Artist Detailed Info: Loosefish

Loosefish began in Bangor, North Wales in late 1993 , when Colin Owen (guitar) left his current band 'Wanted' to start a new project with Dave Jones (vocals) and Anton Hobbs (bass) - who were also current members of 'Wanted' - and drummer to countless local bands Jason Edmunds.

Using Colins Fostex 4-track they set about recording the bands first release - 'Ways of Escape'.

Meanwhile, 'Wanted' auditioned music student Simon Darvell (guitar) as a possible replacement for Colin Owen. Simon failed the audition, but impressed Dave who asked him to join Loosefish instead.

Following rehearsals and recording sessions in less than ideal conditions, 'Ways of Escape' was released and by May 1994 the band were ready for their first gig, ironically supporting 'Wanted' (for whom Anton was still playing bass!).

The gig was a success and many more followed, until late 1994 when Colin decided to quit due to work and family pressures. Shortly after this Jason also left the band due to increased commitments from some of the other bands he was in.

Dave quickly found a new drummer in Ian Cuniff and the new slimline Loosefish MkII spent early 1995 recording the 'Propoganda' e.p. in the cold back room of a pub in Abergwyngregyn.

After a string of well received gigs Anton decided to leave, realising his overdue phd thesis was more important than being in two increasingly busy bands. Simon's course at the Uni was drawing to an end and Ian was in great demand from other bands, so it seemed that Loosefish would soon join the annals of history.

Some speedy negotiations secured the return of Jason Edmunds on the drums and new recruit Lee Hughes on Bass. Despite the fact that Simon now lived in London the band still managed to gig quite regularly until 1997 (playing at least once as a 6 piece, with Kevin Robinson on rhythm guitar and Tom Kincaid on keyboards!) and produce the 'Never Say Why' e.p.

The last song the band recorded was an experimental track called 'Mantra' that included a Roland TR-707 drum machine, tape loops, an Ensoniq Mirage 8-bit sampler, some BBC archive sound effects and a heavy nod to the powers of random.

In early 2012, after a 14 year hiatus, the members of Loosefish came together with an idea to mark the 20th anniversary of the bands inception, and rehearsals began. A celebration gig is planned for Spring 2013, and members of the band have been playing open mic nights around North Wales in preparation.
In October 2012 Loosefish were asked to be the headline act at the Ogwen River Festival in Bethesda, a concert which marked the bands first electric performance since 1997.

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