 via their own Dangervisit label through PIAS. Arriving just a year after Glass Minds, the 11-track record is described as their most politically charged work to date, centred around an epic 18-minute anti-war title track — the first to feature all five Archive vocalists simultaneously, including the return of Holly Martin. The album also marks the arrival of rapper Jimmy Collins as a permanent member of the collective. Founder Darius Keeler has called it "the most impressive record we've done." A major European tour is planned for autumn 2027. Legacy Despite being largely overlooked in their home country of the UK, Archive have achieved consistent chart success and sold-out tours across Europe, with particularly strong fanbases in France, Greece, Poland and Switzerland. They remain one of the most artistically adventurous and underrated acts of the past 30 years. Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.