BIOGRAPHY

„If you got no groovin' feet then you'll need helping hands...“
Cloud Nine/PET

Describing PET is much like describing its namesake, the iconoclastic Commodore PET computer of the 80’s: bold, fresh, and futuristic. Amidst it’s mixture of Moogs, punk guitars, funky bass lines and computer generated sounds, one might find hints of Bowie, T. Rex, Roxy Music, and C64 Computer games, as well as more contemporary flavours of bands such as Zoot Woman and Daft Punk. Yet PET’s music is more than just the sum of its parts: their special brand of eclectic pop and space rock is unique, intelligent and accessible.

“For me, a pop song is an exciting and frenetic three minute art piece” says Andre Abshagen, the bands founder and unequivocal leader “I wanted to mix state of the art electronic sounds with elements from the music I heard when I was a kid. When I got my first Minimoog, I was thrilled by its sound! I started collecting Instruments from the 70’s and 80’s, and mixed them into my compositions. The combination of those with the guitars became the basis of PET’s sound.”

PET certainly had their share of excitement with their first two releases on the London based label Groenland Records, Player One Ready, which debuted in 2004, and the subsequent Rewind The Sofa Lady of 2006: their first single No Yes No made it onto the A-playlists of BBC Radio 6 and XFM, and was featured on Germany’s Radio 1 and EinsLive. No less than the legendary John Peel played No Yes No as the opening song for his ever popular BBC show, and Radio DJ’s Jon Kennedy, Eddy Temple Morris (XFM/London), Zane Lowe, and Steve Lamacq (BBC Radio 1) were taken with the song’s driving hard pop sound, which led to Radio Sessions at XFM and an invitation to the infamous XFM Xposure Night in London’s trendy Camden Barfly. PET had similar feedback with the EP release of Superpet, which was lauded in the international club scene by DJ’s such as Andrew Weatherall and Ivan Smagghe, as well as German DJ Ian Pooley, who claimed it as his favourite track of the year. No Yes No rose up to number 11 on the BBC’s Alternative Charts and soared up to third on the German Club Charts (Deutschen Club Charts; DCC)

No Yes No had success on screen as well: the popular U.S. TV series O.C. California, known for its discerning musical selection, jumped on the bandwagon by including No Yes No on its soundtrack. The song’s video, directed by Stuart Gosling, was nominated for Best Pop Video alongside Videos by Goldfrapp, Kylie Minogue, Pink, and Robbie Williams at Great Britain’s esteemed CADS Music Vision Awards, an annual event highly regarded by the British Music Video Industry.

Rewind the Sofa Lady’s international release in Europe, Japan, Australia, and Canada, again found its appeal amongst DJ’s and musicians, as several remixes of the track Cloud Nine appeared in the club circuit, and British singer-songwriter Fink covered the track under the name Get Your Share on his latest LP. Producer Gareth Parton, already known for his influence on the sound of The Go!Team, collaborated with PET on Rewind the Sofa Lady, and his signature production sound is nowhere more prevalent than on the tracks Why and All The Same. The video for its first single Whip my Blue Chips was shot by award winning German director Michael Dreher.

Though PET was originally conceived of as a solo studio project by the Berlin based musician and producer Andre Abshagen, its current constellation – Andre Abshagen, Miss Mono, Stefania Vacca and Dodo Nkishi – has indulged its ever growing international fan base with live shows throughout Europe: whether it be London venues, German clubs, shows in Belgium, France, Italy, and Switzerland, or big Festivals such as Rock am Ring/Rock im Park, PET has proven its talents as a live act as well as a studio band.

The turn from solo project to full fledged touring band came when Groenland Records signed PET at the beginning of 2003 after hearing Andre’s demos. The label asked Milan based drummer and percussionist Dodo Nkishi to play the Drum tracks on Player One Ready. Already known for his work as the drummer for Mouse on Mars, Andre couldn’t have been happier with the choice: "I always felt that Dodo was one of the coolest drummers in the world, and he would have been my absolute first choice. I was thrilled when he agreed to play on the record, but even more so when he agreed to be a permanent member of the band!”

Shortly thereafter, Andre enlisted the talents of the Berlin based Miss Mono for keyboards, synthesizers, and female backing vocals. A professional television journalist by trade, Miss Mono has performed as a multi instrumentalist in several bands, as well as having composed music for independent films.
To complete the rhythm section the band acquired the bassist Stefania Vacca. Born and raised on the Island of Sardinia, Stefania spent twelve years in London, where, inspired by the sounds of New Wave, Punk and Reggae, she decided to pick up the bass. Like Dodo, she has since relocated to Milan, where she has been living for the past three years.
”It’s hard to say whether the juxtaposition of Berlin and Milan have a direct influence on our sound. Most people think we sound rather British!” says Miss Mono “Perhaps it’s because Dodo and Stefania both spent so much time in London.” Either way, the international constellation of the band is definitely a driving force behind its sound.
Thanks to the electronic super highway, PET’s songs are written in separate studios in Milan and Berlin, the separate tracks being sent back and forth over the internet. The band meets up for recording sessions, usually in Berlin. “This works surprisingly well.” says Andre, “Who knows, it may even be better that we don’t see each other for rehearsals every week. When we do meet up, we’re really happy to see each other, and all our focus is on the recording session.”

Perhaps a harbinger, PET is currently working on their third album, provisionally entitled Very Important.